Privacy Policy - Gardeners Sanderstead

Gardeners Sanderstead is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the Sanderstead area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data when providing our gardening services. It applies to all Gardeners Sanderstead customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who communicates with us about our services.

We aim to process personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy should help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, and what rights you have over your information.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal data necessary to provide and manage our gardening services. The type of information we may collect includes:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of your organisation or property manager.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details including information about your garden, requested work, appointment preferences, and service history.
Billing and payment information needed to arrange invoices, payments, and records of transactions.
Communication records such as messages, notes from calls, complaints, and feedback.
Technical data if you interact with us electronically, such as basic device or usage information where it is collected as part of our systems.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it voluntarily, or unless another lawful reason applies. We encourage customers to avoid sharing unnecessary sensitive information.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to deliver a reliable and professional gardening service. Typical uses include:

Responding to enquiries and preparing quotes.
Arranging and delivering gardening work.
Managing customer accounts, bookings, and service records.
Processing payments and maintaining financial records.
Handling complaints, service updates, and customer support.
Improving our services, processes, and customer experience.
Meeting legal, tax, and regulatory obligations.

We only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably believe another compatible purpose applies or the law permits otherwise.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis under the UK GDPR. Depending on the circumstances, the lawful basis may include:

Contract

We process information where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as providing gardening services, issuing invoices, or managing appointments.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain records because we are required to do so by law, including tax, accounting, and record-keeping obligations.

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. This may include service administration, fraud prevention, internal record-keeping, and improving our operations.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain optional communications. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

We do not rely on consent where another lawful basis is more appropriate.

4. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell personal data. We may share information only where necessary and appropriate for business operations, legal compliance, or service delivery. This may include sharing with trusted third parties who act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers that help us store and manage records securely.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers who assist with invoices, payments, and financial records.
Communication service providers that support email, messaging, or scheduling functions.
Administrative support providers who help us manage customer records and bookings.

Where processors handle personal data on our behalf, they are required to process it only on our instructions and to keep it secure. We take reasonable steps to ensure any third party we use has appropriate data protection safeguards in place.

We may also disclose personal data if required to do so by law, regulation, court order, or to protect our legal rights.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and our relationship with you.

In general:

Customer service and communication records are retained for the period needed to manage the relationship and resolve disputes.
Financial and transaction records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Enquiry records may be kept for a reasonable period to support follow-up or future services.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete it or anonymise it where appropriate. Retention is limited to what is necessary and proportionate.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures are designed to reflect the nature of the information we hold and the risks involved.

Although we do our best to safeguard information, no system can be completely secure. We therefore encourage customers to share only the information that is necessary for the service they require.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These rights may be subject to limitations in certain circumstances, but we will always consider your request carefully.

Right of access – you can ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – you can ask us to delete your personal data where there is a valid basis.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – you can request that data you provided to us be transferred in a commonly used 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 respond in accordance with applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before taking action.

8. Complaints and Further Information

If you have concerns about how your personal data has been handled, you have the right to raise the matter with the relevant data protection authority. You may also contact us directly to discuss your concern so that we can try to resolve it promptly and fairly.

Gardeners Sanderstead values privacy and aims to keep all customer information accurate, secure, and used only for legitimate purposes. We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services or legal obligations. Any updates will apply from the date they take effect.

By using our gardening services in Sanderstead, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy.