Privacy Policy - Gardeners Brockley

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Brockley collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with the gardening services it provides to customers in the Brockley area and surrounding local neighbourhoods. It applies to all Gardeners Brockley customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and former customers who have used our services or contacted us about them.

We are committed to handling personal information fairly, lawfully, and transparently in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy sets out what data we may collect, why we use it, the lawful basis for processing, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and the rights available to individuals.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for providing gardening services, managing customer relationships, maintaining records, and meeting legal or operational obligations. The types of data we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as the type of gardening work requested, property access notes, preferred appointment times, and service history.
Payment information such as billing records and transaction confirmations. We do not store card details unless required by a secure payment provider.
Communication records such as emails, call notes, messages, feedback, and complaints.
Technical data if you interact with digital systems used for booking or administration, such as basic device or usage information.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it and it is necessary for a specific purpose, such as access needs or health-related safety information. Where such data is provided, we will only process it where permitted by law and with appropriate safeguards.

2. How We Use Personal Data

Gardeners Brockley uses personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To deliver gardening services, including planning, scheduling, and completing work.
To manage customer accounts, service updates, and job records.
To process payments and maintain financial records.
To handle complaints, queries, and service follow-up.
To improve our services, administration, and customer experience.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations.
To protect our business, staff, clients, and property from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will only use your personal data where we have a lawful basis for doing so and where the use is compatible with the purpose for which the data was originally collected.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must identify a lawful basis before processing personal data. Depending on the context, Gardeners Brockley may rely on one or more of the following:

Performance of a Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging services, managing bookings, providing the agreed work, issuing invoices, and handling related communications.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include maintaining service records, improving operations, responding to customer requests, preventing fraud, and managing business administration.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, health and safety, and regulatory requirements.

Consent

Where required by law, we may rely on your consent, for example for particular types of optional communication or where you voluntarily provide information that is not strictly necessary for service delivery. You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing.

4. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. However, we may share it with trusted third parties where necessary for the operation of our services or to meet legal obligations. These third parties act as processors or independent data controllers depending on the service they provide.

Processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers used for secure data storage, email, scheduling, or administration.
Payment processors that handle financial transactions securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who support financial record-keeping.
Customer management or booking systems used to organise appointments and service information.
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where required.

Where processors act on our behalf, they are only permitted to use personal data according to our instructions and must take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it. We take steps to ensure that any third party with access to personal data provides a sufficient level of security and confidentiality.

We may also disclose data where required by law, to respond to lawful requests, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Gardeners Brockley, our customers, or others.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the purpose for which it is held.

Customer and service records are typically retained for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to manage follow-up, disputes, or continuity of service.
Financial records are kept for the period required by applicable tax and accounting laws.
Communications and enquiries may be retained for as long as necessary to respond to the enquiry or for operational record-keeping.
Legal or complaint-related information may be kept longer where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention practices and legal obligations.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate security measures to protect personal data from accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include restricted access controls, password protection, secure storage, and organisational safeguards designed to reduce risk.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we regularly review our procedures and take reasonable steps to keep data safe and to address risks proportionately.

7. International Transfers

Where personal data is processed by service providers outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate legal safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other approved transfer mechanisms required by law.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to limitations depending on the legal basis for processing and the circumstances of the request. Your rights may include:

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 data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing – to ask us to limit how we use your data in some cases.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to request transfer of certain data in a machine-readable 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 and may need to verify your identity before actioning the request.

9. Marketing Preferences

If we ever send optional marketing communications, you may opt out at any time. We will not send unnecessary promotional messages where you have indicated that you do not wish to receive them. Essential service messages and administrative communications may still be sent where required to deliver services or meet contractual obligations.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and property owners, tenants, or authorised representatives arranging gardening work. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally provided in the course of service delivery and is necessary for safety or property access purposes. If we become aware that data has been collected without a valid reason, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, service arrangements, or operational practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review the policy periodically to remain informed about how their data is handled.

12. Summary of Our Approach

Gardeners Brockley is committed to lawful, fair, and transparent processing of personal data. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and legitimate purposes, retain it for no longer than necessary, and apply safeguards when using processors. We also respect and support the rights of every individual whose personal data we hold.

By using our services or contacting us about gardening work in the Brockley area, you acknowledge that this Privacy Policy applies to you.