Privacy Policy - Gardeners Mortlake

Effective for all Gardeners Mortlake customers in the area, this Privacy Policy explains how personal data is collected, used, stored, shared, and protected when you use our gardening services. We are committed to handling personal information in a fair, transparent, and secure way, in line with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy applies to every customer, prospective customer, website visitor, and any other individual whose personal data we process in connection with Gardeners Mortlake services in the area. It does not matter whether you are requesting a one-off gardening visit, recurring maintenance, landscaping support, or an enquiry about our services: your privacy matters to us.

1. Information We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for providing gardening services, managing customer relationships, meeting legal obligations, and improving our operations. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as address, email address, and phone number.
Service information including instructions, property access notes, preferred visit times, and details of requested work.
Billing and payment information such as invoice records and payment status.
Communication records including emails, messages, and service-related notes.
Technical data such as limited website or device information if you contact us through an online form or digital channel.

We do not collect more data than is needed for the purposes described in this policy. Where we receive special category data inadvertently, we take extra care to restrict its use and protect it appropriately.

2. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and respond to enquiries.
To deliver gardening services and manage appointments.
To communicate with you about your bookings, service updates, or schedule changes.
To prepare invoices, process payments, and maintain accounting records.
To keep internal records of work completed and customer preferences.
To manage complaints, claims, or service concerns.
To meet legal, tax, and regulatory requirements.
To improve our services and maintain service quality.

We use your information in a way that is necessary, proportionate, and limited to the purpose for which it was collected.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Gardeners Mortlake relies on the following lawful bases, depending on the context:

a) Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, arranging services, completing work, and managing payments.

b) Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information where required by law, such as tax records, accounting records, and documentation needed to comply with regulatory obligations.

c) Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is in our legitimate interests to do so, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. Examples include maintaining service records, handling customer enquiries, improving efficiency, and protecting our business from fraud or misuse.

d) Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you ask us to use optional communication methods or where we need permission for a specific type of processing. If we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

We do not use your data for unrelated purposes without a lawful basis.

4. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and our legal duties.

Customer service records are normally kept for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records are generally retained for the period required by law.
Communication records may be retained while needed to resolve queries, demonstrate service history, or manage customer support.
Enquiry data from people who do not become customers may be kept only as long as needed to respond and keep minimal records of the interaction.

When data is no longer needed, we securely delete it or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

5. Processors and Data Sharing

We may use third-party service providers, known as processors, to help us operate our business. These processors only act on our instructions and are required to handle personal data securely and lawfully.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment service providers.
Accounting and bookkeeping services.
IT, cloud storage, or data backup providers.
Communication and administrative support tools.

We may also share personal data with professional advisers, insurers, or public authorities where necessary and lawful. Any sharing is limited to what is required for the specific purpose.

We do not sell your personal data. We also do not disclose information to third parties for unrelated marketing purposes.

6. Security of Your Data

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

Although no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection that is appropriate to the risks involved. We review our practices regularly and aim to keep data handling as secure and responsible as possible.

7. Your Rights

If we process your personal data, you have a number of rights under data protection law. These 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.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

Please note that these rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions or limitations. If you exercise a right, we may need to verify your identity before responding.

8. International Transfers

If any processor or service provider stores or processes data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, contractual protections, or equivalent legal mechanisms designed to protect your personal data.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers and property-related service arrangements. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary and lawful in a family or household context. If we become aware that child-related data has been collected without proper basis, we will take appropriate steps to delete or protect it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service delivery. Any revised version will apply from the date it becomes effective. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

11. Contact and Concerns

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your rights, or are concerned about how your personal data is handled, you may raise the matter through our usual customer communication channels. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

In summary, Gardeners Mortlake processes personal data only when it has a lawful basis to do so, keeps it only as long as necessary, and uses trusted processors under strict instructions. We are committed to respecting your privacy and ensuring that all Gardeners Mortlake customers in the area can trust us with their information.