Gardeners Coulsdon Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Coulsdon collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to our customers and prospective customers. It applies to all Gardeners Coulsdon customers and service users within our service area and covers all gardening, maintenance and related services that we provide.

Who we are

Gardeners Coulsdon is a local gardening and outdoor maintenance service provider. In the context of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. This means we determine how and why your personal data is processed when you interact with our services.

Personal data we collect

We collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us. The categories of data we may collect include:

Identification details, such as your name and any title you choose to provide.

Contact details, such as your postal address, service address, and any communication details you choose to provide when you contact us, for example for booking or quotation purposes.

Service and contract information, such as details about your garden or outdoor space, records of work carried out, visit history, and any instructions or preferences you give us.

Billing and payment information, such as invoice details, amounts due and paid, payment method type and payment history. Where we use third-party payment processors, we may receive confirmation that payment has been made and limited related information.

Communication records, including notes of phone calls, messages, and other correspondence relating to quotations, bookings, service delivery, feedback, and complaints.

Technical information, where relevant, such as basic device or browser details when you visit any online pages we operate, as well as general usage information that allows us to understand how our services are accessed.

How we collect personal data

We typically collect personal data directly from you when you contact us, request a quote, make a booking, enter a contract for regular gardening services, pay an invoice, or communicate with us for any other reason.

We may also receive personal data from third parties where this is necessary to provide our services. For example, we may receive your contact details from a person who has referred you to us, or from a landlord, letting agent, or property manager where gardening services are arranged on your behalf.

Purposes and lawful bases for processing

We process your personal data only when we have a lawful basis under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws. The main purposes and lawful bases are:

To provide quotations and respond to enquiries. We use your identification and contact details to respond to your requests for information or quotes. The lawful basis is our legitimate interests in promoting and providing our services, or steps taken at your request prior to entering into a contract.

To deliver gardening and related services. We process your contact details, service address and service information to plan and carry out the work you request. The lawful basis is performance of a contract with you and our legitimate interest in managing our operations.

To manage billing and payments. We use your billing and payment information to issue invoices, process payments and handle any related queries. The lawful basis is performance of a contract and our legitimate interest in maintaining proper business records.

To communicate with you about services. We may contact you regarding upcoming visits, schedule changes, service updates, or important information about our operations. The lawful basis is performance of a contract and our legitimate interests in providing reliable services.

To maintain and improve our business. We may use service and communication records, and limited technical information, to monitor service quality, train staff, improve our processes, and handle complaints or disputes. The lawful basis is our legitimate interests in running and improving our business, provided that your interests and rights are not overridden.

To comply with legal obligations. We may process and retain certain information where necessary to meet our legal obligations, for example for tax, accounting, and record-keeping requirements.

Data retention

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

Contact and service records relating to active customers are generally retained for the duration of your relationship with us and for a reasonable period afterwards to answer queries, manage any disputes, and maintain accurate business records.

Billing and payment records are typically kept for the retention periods required by applicable tax and accounting laws.

Enquiry information for people who do not become customers may be kept for a limited period so that we can respond to follow-up questions or provide updated quotations, after which it is securely deleted or anonymised.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete it or irreversibly anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to an identifiable individual.

Data processors and other recipients

In order to run our business efficiently and provide our services, we may share personal data with carefully selected third parties that act as our data processors. These third parties process data only on our instructions and only for the purposes described in this policy.

Examples of such processors may include providers of scheduling and job management tools, cloud storage or backup services used to store our records, payment processing services for handling card or online payments, and service providers assisting with accounting or invoicing systems.

We require all processors to keep your personal data secure and to comply with data protection law. They are not permitted to use your personal data for their own purposes.

We may also share personal data where required by law, for example with regulatory or law enforcement bodies, or where it is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. Where gardening services are arranged through a landlord, letting agent or property manager, we may share appropriate service information with those parties where this is necessary to fulfil the service arrangement.

International data transfers

Some of our service providers may be located outside the United Kingdom or may store data on servers located in other countries. Where this results in the transfer of your personal data to a country that does not have the same level of data protection laws as the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or equivalent legal mechanisms, to protect your information.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply to all Gardeners Coulsdon customers within our service area, subject to certain conditions and legal limitations.

Right of access. You have the right to request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Right to rectification. You have the right to ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

Right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you may request that we delete your personal data. This right is not absolute and may be limited by our need to retain data for legal or contractual reasons.

Right to restriction of processing. You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we are checking its accuracy or considering an objection you have raised.

Right to object. You may object to processing that is based on our legitimate interests. We will stop processing your data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or where the processing is necessary for legal claims.

Right to data portability. Where processing is based on consent or on a contract and carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and to transmit it to another controller.

Right to withdraw consent. If we rely on your consent for any specific processing activity, 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.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, you can contact us using the usual communication channels you use for our services. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request.

Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration or disclosure. These measures include limiting access to personal data to those who have a business need to know it, using reasonable safeguards to protect our records, and ensuring that our staff and processors are aware of their data protection responsibilities.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, our internal practices, or legal requirements. Any updated version will apply to all Gardeners Coulsdon customers in our service area from the date it is made available. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle your personal data.