Gardeners Spitalfields Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Spitalfields collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to customers in our service area. It also describes your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws. This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Spitalfields customers located in our operating area, including prospective, current, and former customers.

Who we are and scope of this policy

Gardeners Spitalfields is a local gardening and maintenance service operating in the Spitalfields area and surrounding neighbourhoods. We act as the data controller in relation to the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This policy applies whenever you interact with us as a customer or potential customer, including when you contact us to request a quote, make a booking, receive services, or communicate with us about our services.

Personal data we collect

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

Identification and contact details, such as your name, postal address, service address, and general location information necessary to provide our services.

Communication details, such as information you provide when you contact us, request a quote, make an enquiry, or give feedback, including the content of your messages and our responses.

Service and contract information, such as details of the gardening services you have requested or received, visit schedules, instructions and preferences about your garden or property, and records of any quotations, invoices, and payments.

Usage and interaction data, such as when and how you contact us, how you respond to service reminders or updates, and your communication preferences.

Financial information, such as limited payment-related information necessary to process payments and maintain proper accounting records. We do not store full payment card details; where payment services are used, those providers may process your financial data on our behalf or as independent controllers.

Any other information that you choose to provide to us in connection with our gardening services, where relevant and proportionate.

How we collect your personal data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request a quote, ask for information, book a service, or communicate with us by any means. We may also collect data during the provision of services, such as notes about your garden, access instructions, or your preferences regarding how and when work is carried out.

In some cases, we may receive your details from third parties, for example if someone refers you to us, books a service on your behalf, or provides your information as a contact person for access to the property. Where appropriate, we will inform you that we hold your personal data and provide you with access to this Privacy Policy.

Lawful bases for processing your data

We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Performance of a contract. We process personal data as necessary to provide our gardening services, prepare and send quotes, manage bookings, carry out agreed work, issue invoices, and handle related communications.

Compliance with legal obligations. We process certain information to meet our legal and regulatory responsibilities, for example in relation to tax, accounting, and record keeping.

Legitimate interests. We may process personal data where this is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing our relationship with you, improving our services, responding to enquiries and complaints, planning work schedules, protecting our business from fraud or misuse, and keeping limited records of former customers.

Consent. In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where required by law for certain types of marketing or where you specifically agree to optional communications. When we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

How we use your personal data

We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:

To provide and manage gardening services, including assessing your requirements, preparing and providing quotes, arranging appointments, delivering services at your property, and following up on any issues or requests.

To communicate with you about your enquiries, bookings, schedules, changes to services, and any other matters related to our contract or potential contract with you.

To manage our business operations, including record keeping, accounting, invoicing, payment processing, debt collection where necessary, and responding to complaints or disputes.

To improve and develop our services, for example by analysing patterns of enquiries, service types, and customer feedback, in order to plan resources and enhance the services we offer.

To protect our business, staff, and customers, including preventing misuse of our services, managing access to properties, and establishing or defending legal claims where necessary.

Data retention and storage

We keep personal data only for as long as it is needed for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. The specific retention period will depend on the type of information and the context in which it was collected.

In general, we retain customer and contract records for a period that allows us to manage our relationship with you, respond to enquiries and complaints, fulfil our legal and tax obligations, and maintain accurate business records. Once personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to identifiable individuals.

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to secure the personal data we hold against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. Access to personal data is limited to those who need it in order to perform their duties in connection with our services.

Data sharing and processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or where required by law.

We may use third party service providers acting as data processors to support our business operations. These may include providers of administration tools, payment processing services, accounting or bookkeeping support, and secure data storage or backup. These processors act on our instructions and are required to handle your data securely and in accordance with data protection law.

In some cases, third parties may act as independent data controllers, for example payment service providers or professional advisers. In such cases, they will be responsible for their own compliance with data protection law, and you may have separate rights in relation to those organisations.

We may also disclose personal data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, respond to lawful requests from public authorities, or establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

International transfers

Where we use service providers located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, or where data may be stored or accessed from such locations, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data. This may include reliance on adequacy regulations or the use of standard contractual clauses or equivalent mechanisms recognised by data protection law.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain conditions or limitations. You have the right to:

Access your personal data and obtain a copy of the information we hold about you, together with certain details about how we use it.

Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances, for example where the data is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected, or where you withdraw consent and no other legal basis applies.

Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances, such as where you contest the accuracy of the data or object to our processing, while we consider your request.

Object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including any direct marketing activities, where applicable. We will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or where the processing is required for legal claims.

Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to another service provider in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format where the legal basis is consent or performance of a contract and the processing is carried out by automated means.

Where we rely on consent as a lawful basis for processing, withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before you withdraw it.

How to exercise your rights and complaints

If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights in relation to the personal data held by Gardeners Spitalfields, you can contact us using your usual communication channels with us. We may need to ask you for information to verify your identity before we can respond to your request. We will respond within the time limits set by data protection law.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection if you are concerned about how your personal data is being handled. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve any concerns directly.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, in how we handle personal data, or in applicable laws and guidance. When we make significant changes, we will take reasonable steps to inform our customers. The most current version of this Privacy Policy applies to all personal data that we process about customers in the Gardeners Spitalfields service area.