Privacy Policy

Gardeners Pinner Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Pinner collects, uses, shares, and protects personal data relating to customers in the Gardeners Pinner service area. It applies to all individuals who contact us, request a quotation, use our gardening services, or otherwise interact with us as a customer or potential customer within our operating area.

We are committed to complying with the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. We handle all personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently, and we only collect data that is necessary for clearly defined purposes.

Data controller

For the purposes of data protection law, Gardeners Pinner acts as the data controller in relation to the personal data of its customers and prospective customers. This means that we decide how and why your personal data is processed and we are responsible for ensuring that such processing complies with applicable data protection legislation.

Scope of this policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Pinner customers and prospective customers in our local area, including individuals who:

Make enquiries about our services;

Request a quotation or booking;

Receive gardening, landscaping, or related services from us;

Communicate with us by any method in relation to our services.

By engaging with us, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy and understand how we process your personal data.

Personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant for our business activities and our relationship with you. The categories of data we may collect include:

Identity and contact details: name, address, property location, and other contact details such as communication preferences;

Service information: details of the gardening or related services you request or receive, notes about your property relevant to providing services, appointment history, and records of quotations and invoices;

Communication records: information you provide when you contact us by any method, including the content of your enquiries, feedback, and any complaints;

Payment-related information: limited details necessary to process payments and keep accounting records. We do not store full payment card details when third-party payment processors are used;

Technical or usage data: where relevant, limited data about how you interact with any online forms or digital services we provide, such as date and time of enquiry or basic device information, to help us manage our systems and improve our services.

We generally collect this information directly from you when you contact us or when we provide services to you. In some cases, we may obtain information from publicly available sources when necessary to verify address details or property access and from third parties where you have authorised them to share information with us.

Lawful bases for processing

We process your personal data only when we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the context, we rely on the following grounds:

Contract: where processing is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as arranging and delivering gardening services, issuing quotations, invoices, and handling payments;

Legal obligation: where processing is required to comply with our legal duties, including tax, accounting, and record-keeping obligations;

Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided that your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. These interests include managing our relationship with customers, improving our services, verifying property details to provide safe and effective services, and defending legal claims;

Consent: where we rely on your explicit consent for specific activities, such as certain optional marketing communications. You can withdraw your consent at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing before consent was withdrawn.

How we use your personal data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries, provide quotations, and manage booking requests;

To plan, schedule, and deliver gardening and related services at your property;

To manage our customer relationship, including handling feedback, queries, and complaints;

To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain accurate financial records;

To communicate with you about changes to our services, terms, or policies;

To improve our services, internal processes, and customer experience, including analysing anonymised or aggregated information;

To ensure the security of our staff and your property when we attend on site;

To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations and to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

Data sharing and processors

We treat your personal data as confidential and only share it when necessary. In particular, we may share your personal data with:

Service providers and data processors who act on our instructions to help us deliver our services. These may include IT and software providers, payment processing services, accountants or bookkeeping services, and document storage or administration providers;

Professional advisers such as legal or financial advisers where necessary for the purposes of obtaining professional advice or defending legal claims;

Public authorities, regulators, or law enforcement agencies where we are required to do so by law or where disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, property, or safety, or the rights, property, or safety of others.

Where we use data processors, they are only permitted to process your personal data in accordance with our instructions, for specified purposes, and subject to appropriate contractual safeguards regarding confidentiality, security, and data protection.

International transfers

Our primary operations are based in the United Kingdom and we aim to keep your personal data within the UK or European Economic Area. If it becomes necessary to transfer your personal data to a country outside the UK or EEA, we will ensure that suitable safeguards are in place, such as using standard contractual clauses or relying on an adequacy decision, so that your rights continue to be protected.

Data retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and to meet our legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. The specific retention period will depend on the type of data and our relationship with you, but in general:

Customer and service records are typically retained for a period necessary to manage our relationship with you and for a reasonable time afterwards in case of queries or disputes;

Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws;

Correspondence and communication records are retained for as long as needed to handle your enquiry or complaint and to demonstrate how we have dealt with it.

When personal data is no longer required, we will take steps to delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer be associated with you.

Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures include limiting access to personal data to those who have a genuine business need to know it, using secure storage and systems, and ensuring that our staff and processors are aware of and respect their data protection obligations.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and legal limitations, you may have the right to:

Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and obtain information about how we process it;

Rectification: ask us to correct or complete inaccurate or incomplete personal data;

Erasure: request that we delete your personal data where there is no compelling reason for us to keep it, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected, you withdraw consent where consent was the lawful basis, or you successfully object to our processing;

Restriction: ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, such as while we verify its accuracy or consider an objection you have raised;

Objection: object to processing based on our legitimate interests, on grounds relating to your particular situation, and object to direct marketing at any time;

Portability: request that certain personal data is provided to you or another controller in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format where the processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means;

Withdraw consent: where our processing is based on your consent, withdraw that consent at any time.

We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request to ensure the security of your data. We aim to respond within the time limits set by data protection law. Some of these rights may be restricted where we have overriding legal obligations or legitimate grounds to continue processing your data.

Complaints and concerns

If you have any questions or concerns about how we handle your personal data, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights, you can contact us using the details provided through our usual communication channels. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your personal data has not been handled in accordance with the law.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or services. We will post the updated version with a revised date and will take appropriate steps to inform you of any significant changes. Your continued use of our services after any update will signify that you have read and understood the updated Privacy Policy.