Privacy Policy - Gardeners Stratford

Effective for all Gardeners Stratford customers in the Stratford area. This Privacy Policy explains how personal data is collected, used, stored, shared, and protected when you use our gardening services. It is written to meet the standards of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. By using our services, requesting a quote, making an enquiry, or entering into a service arrangement with us, you acknowledge that this policy applies to you.

1. Introduction

Gardeners Stratford is committed to treating personal information with care, fairness, and transparency. We only collect information that is necessary to deliver our services, manage customer relationships, maintain accurate records, and meet legal obligations. We do not sell personal data. We only share it where necessary, lawful, and proportionate.

This policy applies to all Gardeners Stratford customers in area, including current customers, former customers, prospective customers, and individuals who contact us on behalf of a property owner, tenant, landlord, business, or organisation.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identity data: name, title, and basic identifying details.
Contact data: address, email address, telephone number, and service location.
Service data: details of the gardening services requested, work instructions, preferences, property access notes, and service history.
Payment and transaction data: billing details, payment status, invoices, and records of transactions.
Communication data: messages, call notes, quotations, complaints, feedback, and customer instructions.
Technical data: limited device or usage information if you interact with our digital systems, where applicable.
Legal and compliance data: records needed to meet tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory duties.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and permitted by law. If such data is ever provided to us, it will be handled with extra care and only for a legitimate purpose.

3. How We Collect Data

We may obtain personal data directly from you when you:

request a quotation or book a service;
communicate with us by phone, message, or email;
provide property access or scheduling information;
make a payment or request an invoice;
submit feedback, a complaint, or a service enquiry.

We may also receive data from:

property owners, tenants, landlords, or managing agents;
third parties involved in payment processing or administration;
publicly available sources where necessary for business verification or service delivery;
our appointed processors acting under contract and only on our instructions.

4. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data only where it is lawful to do so and only for clear business purposes. These may include:

providing gardening services and managing customer accounts;
issuing quotations, invoices, and payment reminders;
arranging service visits and maintaining operational schedules;
responding to enquiries and service requests;
keeping records of completed work and service preferences;
handling complaints, disputes, or customer support matters;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations;
protecting our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud or misuse.

We may also use data to improve service quality, review customer satisfaction, and ensure that our work remains efficient and appropriate.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each processing activity. Gardeners Stratford relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes booking services, providing estimates, carrying out gardening work, and handling payments.

Legal Obligation

Some information must be retained or processed to comply with legal duties, including accounting, tax records, insurance requirements, and statutory record-keeping.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. Examples include business administration, service improvement, fraud prevention, record management, and communications related to existing services.

Consent

Where consent is required by law, we will ask for it clearly. You may withdraw consent at any time, although this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for legitimate business purposes. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the context.

Processors are organisations that handle data on our behalf and under our instructions. They may include:

payment service providers;
invoice and accounting software providers;
IT support and data storage services;
customer record management systems;
communication and scheduling tools.

We only use processors that provide sufficient guarantees about data protection, security, and confidentiality. They are required to process data lawfully, keep it secure, and use it only for the agreed purpose.

We may also disclose data where required by law, where necessary to establish or defend legal claims, or where necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of our customers, staff, or business.

7. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful mechanisms approved under data protection law.

8. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or for as long as required by law. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason for processing.

Customer and service records: retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by law and accounting rules.
Communications and complaints: retained long enough to resolve issues, maintain service history, and defend legal claims if needed.
Routine operational data: deleted or anonymised when no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention practices.

9. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access to records.

Although no system can be guaranteed as completely secure, we work to keep data protection proportionate to the sensitivity of the information we hold.

10. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have a number of rights under UK GDPR. These include the right to:

access the personal data we hold about you;
rectify inaccurate or incomplete data;
erase your data in certain circumstances;
restrict processing in specific cases;
object to processing based on legitimate interests;
data portability, where applicable;
withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the relevant data protection authority if you believe your personal data has not been handled lawfully. We encourage customers to raise concerns promptly so we can address them fairly.

11. How We Respond to Rights Requests

When you exercise your rights, we may need to verify your identity to ensure personal data is disclosed only to the correct person. We will respond within the time limits required by law unless an extension is permitted due to complexity or volume.

Some rights may not apply in every situation. For example, we may need to retain certain information to comply with legal obligations or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

12. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and property-related customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is unavoidable in a lawful service context and appropriate safeguards are in place.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service operations. Any revised version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain aware of how we use personal data.

14. Summary of Our Commitment

Gardeners Stratford is committed to processing personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. We collect only the information needed to provide reliable gardening services, keep accurate records, and meet legal duties. We retain data for appropriate periods, share it only with trusted processors or where legally required, and respect your rights at every stage.

This policy applies to all Gardeners Stratford customers in area. If you choose to use our services, your personal data will be handled in line with the principles set out above and with due respect for your privacy.