Privacy Policy - Gardeners Lee

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

We comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We aim to handle personal data lawfully, fairly, transparently, and only for clear and legitimate purposes. This policy should be read carefully so you understand what information may be collected, why it is collected, and what rights you have in relation to it.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for operating our gardening services, managing customer relationships, and meeting legal obligations. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity details: name, title, and similar identifiers.
Contact details: address, phone number, email address, and other communication details.
Service details: information about your garden, requested work, service preferences, and appointment notes.
Billing and payment details: information required to process invoices, payments, and account records.
Communication records: emails, messages, call notes, and service-related correspondence.
Technical information: basic website or device information if you make contact through digital channels, such as IP address or browser data, where applicable.

We may also collect information that you choose to provide voluntarily, such as access instructions, property notes, or service feedback. We do not seek to collect special category data unless it is necessary and you have provided it voluntarily, for example if you share information relevant to accessibility or health-related access needs. In such cases, we will only process it where a lawful basis applies and additional safeguards are in place.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide gardening services and manage customer bookings;
to communicate about quotes, appointments, schedules, and service updates;
to maintain accurate records of work carried out;
to issue invoices, process payments, and manage accounts;
to respond to enquiries, complaints, and feedback;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to improve our service quality, planning, and customer experience;
to prevent fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity;
to protect the safety and security of our staff, customers, and property.

We will not use personal data in a way that is incompatible with the original purpose for which it was collected unless we have a lawful basis to do so and the new use is permitted by law.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing activity. Gardeners Lee may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

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, confirming bookings, carrying out gardening work, and managing payment 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 managing customer relationships, keeping business records, improving services, and preventing misuse. We balance our interests against your privacy rights before relying on this basis.

Legal obligation

We may process personal data when required to comply with the law, such as accounting rules, tax obligations, or lawful requests from public authorities.

Consent

In some situations, we may ask for your consent, especially where processing is optional or involves particular forms of communication. When we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Where special category data is processed, we will only do so when an additional condition under data protection law is met, such as explicit consent or necessity for legal claims or occupational health and safety purposes.

4. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to deliver our services or meet legal obligations. These third parties may act as data processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. Processors only handle data on our instructions and are required to protect it appropriately.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

IT and cloud storage providers used for secure record keeping and communications;
accounting and bookkeeping providers used for invoicing, tax, and financial administration;
payment processing providers used to handle transactions securely;
customer administration systems used to manage bookings and service records;
professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers where necessary;
delivery or subcontracted service partners where additional operational support is required.

We require processors to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures, to keep data confidential, and to act only in accordance with our instructions. We do not sell personal data.

We may also disclose information if required by law, court order, regulator, or law enforcement body, or where disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of Gardeners Lee, our customers, or others.

5. International Transfers

Where any service provider stores or processes data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, UK-approved transfer mechanisms, or contractual protections designed to preserve your privacy rights.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. The exact retention period depends on the type of data and the reason for processing.

In general:

customer service records are kept for the duration of the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards;
financial and tax records are kept for the period required by law;
communication records are retained as needed to manage service history, disputes, or follow-up matters;
unused enquiry details may be deleted after a reasonable period if no service is booked.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices. Retention periods may vary depending on legal requirements or the need to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate security measures to help protect personal data from accidental loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, password protection, secure storage, limited staff access, and careful management of third-party systems.

While we work hard to protect your data, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We therefore cannot guarantee absolute security, but we regularly review our practices and seek to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the risk.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal limitations, these 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 restriction: to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations;
Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
Right to data portability: to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable;
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to be informed about how your data is used, which is the purpose of this policy. If you believe your data protection rights have been breached, you may raise your concerns with the appropriate supervisory authority. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue promptly and fairly.

9. Children’s Data

Gardeners Lee does not knowingly collect personal data from children in a way that would require special handling under data protection law. Our services are intended for adults responsible for property management and garden services. If we become aware that we have collected data relating to a child without a valid reason, we will take appropriate steps to delete or safeguard that information.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, business operations, or data processing practices. Any revised version will take effect when published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their personal data is handled.

Summary: Gardeners Lee processes customer data lawfully, securely, and only as needed to deliver gardening services, manage records, meet legal duties, and protect customer rights across the area.