Privacy Policy - Gardeners Old Ford

Effective for all Gardeners Old Ford customers in the area. This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Old Ford collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when we provide gardening and related services to customers in the Old Ford area and surrounding local community. It also explains the lawful bases we rely on under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, how long we keep information, who may process data on our behalf, and what rights individuals have in relation to their personal information.

We are committed to handling personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. We only collect information that is relevant and necessary to deliver our services, manage customer relationships, meet legal obligations, and improve the quality and safety of our work. We take privacy seriously and expect any third parties acting for us to do the same.

1. Personal Data We Collect

Gardeners Old Ford may collect and process a range of personal data depending on how you interact with us. This may include:

Identity details: name, title, and where relevant, business name.
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and service location details.
Service information: details of the gardening services requested, service preferences, property access notes, and appointment history.
Payment information: billing details, payment status, and limited transaction information needed to manage invoices and record payments. We do not retain full card details where payment processing is handled securely by a payment provider.
Communication records: correspondence by phone, email, text, or written message, including service updates, quotes, complaints, and feedback.
Technical information: basic information such as device and browser data may be collected if you interact with us digitally, where applicable and necessary for security or performance.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have chosen to provide it, for example where it is relevant to access arrangements or service adjustments. If such data is ever collected, it will be handled with additional care and only where a lawful basis applies.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data only for legitimate business and service purposes. These may include:

providing quotes and arranging gardening services;
managing customer accounts and service schedules;
carrying out work safely and efficiently at the correct property;
issuing invoices, managing payments, and keeping financial records;
responding to enquiries, complaints, and service requests;
maintaining internal records and service history;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
protecting our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud or misuse;
improving our services, customer experience, and operational planning.

We do not sell personal data. We only use information in ways that are compatible with the purpose for which it was collected, unless we reasonably believe another lawful use is permitted under data protection law.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the situation, Gardeners Old Ford relies on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing services, confirming bookings, arranging access, issuing invoices, and handling customer requests related to the services we provide.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is reasonably necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing our customer relationships, improving service delivery, preventing fraud, maintaining internal records, and ensuring security and quality control.

Legal Obligation

We may process data when required to comply with a legal obligation, such as tax, accounting, record-keeping, insurance, or other statutory duties.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example if we request permission for optional communications or for processing information not otherwise covered by another lawful basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing already carried out before consent was withdrawn.

4. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to deliver services or run our business. These third parties act as processors when they process data on our instructions, or as independent controllers where they determine their own processing purposes.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers who host or maintain our systems;
accounting or invoicing systems used for financial administration;
email, messaging, or scheduling providers used to organise bookings and customer communications;
payment processing providers that handle transactions securely;
professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where needed;
delivery or subcontracted service partners where necessary to complete a service request.

We require processors to protect personal data, use it only for the agreed purpose, and implement appropriate security measures. We do not allow processors to use personal data for their own unrelated purposes.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, regulation, court order, or to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and to satisfy legal, accounting, or operational requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason for holding it.

Customer service records: kept for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to handle follow-up queries, warranties, disputes, or rebookings.
Financial and invoicing records: retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communication records: kept as long as needed to manage ongoing customer service and evidence of decisions or instructions.
Security and incident records: retained for a suitable period where necessary to protect our business or meet legal requirements.

When data is no longer needed, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or disposed of in a safe and appropriate manner.

6. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access restrictions, password protection, secure storage, and limited internal access on a need-to-know basis.

However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. While we work hard to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, individuals have a number of rights in relation to personal data. Subject to legal conditions and exemptions, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you;
Rectify inaccurate or incomplete information;
Erase personal data in certain circumstances;
Restrict the processing of your data in certain situations;
Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
Data portability for data you provided to us in certain cases;
Withdraw consent where consent is the legal basis for processing.

If you wish to exercise your rights, we will respond within the time limits set by law. We may need to verify your identity before responding to protect your information. Some rights may not apply in every situation, especially where we must retain data for legal reasons.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are directed to customers in the Old Ford area and are not designed to knowingly collect data from children. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child without appropriate authority or lawful basis, we will take steps to delete it or handle it appropriately.

9. 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 handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review the policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

Gardeners Old Ford handles personal data with care, fairness, and respect. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it only as long as necessary, and work with processors who are required to protect it. This policy applies to all Gardeners Old Ford customers in the area and is intended to provide clear information about how personal data is managed throughout the service relationship.

In short: your information is used to provide and support our gardening services, comply with legal obligations, and maintain secure, reliable operations. We aim to keep all processing transparent, proportionate, and privacy-conscious at every stage.