Privacy Policy - Gardeners Plaistow

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Plaistow collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Gardeners Plaistow customers in the Plaistow area, including individuals who request quotations, book services, receive gardening work, or otherwise interact with us in connection with our services. We are committed to handling personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services, making an enquiry, or engaging us for gardening work, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy. We only process personal information where we have a valid lawful basis and only for purposes that are necessary and proportionate.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information relating to the gardening services you request, including property access notes, job specifications, scheduling preferences, and service history.
Communication records including messages, enquiry details, complaints, feedback, and service-related correspondence.
Billing and payment information where needed for invoicing, payment processing, and record-keeping.
Technical information such as basic device or browser data if collected through digital communication channels.
Site and access information necessary for safe and efficient service delivery, for example garden layout notes, parking considerations, or access instructions.

We aim to collect only the data that is necessary for the service relationship. We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly required and permitted by law, and you have provided it voluntarily or it is otherwise necessary for a lawful reason.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use your information for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To arrange, carry out, and manage gardening services.
To communicate about appointments, changes, delays, or service updates.
To process invoices, payments, refunds, and account records.
To manage customer relationships and maintain service history.
To handle complaints, disputes, and service improvement.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To protect the security of our business, staff, customers, and property.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with those stated here unless we have a lawful basis to do so and, where required, we inform you of the new purpose.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for every use of personal data. Gardeners Plaistow may process your data on the following bases:

Contract

We process data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations at your request, delivering gardening services, managing bookings, and handling payment administration.

Legal Obligation

We may process information to meet legal requirements, such as record retention for tax, accounting, or regulatory purposes.

Legitimate Interests

We may process certain data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and where those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. This may include improving service quality, maintaining business records, managing customer communications, preventing fraud, and ensuring security.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, especially where the processing is not strictly necessary for service delivery or another lawful basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

Important: We do not rely on consent where another lawful basis is more appropriate for the relevant processing activity.

4. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. The exact retention period depends on the type of data and the reason for processing.

Customer service records are retained for a period that allows us to manage ongoing work, resolve issues, and maintain accurate business records.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by applicable law and standard accounting practice.
Communication records may be retained where needed to evidence instructions, service changes, or complaint resolution.
Consent-based records are kept until consent is withdrawn or the information is no longer required.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it where appropriate. We regularly review retained data to ensure it is not kept longer than necessary.

5. Processors and Data Sharing

We may share personal data with trusted third parties, known as processors, where they provide services on our behalf. These processors are only allowed to use your data in accordance with our instructions and must protect it appropriately.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment processors for handling card or electronic payments.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers for financial administration.
IT and hosting providers for secure data storage, email, or business systems.
Scheduling or administrative service providers that help manage appointments and customer records.
Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers where necessary.

We may also disclose information if required by law, regulation, court order, or to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property. We do not sell personal data.

6. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses personal data outside the UK, we will take appropriate safeguards to ensure your information remains protected in line with UK GDPR requirements. These safeguards may include approved contractual protections and assessment of the destination country’s data protection standards.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful handling of paper and digital records.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to reduce risks and to maintain an appropriate level of protection for all data we process.

8. Your Rights

As a data subject under GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to legal limitations in certain cases.

Right of access – you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – you may request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – you may ask us to limit how we use your data in some situations.
Right to object – you may object to processing based on legitimate interests.
Right to data portability – you may request certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data has not been handled properly. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so that we can try to resolve the matter.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are directed to adults and property holders or authorised representatives seeking gardening services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental and necessary for service delivery and handled lawfully.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle your data.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Gardeners Plaistow is committed to processing personal data responsibly, securely, and in compliance with data protection law. We collect only the information needed to provide and manage our gardening services, keep it only as long as necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or where required by law. We respect your rights and aim to maintain transparency in all our data handling practices.

Privacy and trust are essential to our service, and we apply this policy consistently to every customer in the Plaistow area who engages with Gardeners Plaistow.