Privacy Policy - Gardeners Dollis Hill

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Dollis Hill collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Gardeners Dollis Hill customers in the area, including individuals who enquire about services, request quotations, book visits, receive gardening work, or otherwise interact with our team. We are committed to handling personal information in a fair, transparent, and lawful manner, in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy. We aim to keep information accurate, secure, and limited to what is necessary for delivering a reliable gardening service. This policy is written in plain language so that customers can clearly understand how their information is treated.

1. Information We Collect

We only collect personal data that is needed to provide our services, manage enquiries, and maintain business records. The categories of information we may collect include:

Identity data such as your name and any business or household name you provide.
Contact data such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service data such as details of your gardening requirements, property access notes, preferences, appointment history, and work instructions.
Billing and payment data where relevant to invoicing, quotes, and record-keeping.
Communication data including messages, feedback, complaints, and records of correspondence.
Technical data if you interact with any digital systems we use, such as IP address or device-related information collected for security or performance purposes.

We do not seek to collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and lawful to do so. If such information is accidentally provided, we will only process it where there is a valid legal basis and appropriate safeguards.

2. How We Use Personal Data

Gardeners Dollis Hill uses personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to schedule and deliver gardening services;
to manage customer accounts, records, and service preferences;
to communicate about appointments, changes, or service updates;
to process payments, invoices, and related accounting tasks;
to handle complaints, disputes, and quality control;
to meet legal, tax, and regulatory obligations;
to maintain security and prevent misuse or fraud;
to improve our service standards and customer experience.

We use information only for legitimate business purposes and only to the extent necessary to carry out our work effectively and lawfully.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must identify a lawful basis before processing personal data. Gardeners Dollis Hill relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, arranging visits, delivering gardening work, and managing payment-related records.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing business operations, responding to customer messages, keeping secure records, and improving our services.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain data when required by law, including for tax, accounting, insurance, or regulatory purposes.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where optional marketing or non-essential communications are involved. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing Data with Processors and Other Third Parties

We do not sell personal data. However, we may share information with trusted third parties where necessary for service delivery or legal compliance. These third parties may act as processors or independent controllers.

Our processors may include:

IT and hosting providers that support secure storage, email, or digital record systems;
accounting and bookkeeping providers that help with financial administration;
payment service providers that handle transactions;
customer relationship or scheduling tools that help manage bookings;
professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers;
delivery and operational partners where necessary to complete a service request.

We require processors to act only on our instructions, use appropriate security measures, and process personal data only for agreed purposes. Where data is shared with an independent controller, that organisation is responsible for its own privacy practices.

We may also disclose personal data if required to do so by law, by a court order, or to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property. Any disclosure will be limited to what is necessary.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason it was collected.

Enquiry records may be kept for a reasonable period to manage follow-up questions and service comparisons.
Customer service records may be retained while the relationship is active and for a suitable period afterwards.
Invoices, payment records, and tax-related information are usually retained for the period required by law.
Complaint and dispute records may be kept longer where needed to resolve issues or defend legal claims.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete it or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you. We review retained information regularly to ensure that it is not kept for longer than necessary.

6. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful handling of records. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a high standard of protection appropriate to the nature of the data we hold.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have important rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal limits and verification of identity, you may have the right to:

access the personal data we hold about you;
rectify inaccurate or incomplete information;
erase your data in certain circumstances;
restrict how your data is processed in certain situations;
object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
data portability where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means;
withdraw consent at any time where consent is the lawful basis;
lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your rights have been infringed.

We encourage customers to raise any concerns with us first so that we can address them promptly and fairly. We will respond to legitimate requests within the time limits set by law.

8. 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 provided by an adult customer in connection with a service arrangement and only where necessary. If we become aware that we have unintentionally collected children’s data without a lawful basis, we will take steps to remove it promptly.

9. International Transfers

In some cases, data processors may store or access information outside the UK. If this happens, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as approved contractual protections or adequacy arrangements, to keep personal data protected to UK GDPR standards.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practice, or service arrangements. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how your data is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Gardeners Dollis Hill is committed to respecting privacy, processing data lawfully, and using information only for legitimate service-related purposes. We collect only what we need, keep it secure, share it responsibly with processors, and retain it only as long as necessary. Most importantly, we recognise and support your data protection rights as a customer in the Dollis Hill area.