Privacy Policy - Gardeners Stamford Hill

Gardeners Stamford Hill is committed to protecting your privacy and handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect information relating to all Gardeners Stamford Hill customers in the area. It also sets out the rights available to individuals under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy applies where we provide gardening and related services to customers in Stamford Hill and the surrounding area. By engaging our services, making an enquiry, or otherwise interacting with us, you acknowledge the practices described below.

1. Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data necessary to provide our services, manage customer relationships, operate our business, and comply with legal obligations. The type of data we collect may include:

Identity details such as your name and, where needed, the name of your business or property manager.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as the type of gardening work requested, service preferences, appointment notes, and property access instructions.
Payment and billing information such as transaction records, invoices, and payment status.
Communications including emails, messages, call notes, and complaints or feedback.
Technical data if you use any digital service channels, such as device identifiers, IP address, or basic usage information.
Special category data only where strictly necessary and with appropriate safeguards, for example if you voluntarily provide health-related access needs or mobility requirements linked to service delivery.

We do not intentionally collect more data than is needed. If you provide information that is not necessary for our services, we will only use it where there is a valid legal reason to do so.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data to:

respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
deliver gardening services and manage bookings;
maintain service records and customer preferences;
issue invoices, process payments, and manage accounts;
handle complaints, follow-up requests, and customer support;
improve our services, internal processes, and scheduling;
meet legal, accounting, and tax obligations;
protect our business, staff, and customers from misuse, fraud, or security risks.

We do not sell personal data. We also do not use personal data for unrelated purposes without a lawful basis and appropriate notice where required.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data under one or more lawful bases permitted by the UK GDPR. These may include:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging appointments, delivering gardening services, preparing invoices, and communicating about your booking.

Legal Obligation

We may process certain data to comply with legal duties, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, insurance, and regulatory obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may rely on legitimate interests where our use of data is necessary for running and improving our business, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. Examples include managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, and maintaining service quality. Where appropriate, we carry out a balancing assessment before relying on this basis.

Consent

We may ask for your consent in specific situations, such as for optional communications or the processing of special category data when no other legal basis applies. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, and in line with legal, accounting, and operational requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason we hold it.

Customer service records are usually kept for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial records are retained in line with tax and accounting obligations.
Communication records may be retained to help resolve disputes, support ongoing customer care, and maintain business records.
Consent-based data is kept until consent is withdrawn or it is no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so it can no longer identify you. Retention is reviewed periodically to ensure information is not kept longer than necessary.

5. Processors and Data Sharing

We may share personal data with trusted third-party processors who assist us in operating our business and providing services. These processors act on our instructions and are required to keep personal data secure and confidential.

Examples of processors may include:

payment service providers;
accounting and bookkeeping providers;
IT, cloud storage, and data backup services;
email, communication, and scheduling tools;
professional advisers such as insurers, auditors, or legal advisers where necessary;
subcontractors or service partners involved in carrying out gardening work, where relevant to your booking.

We may also disclose data if required by law, court order, or lawful request from a public authority. Any sharing is limited to what is necessary and proportionate. Where processors are used, we seek appropriate contractual safeguards and require suitable technical and organisational measures.

6. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of data handling practices.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to reduce risks and respond appropriately to any suspected data incident. If a personal data breach occurs and the law requires it, we will notify the relevant authority and affected individuals.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

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

You also have the right to raise concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data has been handled unlawfully. Exercising your rights will not normally affect the services we provide, although some requests may limit our ability to continue certain processing where that data is necessary.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided by a parent, guardian, or authorised adult for service-related reasons. If we become aware that data has been collected inappropriately, we will take appropriate steps to delete or safeguard it.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our data practices. The most current version will apply to your use of our services. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so you remain informed about how your data is handled.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

Gardeners Stamford Hill respects your privacy and is dedicated to responsible data handling. We collect only what we need, process it under a valid lawful basis, keep it only as long as necessary, use trusted processors where appropriate, and support your rights under data protection law. This policy is intended to give every customer in the Stamford Hill area clear and transparent information about how personal data is managed.