Privacy Policy - Gardeners Haggerston

Gardeners Haggerston is committed to protecting personal data and respecting privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information when providing gardening services to customers in the Haggerston area. This policy applies to all Gardeners Haggerston customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quotation, books a service, or communicates with us in connection with gardening work.

1. Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary to manage enquiries, deliver services, and maintain proper records. The categories of information we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of your business or property manager.
Contact details such as telephone number and email address.
Service details such as your address, site access notes, garden preferences, and requested work.
Billing and payment information where needed for invoicing and account management.
Communication records including messages, call notes, and service instructions.
Technical information if you visit a digital service channel, such as device data or basic usage logs.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to share it with us for a specific reason. If such data is provided, it will only be processed where a lawful basis applies and where appropriate safeguards are in place.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To arrange, deliver, and manage gardening services.
To issue invoices, process payments, and keep financial records.
To communicate about appointments, changes, or follow-up work.
To maintain service quality, train staff, and improve our operations.
To meet legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To handle complaints, disputes, and insurance-related matters.

We always aim to use personal data in a way that is fair, relevant, and proportionate to the service being provided.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR and GDPR principles, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Gardeners Haggerston relies on the following lawful bases, depending on the situation:

Contract

We process data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging visits, carrying out gardening work, handling billing, and managing account details.

Legitimate Interests

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

Legal Obligation

We process certain data to comply with legal duties, including tax, accounting, recordkeeping, and other regulatory requirements.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example if you voluntarily agree to receive certain types of communications or if you provide optional information for a specific purpose. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. Retention periods depend on the type of information, the nature of the service, and any legal obligations we must follow.

Customer and service records are retained for the duration of the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Communication records may be retained to manage ongoing service matters, complaints, or evidence of instructions.
Technical or access logs are kept only as long as necessary for security and operational purposes.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so it can no longer identify you. Retention is reviewed regularly to ensure that we do not keep information longer than required.

5. Processors and Third Parties

Gardeners Haggerston may use trusted third-party service providers, known as processors, to help deliver services and manage business operations. These processors may include:

Payment service providers.
Accounting and invoicing software providers.
IT hosting, email, or data storage providers.
Administrative support services.
Professional advisers, such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary.

Any processor acting on our behalf is required to handle personal data securely, follow our instructions, and comply with data protection law. We do not allow processors to use your data for their own unrelated purposes.

We may also disclose information where required by law, for example to public authorities, courts, insurers, or other parties involved in lawful claims or investigations.

6. Data Security

We apply appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, restricted permissions, and staff awareness procedures.

Although no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take privacy and security seriously and review our safeguards to reduce risk. Any suspected data incident will be assessed and managed in line with applicable legal requirements.

7. Your Rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the following rights under data protection law:

Right of access to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure in certain cases, sometimes called the right to be forgotten.
Right to restriction to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability for information you have provided to us in a structured format, where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to raise concerns with a data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed. We encourage customers to raise any concerns directly so they can be considered promptly and fairly.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and property holders or authorised representatives. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally included in a service-related communication and only where this is necessary and lawful.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any updated version will replace previous versions and will apply from the date of publication or issue.

10. Summary of Our Privacy Approach

In summary, Gardeners Haggerston collects only the data needed to provide gardening services, process payments, maintain records, and meet legal obligations. We rely on lawful bases such as contract, legitimate interests, consent, and legal obligation. We keep information only as long as necessary, use trusted processors under data protection agreements, and respect your rights under GDPR.

Privacy matters to us, and we aim to handle all customer data responsibly, transparently, and securely. By using our services in the Haggerston area, you acknowledge that this Privacy Policy applies to your personal data and explains how it is managed.