Privacy Policy - Gardeners Herne Hill

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Herne Hill collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data in connection with its gardening services. It applies to all Gardeners Herne Hill customers in the Herne Hill area, including anyone who makes an enquiry, requests a quote, books a visit, receives a service, or otherwise interacts with us in relation to our gardening work. We are committed to handling personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We respect the privacy of every customer and aim to collect only the information needed to provide reliable, professional services. This policy sets out what data we collect, why we collect it, the lawful basis we rely on, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and the rights available to you.

1. Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of your household, business, or property manager.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information including the type of gardening work requested, preferred visit times, access notes, property details, and service instructions.
Billing and payment records such as invoice information, payment status, and transaction references.
Communication records including messages, service notes, complaint details, and correspondence related to your booking or account.
Technical data if you contact us electronically, which may include limited device or message metadata necessary to operate our services securely.

We do not seek to collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you choose to provide it. If you include sensitive information in a message, we will handle it carefully and only where there is a lawful reason to do so.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to provide and manage our gardening services. Typical purposes include:

responding to enquiries and preparing quotes;
arranging appointments and carrying out gardening work;
maintaining customer records and service history;
issuing invoices, recording payments, and managing accounts;
handling service updates, complaints, or follow-up requests;
improving service quality, scheduling, and operational efficiency;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations;
protecting our staff, customers, property, and business interests.

We only use personal data for the purpose for which it was collected, unless we reasonably believe that another compatible purpose applies and is permitted by law.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each processing activity. Gardeners Herne Hill relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract – when processing is necessary to provide a quote, deliver gardening services, manage appointments, or fulfil our agreement with you.
Legitimate interests – when we process data to run and improve our business, maintain records, manage communications, prevent fraud, or resolve disputes, provided these interests do not override your rights and freedoms.
Legal obligation – when we must retain records or disclose information to comply with tax, accounting, employment, insurance, or other legal requirements.
Consent – in limited circumstances where we ask for your permission, for example to send certain marketing communications where consent is required.

If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

4. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy and to meet legal or operational needs. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it is held.

Customer and service records are generally kept for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to handle queries, disputes, or follow-up work.
Financial and invoice records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Communication records may be retained for a shorter or longer period depending on their relevance to customer service, evidence, or legal claims.
Consent-based records are retained only until consent is withdrawn or the information is no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

5. Processors and Third Parties

We may use trusted third-party processors to help operate our business and deliver our services. These may include:

payment service providers who process card or electronic payments;
accounting or bookkeeping providers who help manage financial records;
IT, cloud storage, or software providers who support secure data storage and communications;
administrative service providers who assist with scheduling, invoicing, or record management;
professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary.

These processors are only permitted to process personal data on our instructions and must take appropriate security measures. They are not allowed to use your information for their own unrelated purposes.

We may also disclose data if required by law, by a court order, or to public authorities where disclosure is lawful and necessary.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard personal information against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or alteration. These measures may include secure systems, access controls, staff awareness, and careful handling of customer records. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to protect data in a manner that is proportionate to the nature of the information we hold.

Gardeners Herne Hill expects anyone who processes data on our behalf to maintain similar standards of security and confidentiality.

7. Your Rights

Depending on the circumstances and the legal basis used, you may have the following rights under data protection law:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data where there is no legal reason for us to keep it.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how your data is processed in certain situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to receive certain information in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to exemptions or limitations under the law. We will always assess requests carefully and respond in line with our legal obligations.

8. Marketing Preferences

If we send marketing communications, we will only do so where permitted by law. Where consent is required, we will ask for it clearly. You can object to marketing at any time, and we will stop using your data for that purpose as soon as reasonably possible.

9. Children’s Data

Our gardening services are intended for adult customers, landlords, tenants, and property managers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in a lawful context and is provided by an adult responsible for the arrangement.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or our data handling practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or made available. We encourage customers in Herne Hill to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is handled.

11. Summary of Key Points

Gardeners Herne Hill collects only the information needed to provide gardening services, manage accounts, and meet legal duties. We process data on lawful bases such as contract, legitimate interests, legal obligation, and where applicable, consent. We keep records for only as long as necessary, use trusted processors under instruction, and respect your rights under data protection law. This policy applies to all Gardeners Herne Hill customers in the Herne Hill area.

By using our services, making an enquiry, or continuing a customer relationship with us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.