Privacy Policy

Gardeners Addington Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Addington collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to our customers within our service area. It also explains your rights under applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. By using our gardening and related services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Addington customers in our service area, including prospective customers who make enquiries, current customers receiving services, and former customers whose data we may still retain in line with our retention periods. It covers personal data collected through any method, including in person, by post, through online forms, and by any other direct communication with us.

Types of Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for us to provide and manage our services. The types of personal data we may collect include the following categories.

Identity and contact details such as name, postal address, service address if different, and general contact details necessary for communication and service delivery.

Service information such as details about your garden or outdoor space, access instructions, service preferences, requested schedules, and records of services performed.

Communication records such as notes from calls, messages you send to us, and our responses, including quotations, bookings, and customer support queries.

Billing and payment records such as information needed to issue invoices and record payments. We do not directly store full payment card details if a third-party payment processor is used.

Technical and usage data where relevant, such as basic information about how you interact with our online presence, limited to what is necessary for security, analytics, or service improvement.

How We Collect Personal Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request a quotation, make a booking, or ask a question, when we provide gardening or related services at your property, and when you respond to any feedback or satisfaction requests.

We may also receive personal data indirectly when a third party contacts us on your behalf, for example a landlord, property manager, or relative arranging services for you. In such cases, we treat that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Lawful Basis for Processing

We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the context, the relevant lawful bases are as follows.

Performance of a contract. We process personal data to provide quotations, carry out gardening services, manage appointments, and handle billing and payments. Without this data we would be unable to deliver the services you request.

Legitimate interests. We may process personal data to manage our business, improve our services, maintain records of work completed, respond to general enquiries, and protect our rights. When we rely on this basis, we balance these interests against your rights and freedoms.

Legal obligations. We process certain personal data to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as record keeping for tax purposes and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Consent. In limited situations, such as where we send certain types of marketing communications or use optional analytics tools, we may rely on your explicit consent. Where consent is used as a lawful basis, you can withdraw it at any time.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes.

To provide and manage gardening and related services, including scheduling visits, accessing your property where authorised, and tailoring services to your requirements.

To prepare quotations, agree service terms, and manage any changes to your services.

To issue invoices, process payments using approved payment processors, and handle queries relating to billing or account management.

To communicate with you about your bookings, service updates, rescheduling, cancellations, feedback, and responses to your questions or concerns.

To maintain accurate business records, service histories, and financial accounts for operational and legal purposes.

To improve our services, plan staffing and equipment needs, and review anonymised or aggregated information for business analysis.

To protect our business and customers, including the detection and prevention of fraud or misuse and to pursue or defend legal claims where necessary.

Data Sharing and Processors

We may share your personal data with third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors are only permitted to use your personal data in accordance with our instructions and for the specific purposes we define. We ensure that appropriate contracts and safeguards are in place with all processors.

Categories of processors may include payment processing providers to handle secure electronic payments, accounting or bookkeeping service providers who assist with financial record keeping, cloud based storage or document management providers to securely store and back up our records, and information technology and support providers who help maintain our systems and security.

In certain circumstances we may also share your data with professional advisers, such as legal or tax advisers, where this is necessary to obtain professional advice, and with public authorities or law enforcement when required by law or to protect our legal rights.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

International Data Transfers

If we use service providers that store or process your personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include the use of adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses approved by relevant authorities. We take steps to ensure that your data continues to be protected to a standard that is essentially equivalent to that in the United Kingdom.

Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. When deciding the appropriate retention period, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process it, and relevant legal obligations.

In general, we retain customer records and related service information for a period that allows us to respond to enquiries about past work, manage any disputes, and comply with tax and accounting rules. After the relevant retention period expires, we will securely delete or anonymise your personal data so that it can no longer be linked to you.

Keeping Your Data Secure

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure, or access. These measures may include secure storage systems, access controls, staff awareness, and regular review of our procedures. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to ensure that your data is handled with care and safeguarded to a reasonable standard.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection laws, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data held by Gardeners Addington. These rights apply to all customers in our service area, subject to certain legal limitations and exemptions.

Right of access. You have the right to request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and to receive a copy of that data, along with certain other information about how it is used.

Right to rectification. You have the right to ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

Right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you may request that we delete your personal data. This right is not absolute and may not apply where we need to retain data for legal or contractual reasons.

Right to restriction. You may ask us to restrict the processing of your data in specific situations, for example while a dispute or accuracy check is being resolved.

Right to object. You may object to certain types of processing, including processing based on our legitimate interests, where you believe your particular situation gives rise to an objection.

Right to data portability. Where processing is based on consent or on a contract and is carried out by automated means, you may request to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and to have it transmitted to another controller where technically feasible.

Right to withdraw consent. Where we rely on your consent to process personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out prior to withdrawal.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority if you are concerned about how your personal data is being handled. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can address your concerns directly where possible.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or the services we provide. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we protect your personal data.