Gardeners Aldborough Hatch Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Aldborough Hatch collects, uses, stores and protects personal data belonging to its customers in the Aldborough Hatch area. It applies to all individuals who use our gardening and related services as private or business customers within this area.

We are committed to complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. This Policy describes the types of information we collect, the lawful bases we rely on, how long we keep your information, how we share it with external processors and the rights you have regarding your personal data.

Data Controller

For the purposes of data protection law, Gardeners Aldborough Hatch is the data controller in respect of the personal data we collect and use about our customers. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal information.

Personal Data We Collect

We only collect information that is necessary for the provision and management of our gardening services. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identification and contact details such as your name, address, property details relevant to the service, and any contact information you choose to provide such as email or postal address.

Service and contract information such as details of the gardening services you request, visit history, quotations, invoices, payment records, schedules and notes relating to your preferences or instructions.

Financial information such as limited payment related details where required to process payments, for example payment reference or partial card details processed through secure third party payment providers. We do not store full card details on our own systems.

Communication records such as enquiries, feedback, complaints and any correspondence relating to your services with us.

Technical and usage data such as basic information generated when you contact us through online forms or digital tools, including time and date of contact and pages or forms used. We do not seek to identify individuals from this data unless it is combined with other information you actively provide.

How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request a quote, make a booking, enter into a service agreement, or communicate with us in person, by post, by telephone or using online forms.

We may also receive information from third parties acting on your behalf, such as a family member, landlord, letting agent or property manager who engages our services for your property. In such cases, we process your information in the same way as if you had provided it directly, and we will explain this Privacy Policy to you where appropriate.

Lawful Basis for Processing

We process your personal data under one or more of the following lawful bases under GDPR:

Contract. We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, for example to provide gardening services, prepare quotations, schedule visits, issue invoices and receive payment.

Legal obligation. We process certain data where it is necessary for compliance with our legal obligations, for example for tax, accounting and record keeping duties.

Legitimate interests. We may process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing customer records, improving our services, planning our workforce and operations, and responding to enquiries or complaints.

Consent. In limited cases we may rely on your consent, for example where you specifically ask to receive optional updates or marketing information from us. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time by contacting us.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage gardening and related services at your property, including site visits, maintenance, landscaping, and any agreed additional work.

To manage our relationship with you as a customer, including handling enquiries, issuing quotes, administering contracts, arranging appointments, and dealing with any concerns or complaints.

To process payments, issue invoices, manage accounts and maintain appropriate financial and tax records.

To plan and manage our operations in Aldborough Hatch, such as route planning for staff, resource allocation and service improvement.

To comply with legal and regulatory obligations, including record keeping and responding to lawful requests from public authorities where required.

To send you essential service communications, such as appointment confirmations, schedule changes, or important information about your existing services.

Where you have given your consent or where we have a legitimate interest, we may send you occasional information about our services that are similar to those you already receive. You can opt out of such communications at any time.

Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your information with trusted third parties who act as data processors on our behalf, only where necessary for the operation of our services. Typical categories of processors include:

Payment processing providers who handle transactions securely on our behalf.

Accountancy or bookkeeping service providers who assist us with managing financial records and compliance.

IT and system support providers who help maintain our digital tools, scheduling systems or secure data storage.

These processors are only permitted to process your personal data in accordance with our written instructions and for the specific purposes we have identified. They must implement appropriate security measures and are not allowed to use your data for their own independent purposes.

We may also share your personal data with professional advisers such as legal or tax advisers, and with public authorities or regulators if required by law or to protect our legal rights.

Data Retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy and to comply with legal, tax and accounting requirements.

Customer and service records are generally retained for up to seven years after the end of our relationship with you. This period allows us to respond to any queries or disputes and to meet our legal record keeping obligations.

Where we hold data based solely on your consent, such as for optional marketing messages, we will retain this until you withdraw your consent or until it is no longer needed, whichever occurs first.

After the relevant retention period has expired, we will securely delete or anonymise your personal data so that it can no longer be associated with you.

Data Security

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 include limiting access to personal data to those who have a business need to know it and ensuring that any third party processors maintain suitable levels of security.

Your Data Protection Rights

As a customer of Gardeners Aldborough Hatch, you have a number of rights under data protection law. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these include:

Right of access. You have the right to request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

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 have the right to ask us to delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected or where you withdraw consent.

Right to restriction of processing. You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in specific situations, for example while we verify accuracy or consider an objection.

Right to object. You have the right to object to certain types of processing, including processing based on our legitimate interests and processing for direct marketing purposes.

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

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

Exercising Your Rights and Complaints

If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights or have questions about how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using the details provided on our main customer communications and documents.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioners Office if you are unhappy with how we have used your data. Details on how to do this are available directly from the Information Commissioners Office.

Scope and Updates to This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Aldborough Hatch customers in the Aldborough Hatch area who use our gardening and related services. We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, in technology or in applicable law.

Any significant changes will be communicated through our usual customer communication channels or made clear in the latest version of this Policy. The version currently in force will always be the one most recently issued by Gardeners Aldborough Hatch.