Privacy Policy - Gardeners Whitton

Gardeners Whitton is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the Whitton area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. It applies to all Gardeners Whitton customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who contacts us about our services.

1. Introduction

This policy applies when you request a quote, arrange a site visit, book gardening services, communicate with us, or otherwise use the services offered by Gardeners Whitton. We are committed to handling personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. We only collect information that is relevant and necessary to provide and manage our gardening services.

We respect your privacy and take a data minimisation approach, meaning we only process the information needed for clear and lawful purposes. We do not sell personal data and we do not use your information for unrelated purposes without a lawful basis.

2. Personal Data We Collect

Gardeners Whitton may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identity details: such as your name and title.
Contact details: such as address, phone number, and email address.
Service information: details about the gardening services you request, your property, access arrangements, preferences, and service history.
Communication records: notes of calls, emails, messages, complaints, feedback, and appointment confirmations.
Billing and transaction data: where relevant, including payment records and invoicing information.
Technical data: limited information such as device or browser data if you interact with us electronically, where applicable.
Site-related information: information needed to carry out work safely and effectively, such as garden layout, access instructions, and hazards.

We generally do not collect special category data unless it is accidentally provided to us or is necessary for a specific legal or safety reason. If such data is received, it is handled with additional care and only where permitted by law.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes, assessments, and gardening services.
To arrange and manage appointments and work schedules.
To communicate with you about services, changes, or follow-up matters.
To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain records.
To handle complaints, requests, and customer support.
To keep service records for quality assurance and business administration.
To meet legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To protect our business, staff, customers, and property.

We only use your data in ways that are consistent with the purposes explained here. Where we need to use personal data for a new purpose, we will only do so where permitted by law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, or to perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, carrying out gardening work, managing bookings, and handling payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where we must comply with legal duties, including tax records, accounting requirements, insurance obligations, and other regulatory requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We process some data because it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing client relationships, improving service quality, maintaining records, preventing fraud, and ensuring operational efficiency. We carry out a balancing test where required.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you ask us to use your information in a specific optional way. If consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing Your Personal Data

We may share your data with trusted third parties, but only where necessary and lawful. These may include:

Service providers and processors who assist with administration, record keeping, scheduling, payment processing, communications, or IT support.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers.
Public authorities or regulators where we are required to do so by law.

All processors acting on our behalf are required to handle your data securely, use it only according to our instructions, and comply with data protection law. We do not allow processors to use your data for their own purposes.

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. Retention periods are determined by the nature of the data and the reason for processing.

Examples of retention practice include:

Customer and service records: retained for as long as needed to manage the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and invoice records: retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Correspondence and complaints: retained long enough to resolve matters and support record keeping.
Consent-based information: retained until consent is withdrawn or the information is no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, it is deleted or securely anonymised.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, restricted sharing, password protection, and staff awareness practices.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to ensure that personal data is handled responsibly and protected to a suitable standard.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. 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, where applicable.
Right to data portability: to request 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.

If you wish to exercise a right, we will respond in line with legal requirements. Some rights may not apply in every circumstance, and exemptions may be available under the law.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults or those acting on behalf of property owners or occupiers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally provided in the course of service delivery and there is a lawful reason to retain it.

10. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the information in accordance with applicable law. Such safeguards may include adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. Any updates will take effect when published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers in the Whitton area to review this policy periodically to stay informed.

12. Summary of Key Points

Gardeners Whitton collects only the information needed to provide gardening services, manage customer relationships, and meet legal obligations. We rely on lawful bases such as contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, and, in limited cases, consent. Personal data is retained only as long as necessary, shared only with trusted processors or when legally required, and protected by appropriate security measures. You have important rights over your data, and this policy applies to all Gardeners Whitton customers in the area.

This privacy notice is designed to be clear, lawful, and practical, while reflecting our commitment to responsible data handling.