Privacy Policy - Gardeners St Johns

Gardeners St Johns is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the St Johns area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. It applies to all Gardeners St Johns customers in the area, including anyone who makes an enquiry, requests a quotation, books a service, or otherwise interacts with our gardening services.

1. Who This Policy Applies To

This policy applies to all Gardeners St Johns customers in area, including private households, landlords, tenants, property managers, and business customers who use or request our gardening services. It also applies to prospective customers who contact us for information or service availability, even if no booking is made.

2. Information We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for legitimate business purposes and to provide our gardening services effectively. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity data: name, title, and, where relevant, business or property name.
Contact data: address, email address, telephone number, and preferred communication method.
Service and booking data: details of requested gardening work, appointment dates, access instructions, and service preferences.
Billing and payment data: invoice details, payment status, and limited financial information necessary for account administration.
Correspondence data: records of emails, messages, phone calls, and notes relating to enquiries, quotations, complaints, or feedback.
Technical data: basic website or device information if you contact us through digital channels, such as IP address or browser type, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and you have provided it willingly, or unless another lawful basis applies. If such data is ever shared with us by mistake, we will treat it carefully and only use it where permitted by law.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data to operate our services, manage customer relationships, and meet legal and business obligations. In particular, we may use your information to:

respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
arrange, deliver, and manage gardening services;
confirm appointments and service changes;
issue invoices and manage payments;
maintain service records and improve customer experience;
deal with complaints, disputes, or insurance matters;
comply with tax, accounting, and legal requirements;
protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud or misuse.

We will always ensure that our use of personal data is fair, necessary, and proportionate.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Gardeners St Johns relies on the following lawful bases where appropriate:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, scheduling services, carrying out gardening work, and managing invoicing.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. Examples include improving service quality, keeping internal records, responding to enquiries, and maintaining business security.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data to comply with legal obligations such as tax compliance, accounting duties, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on consent, for example where you have expressly agreed to receive certain communications. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These third parties act as processors when they handle data on our instructions and only for specified purposes. We ensure that appropriate contractual and security measures are in place.

Processors and service providers may include:

IT and hosting providers: to store data securely and support our internal systems.
Payment service providers: to process payments and related transactions.
Accounting and bookkeeping services: to support financial administration and compliance.
Communication providers: to send messages, manage calls, or support customer correspondence.
Professional advisers: such as insurers, legal advisers, or consultants where necessary.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, by a court order, or to protect our rights, property, staff, or customers. We do not sell personal data.

6. Data Retention

We retain 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 may vary depending on the type of information and the purpose for which it was obtained.

Typical retention principles include:

Customer service records: kept for a reasonable period to manage ongoing relationships and any follow-up work.
Invoice and accounting records: retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Enquiry records: kept only as long as needed to respond to the enquiry and for legitimate follow-up purposes.
Complaint or dispute records: retained for the time necessary to resolve issues and protect legal rights.

When personal data is no longer needed, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or destroyed.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, or alteration. These measures are designed to provide a level of security appropriate to the risk. Access to personal data is limited to those who need it for business purposes.

While no system can be completely secure, we work to maintain strong safeguards and regularly review our handling practices.

8. Your Rights Under GDPR

As a data subject, you have important rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal limitations, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you;
Rectification of inaccurate or incomplete information;
Erasure of your data in certain circumstances;
Restriction of processing in certain cases;
Objection to processing based on legitimate interests;
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;
Complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your rights have been infringed.

We will respond to valid rights requests within the timeframes required by law and may ask for information to verify your identity before acting on a request.

9. Sharing Data Outside the UK

Where any service provider stores or processes personal data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so that your information remains protected in accordance with applicable data protection law.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data-handling practices. Any updates will take effect when published in the revised version. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to remain informed about how personal data is handled.

11. Summary of Our Privacy Commitment

Gardeners St Johns respects your privacy and aims to process personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently. We collect only the information needed to provide gardening services, we use it for clear and legitimate purposes, we keep it only as long as necessary, and we work with trusted processors under strict safeguards. Customers in the St Johns area can trust that their rights under GDPR are taken seriously and that their information will be handled responsibly at all times.