Gardeners Slade Green Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Slade Green collects, uses, stores and protects your personal data. It applies to all existing and prospective customers of Gardeners Slade Green located in the Slade Green area who use or enquire about our gardening and related services, whether in person, by phone, online, or through any other communication channel.

Who We Are

Gardeners Slade Green is a local gardening service provider operating in the Slade Green area. For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the EU General Data Protection Regulation, Gardeners Slade Green is the data controller in relation to the personal data described in this Privacy Policy.

Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for us to provide our services, manage our relationship with you and meet our legal obligations. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identification and contact details such as your name, address, service address, and general location details relating to your property and garden.

Communication details such as how you prefer us to contact you and the content of communications you send to us, including enquiries, feedback, complaints, and requests for quotations.

Service information such as records of services requested or provided, booking dates and times, access instructions, photographs of outdoor areas taken only when needed for quoting or service planning, and notes relating to ongoing maintenance.

Payment and transaction information such as details of services ordered, payment status, methods used and transaction history. We do not store full payment card details ourselves if a third party payment processor is used.

Website and usage information such as basic technical data your browser sends to us when you visit our website, which may include your IP address, device type, browser type and general usage statistics, where this is necessary for security and to improve our services.

How We Collect Your Data

We collect your personal data directly from you when you contact us, request a quote, make a booking, ask us to carry out work, or communicate with us in any other way. We may also collect data when you visit our website or interact with any online forms we provide.

In some cases, we may receive data about you from third parties where you have given them permission to share it with us, for example if a household member, landlord, letting agent or property manager contacts us on your behalf. In such cases we only use this information to provide the requested services and to communicate with you where appropriate.

Lawful Bases for Processing

We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so under the GDPR. Depending on the context, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract: We process data that is necessary to enter into a contract with you or to perform a contract, for example to provide gardening services, send quotes, arrange bookings, and issue invoices.

Legal obligation: We may process your data to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as record-keeping, tax regulations, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate interests: We may process your data when it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided that those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing our business operations, improving services, maintaining security, handling enquiries and complaints, and keeping limited records of past work for reference.

Consent: Where required by law, we rely on your consent, for example for specific types of optional communications or for using certain photographs of your garden beyond what is operationally necessary. You may withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage gardening and related services you have requested, including scheduling visits, carrying out on-site work, and managing follow-up appointments.

To prepare and provide quotations and estimates, including assessing your requirements and the condition of your outdoor areas.

To manage our relationship with you, including communicating about services, responding to enquiries, handling complaints, and updating you on any changes to appointments or terms.

To manage billing and payments, including the issue of invoices, receipts, and dealing with payment queries.

To keep records of work completed, which helps with future maintenance, repeat visits, and consistent service quality.

To maintain and improve our business operations, including reviewing the performance of our services, training staff, and maintaining security and safety.

To meet our legal and regulatory obligations, including accounting and record-keeping requirements.

Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We only share your data when it is necessary, proportionate, and lawful to do so. In particular, we may share your data with:

Service providers acting as data processors who support our operations, for example providers of payment processing, booking systems, accounting software, cloud storage, and communication tools. These processors are only allowed to use your data in accordance with our instructions and must protect it in line with GDPR requirements.

Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers where necessary for business and legal purposes.

Public authorities, regulators, or law enforcement where required by law or where we have a good-faith belief that such disclosure is necessary to comply with legal obligations or protect our rights, property, or safety.

Any other third party where you have specifically requested or consented to such sharing.

Data Retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as it is necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or for as long as required by law. When determining retention periods, we consider the type of data, the purpose of processing, legal requirements, and our legitimate interests.

Customer and service records are generally kept for a period that allows us to manage ongoing relationships, respond to queries about past work, and comply with tax and accounting requirements. Financial and transactional data may be retained for a longer period in line with statutory obligations.

Where data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it. In some cases, we may retain anonymised data that no longer identifies you for statistical or analytical purposes.

International Transfers

If we use processors or service providers located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data in accordance with GDPR, such as using standard contractual clauses or ensuring that the destination country offers an adequate level of protection.

How We Protect Your Data

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, destruction, or alteration. These measures include limiting access to personal data to staff and processors who need it for their work, using passwords and security controls, and maintaining appropriate records of processing activities.

Your Data Protection Rights

As a data subject under GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data, subject to certain conditions and exemptions:

Right of access: You can request confirmation that we process your personal data and ask for a copy of that data.

Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct or complete any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

Right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the original purpose or where you withdraw consent and there is no other lawful basis for processing.

Right to restriction of processing: You can request that we restrict the processing of your data in specific situations, such as if you contest its accuracy or object to our legitimate interests.

Right to data portability: Where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you may request a copy of your data in a commonly used, machine-readable format and ask us to transfer it to another controller where feasible.

Right to object: You can object at any time to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests, especially in relation to direct marketing or profiling for marketing purposes.

Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent to process specific data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

How To Exercise Your Rights

If you wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact us using the usual communication channels you use for our services. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request to protect your privacy and security. We aim to respond within one month of receiving a valid request, although this period may be extended in complex cases as allowed by law.

Changes To This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data protection practices. When we make significant changes, we will take reasonable steps to inform you, for example by updating the policy on our website or notifying you directly where appropriate. Your continued use of our services after any changes take effect will constitute your acknowledgement of the updated policy.