Privacy Policy - Gardeners Leamouth

Gardeners Leamouth is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the Leamouth area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information when providing gardening services to customers in the area. It also explains the rights available to individuals under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy applies to all Gardeners Leamouth customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and individuals who have previously used our services or enquired about them. By engaging with our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in line with this policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal data necessary to provide gardening services effectively, manage customer relationships, and meet legal and operational obligations. The information we may collect includes:

Identity details such as name and, where relevant, property or household information.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as the type of gardening work requested, scheduling preferences, access instructions, and service history.
Billing and payment information where needed to process invoices, payments, refunds, or account records.
Communication records including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and correspondence relating to services.
Technical data if you interact with digital systems we use for administration, such as device information or basic usage logs.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and permitted by law. If any such information is provided to us unexpectedly, it will be handled with additional care and only for a valid purpose.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To deliver gardening services and manage appointments.
To maintain customer records and service preferences.
To process payments, issue invoices, and manage accounting records.
To communicate about scheduled work, service changes, and customer requests.
To handle complaints, feedback, and customer support matters.
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory requirements.
To improve service quality, operational planning, and customer experience.

We always aim to use personal data in a fair, transparent, and proportionate way. Gardeners Leamouth will not use personal information for unrelated purposes unless we have a lawful basis to do so and, where required, have informed the individual.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must identify a lawful basis for each processing activity. Depending on the situation, Gardeners Leamouth relies on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, or to perform a contract with you. This includes arranging services, managing bookings, and completing work agreed between us and the customer.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing service records, improving efficiency, preventing misuse, and maintaining appropriate business administration. Where legitimate interests are relied upon, we assess the impact on privacy carefully.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information to meet legal obligations, such as record keeping, tax compliance, accounting duties, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is required for optional communications or specific processing not covered by another lawful basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to support our operations. These third parties act either as independent controllers or as data processors acting on our instructions. We only use processors that provide appropriate safeguards for personal data.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

Administrative and scheduling providers that help manage bookings and service records.
Payment processing providers that handle secure financial transactions.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with invoicing and tax records.
IT and cloud storage providers that support document storage, messaging, and data security.
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where necessary.

Where data is shared, we ensure it is limited to what is necessary for the relevant purpose. We do not sell personal data. If information is transferred outside the UK, we will use appropriate legal safeguards to protect it.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the context in which it is used.

Customer service records are retained for as long as needed to manage the customer relationship and after that for a reasonable period to address queries or disputes.
Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communication records may be retained for operational reference and quality assurance.
Consent-based data is kept only while consent remains valid or until it is no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or destroy it. Retention decisions are reviewed periodically to ensure they remain appropriate and lawful.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or alteration. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, restricted permissions, and careful handling of records by authorised personnel only.

Although we take data security seriously, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. We therefore review our safeguards regularly and work to reduce risks wherever reasonably possible.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights relating to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the legal basis for processing and the circumstances involved.

Right of access: you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure: you may ask us to delete personal data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: you can request that processing be limited in certain situations.
Right to object: you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: where applicable, you may request certain data in a structured format.
Right to withdraw consent: where consent is the basis for processing, you may withdraw it at any time.

We will respond to rights requests in accordance with legal requirements and may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. In some cases, rights may be limited by law, for example where we must keep data for legal compliance or defence of claims.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers and property holders. We do not knowingly collect children’s personal data except where it is incidentally included in communications or records and only where necessary for legitimate service purposes. If we become aware that we have collected such information without an appropriate basis, we will take steps to remove it where required.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how their data is handled.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

Gardeners Leamouth processes personal data responsibly, lawfully, and transparently. We collect only what is needed, use it for clear and legitimate purposes, keep it only for appropriate periods, and share it only with trusted processors or where the law requires. Most importantly, we respect the rights of every customer in the area and aim to maintain privacy standards that reflect careful and accountable service delivery.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Leamouth customers in area.