Privacy Policy - Gardeners East Ham

Gardeners East Ham is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the East Ham area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information when you use our gardening services. It applies to all Gardeners East Ham customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who engage us for gardening, maintenance, landscaping, or related services.

We follow the principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and confidentiality. This means we only collect information that is necessary for our services, use it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it secure, and retain it only for as long as required.

1. Information We Collect

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

Identity information such as your name, title, and preferred form of address.
Contact details including address, telephone number, and email address.
Service information such as garden size, property access details, service preferences, appointment dates, and instructions related to the work.
Payment and billing information such as invoice details, payment confirmations, and transaction references.
Communication records including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and service-related correspondence.
Technical data such as device, browser, or usage information if you contact us electronically or use any digital services connected to our operations.
Photographs or site notes where needed to document work before, during, or after a service visit.

We do not deliberately collect special category data unless it is necessary and you choose to provide it, for example if it is relevant to access arrangements or a specific service request. If we ever need to process special category data, we will do so only where the law allows and with appropriate safeguards.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and respond to enquiries.
To arrange, deliver, and manage gardening services.
To communicate about appointments, access, changes, or service updates.
To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records.
To keep internal records of work completed and customer preferences.
To handle complaints, requests, and disputes.
To improve service quality, customer care, and business operations.
To comply with legal, accounting, and tax obligations.

We only use your information for purposes that are compatible with the reason it was collected. If we ever need to use personal data for a new purpose, we will explain this clearly and ensure there is a lawful basis for doing so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Gardeners East Ham relies on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging services, confirming appointments, completing work, and managing payments.

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 maintaining service records, improving operations, preventing fraud, and managing customer communications.

Legal Obligation

We process certain data to comply with legal requirements, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, and other regulatory obligations.

Consent

Where required by law, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain optional communications or where you voluntarily provide additional information. You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis used.

Important: If we rely on legitimate interests, we carry out a balancing assessment to make sure your privacy rights are properly considered.

4. Sharing Your Information and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties only when necessary and only under appropriate safeguards. These third parties act as processors when they process personal data on our behalf, or as independent controllers where they are responsible for their own processing.

Typical processors and service partners may include:

Payment processors that handle card or electronic payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that support invoicing and financial administration.
IT and cloud service providers that host data securely and maintain systems.
Communication service providers that help us send emails, messages, or appointment updates.
Professional advisers such as legal or tax advisers where required.

We require processors to protect personal data, use it only on our instructions, and implement suitable security measures. We do not sell personal data. We do not share personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes unless you have clearly agreed or the law permits it.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including service delivery, customer support, and legal compliance. Retention periods depend on the type of information and why it is held.

Customer and service records are generally retained for the duration of the business relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and accounting records are retained for the period required by law, typically to meet tax and bookkeeping obligations.
Communication records are retained as long as needed to manage enquiries, disputes, or service follow-up.
Photographs and site notes are retained only while relevant to the service, safety, or record-keeping purpose.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or destroy it. We do not keep personal data longer than necessary.

6. Data Security

We take the security of personal data seriously and use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect it from unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include secure storage, controlled access, staff confidentiality expectations, and careful management of digital records.

While we strive to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed entirely secure. If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will respond in line with applicable law, which may include notifying affected individuals and the relevant supervisory authority.

7. Your Rights

As a data subject under the UK GDPR, you have important rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and legal conditions.

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 data.
Right to erasure – in some cases, you can ask us to delete your data.
Right to restriction – you can request that we 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 may request certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

If you make a request, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to handle requests within the time limits set by law.

8. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it. This may include using approved legal mechanisms and assessing the level of protection offered by the receiving country or provider.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers or authorised representatives acting on behalf of property owners or occupiers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in a limited and lawful context, such as where a parent or guardian provides contact details for access or service arrangements.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Gardeners East Ham handles personal data responsibly, transparently, and in accordance with data protection law. We collect only what we need, use it for clear service and compliance purposes, rely on valid lawful bases, work with trusted processors, and retain data only for the required period. We also respect your rights and are committed to addressing your privacy concerns fairly and promptly.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners East Ham customers in the area and is designed to support GDPR compliance across our gardening services.