Gardeners Addiscombe Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Addiscombe collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to its customers and prospective customers. It applies to all Gardeners Addiscombe customers in the Addiscombe area, including individuals, households and businesses that use, enquire about, or are interested in our gardening services.

Gardeners Addiscombe acts as a data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy and is responsible for determining how and why your personal data is processed in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and applicable data protection legislation.

Personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary to provide our gardening services, manage our business and comply with legal obligations. The types of data we may collect include:

Contact details such as your name, address, property location, and, where provided, your preferred contact details.

Service information such as garden size, type of property, access instructions, details of works requested, visit notes, and records of services we have provided to you.

Billing and payment information such as invoicing details, payment history, amounts owed and paid, and related financial records. We do not store full card details when payment is processed through secure third party providers.

Communication records such as enquiries, quotations, service confirmations, complaints, feedback, and any other correspondence between you and Gardeners Addiscombe.

Technical and usage data where relevant, such as information about how you interact with our website or online content, including basic analytical data. This may be collected through cookies or similar technologies where legally permitted and, where required, with your consent.

How we collect your data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us, request a quotation, make a booking, use our services, provide feedback, or communicate with us by any means.

We may also receive personal data from third party service providers who assist us with payments, booking systems, or analytics, but only where this is necessary for the provision of our services or the operation of our business.

Lawful bases for processing

Gardeners Addiscombe processes personal data only where we have a lawful basis under the UK GDPR. Depending on the context, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contractual necessity. We process personal data to prepare and provide quotations, schedule and deliver gardening services, issue invoices, manage payments, and fulfil our contractual obligations to you.

Legitimate interests. We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This can include managing and improving our services, keeping appropriate records, responding to enquiries and complaints, and preventing misuse or fraud.

Legal obligations. We process certain data to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as tax and accounting rules, record keeping obligations, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Consent. In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of direct marketing or for optional cookies on our website where consent is legally required. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time by contacting us.

How we use your personal data

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

To respond to enquiries, provide quotations, and manage bookings for gardening services in the Addiscombe area.

To deliver and manage ongoing gardening and maintenance work at your property, including planning visits, recording work carried out, and ensuring quality of service.

To issue invoices, process payments, manage accounts and maintain appropriate financial and business records.

To communicate with you about our services, including confirmations, updates, changes to appointments, service reminders and important notices about this Privacy Policy or our terms.

To improve our services, manage our business operations, train staff, and maintain the safety and security of our systems.

To comply with legal requirements and cooperate with regulatory or law enforcement authorities where required.

Data sharing and processors

We do not sell your personal data. We only share your personal data where this is necessary and lawful. In particular, we may share your data with:

Service providers acting as data processors who supply us with services such as payment processing, accounting systems, IT hosting, website analytics or customer management tools. These processors are only permitted to use your data in accordance with our instructions and are required to keep it secure.

Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers, where this is necessary for the management of our business or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Public authorities or law enforcement agencies, where we are required to do so by law, regulation or court order.

Any third party to whom we may choose to sell, transfer or merge parts of our business or assets. In such circumstances, we will ensure that the recipient respects your personal data in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy.

International data transfers

Where we use service providers located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, or where data is otherwise transferred internationally, we take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the use of standard contractual clauses or equivalent measures required by data protection laws.

Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and to meet legal, accounting and reporting requirements.

Customer and service records are generally retained for a period that allows us to manage our relationship with you, respond to queries, and comply with tax and accounting laws. Where we no longer require personal data, we will securely delete or anonymise it.

Security of your personal data

Gardeners Addiscombe takes appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access. These measures are appropriate to the nature of the data and the risks associated with the processing of that data.

While we cannot guarantee absolute security, we continually review and update our safeguards to help protect your information.

Your data protection rights

As a data subject under the UK GDPR, and as a customer of Gardeners Addiscombe in the Addiscombe area, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These include:

The right of access. You can request confirmation of whether we hold personal data about you and obtain a copy of that data, together with information about how it is processed.

The right to rectification. You can request that we correct or complete any inaccurate or incomplete personal data that we hold about you.

The right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the original purpose and we have no other lawful basis for retaining it.

The right to restrict processing. You can ask us to restrict the processing of your data in certain situations, for example while we verify the accuracy of information you have challenged.

The right to object. You can object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests and you believe that your fundamental rights and freedoms override those interests. You also have the right to object to direct marketing at any time.

The right to data portability. Where processing is based on your consent or on a contract and is carried out by automated means, you may request that we provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format, and that we transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.

Where we rely on your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

Exercising your rights and complaints

If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights or have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how Gardeners Addiscombe handles your personal data, you can contact us using your usual contact channels associated with our services.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your rights have been infringed. We would, however, appreciate the chance to address your concerns directly in the first instance.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, our processing activities, or applicable laws. Any changes will apply to all Gardeners Addiscombe customers in the Addiscombe area from the date on which the updated Privacy Policy is made available. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we protect your personal data.