Privacy Policy - Gardeners Aldborough Hatch

Gardeners Aldborough Hatch is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of every customer, prospective customer, and website visitor in the Aldborough Hatch area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data when we provide gardening services to households, landlords, businesses, and other customers in the local area. It also explains your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy applies to all Gardeners Aldborough Hatch customers in the area, including anyone who enquires about our services, receives a quote, books a service, or otherwise interacts with us in relation to gardening work. By using our services or contacting us, you acknowledge that this Privacy Policy applies to the processing of your personal data.

1. Data We Collect

We collect only the information that is necessary to operate our gardening services, manage customer relationships, and meet legal obligations. The categories of personal data we may collect include:

Identity details: name, title, and any relevant business or property name.
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and preferred method of communication.
Service information: details about the gardens, outdoor spaces, or properties we are asked to maintain, including access notes, service preferences, and instructions.
Billing and payment information: records relating to invoices, payments, refunds, and transaction history.
Communication records: emails, text messages, notes of phone conversations, and any feedback or complaints.
Technical information: limited website or device data such as IP address, browser type, and basic usage information where this is necessary for security, troubleshooting, or service improvement.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it and it is necessary for a specific service or accommodation. Special category data may include information about health, disability, or other sensitive details. If such information is shared with us, we will only process it where a lawful reason applies and where additional safeguards are in place.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotes;
to arrange and deliver gardening services;
to communicate about bookings, changes, cancellations, and service updates;
to issue invoices, process payments, and keep financial records;
to maintain records of work completed and service history;
to handle complaints, disputes, and customer support matters;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or security incidents;
to improve the quality, efficiency, and reliability of our services.

We will always process personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. We will not use your data for unrelated purposes without telling you and, where required, obtaining the appropriate permission.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a valid lawful basis for each use of personal data. Gardeners Aldborough Hatch relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, confirming bookings, carrying out gardening work, and managing payments.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include service administration, record keeping, customer communication, security, and business improvement. We always consider whether the processing is necessary and proportionate.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain records to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory requirements.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide sensitive information or agree to a specific form of communication not otherwise covered by contract or legitimate interests. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that help us run our business. These third parties act as processors when they process data on our instructions, and they are required to keep it secure and use it only for the agreed purpose. Examples of processors and service providers may include:

IT and hosting providers: for secure storage, email services, and operational systems;
Accounting or bookkeeping providers: for invoices, financial records, and tax administration;
Payment service providers: for processing card or electronic payments;
Customer management tools: for scheduling, communication, and service tracking;
Professional advisers: such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary;
Public authorities: where required by law or to protect rights, property, or safety.

We do not sell your personal data. Where data is shared, we aim to share only the minimum necessary information and only for legitimate business or legal purposes. If a third party acts as an independent controller, they will be responsible for their own privacy practices.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Retention periods depend on the type of data and why it is held. In general:

Customer and service records: retained for as long as needed to manage the service relationship and handle follow-up issues;
Financial and accounting records: retained for the period required by tax and accounting law;
Communication records: retained for a reasonable period to support service history and dispute resolution;
Enquiry records: retained for a limited time if no service is booked, unless longer retention is necessary for legal reasons.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or otherwise dispose of it. We review our retention practices regularly to ensure that information is not kept longer than necessary.

6. Security of Personal Data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unlawful access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and data minimisation practices.

Although we take reasonable steps to safeguard information, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will respond in line with applicable legal requirements.

7. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have a number of rights under UK data protection law. These rights may not always apply in every situation, but we will review and respond to each request appropriately. Your rights include:

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 data;
Right to erasure: you may ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances;
Right to restriction: you may ask us to limit how we use your data;
Right to object: you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
Right to data portability: you may ask for certain information in a reusable format where applicable;
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond within one month, although this may be extended where requests are complex or numerous.

8. Marketing and Communication Preferences

We may send service-related communications where necessary for booking, billing, or customer support. We will only send marketing messages where permitted by law. If you no longer wish to receive optional promotional communications, you can object to direct marketing at any time.

We respect your preferences and will not use your data in ways that are unfair or unexpected.

9. International Transfers

Where any service provider stores or processes data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal protections designed to keep your information safe and compliant with data protection law.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are aimed at property owners, tenants, managers, and other adult customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally included in communications or property access arrangements and only when necessary. If we become aware that we have collected child-related data without a valid reason, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

11. 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 protection practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how personal data is handled.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Gardeners Aldborough Hatch will only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary, will use it for clear and lawful purposes, will keep it only for as long as needed, and will share it responsibly with trusted processors. We are committed to respecting your privacy and to handling your information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Aldborough Hatch customers in area and is intended to meet the requirements of the UK GDPR.