Privacy Policy - Gardeners South Croydon

Effective date: This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners South Croydon customers in the South Croydon area and explains how personal data is collected, used, stored, shared, and protected when services are requested, booked, delivered, or managed.

We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy applies to all customers, prospective customers, and anyone who interacts with our gardening services in the South Croydon area.

1. Who we are

For the purpose of data protection law, Gardeners South Croydon acts as the data controller for the personal data processed in connection with our services. This means we determine why and how your personal data is used. We only collect and process data that is necessary to provide our gardening services, manage customer relationships, meet legal obligations, and improve our operations.

2. Information we collect

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

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, phone number, and email address.
Service details such as service preferences, requested work, property access notes, and scheduling information.
Billing and payment information where needed for invoicing and payment processing.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and service-related correspondence.
Property and site information relevant to carrying out gardening work safely and effectively.
Technical information such as basic website usage data or device details if you contact us online, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and permitted by law. If such information is ever provided to us, it will only be processed with appropriate safeguards and a lawful basis.

3. How we use your data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To plan, deliver, and manage gardening services.
To communicate about appointments, updates, and service changes.
To issue invoices, manage payments, and keep financial records.
To maintain service quality, resolve complaints, and support customer care.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, or regulatory obligations.
To protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or security risks.

We only use your information where we have a valid lawful basis to do so. We do not sell personal data. Any use of information is limited to what is necessary and proportionate for the relevant purpose.

4. Lawful basis for processing

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following lawful bases depending on the activity being carried out:

Contract

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

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights. This may include managing our business, improving services, preventing misuse, keeping internal records, and handling customer communications.

Legal obligation

We process certain information where required to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping requirements.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where optional marketing communication is involved or where specific information is not otherwise covered by another lawful basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing your information and processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors or independent controllers, but only where necessary for our operations and in line with data protection law. These may include:

IT and system providers that support storage, communications, and security.
Payment and accounting providers that process transactions and maintain financial records.
Administrative support services that help manage bookings or records.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where needed.
Public authorities where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect legal rights.

Where a processor is used, they are only permitted to process your data on our instructions and must keep it secure. We require appropriate contractual safeguards to protect your information and ensure that processors do not use it for their own purposes.

6. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. The exact retention period depends on the type of data, the nature of the service, and legal obligations that apply.

Customer and service records are typically retained for the period needed to manage the working relationship and handle any follow-up matters.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by applicable law.
Communication records may be kept for a reasonable period to support service history, dispute resolution, and quality control.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it, anonymise it, or securely archive it where deletion is not immediately possible. We regularly review the data we hold to ensure it is not kept longer than necessary.

7. Data security

We use 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, restricted permissions, staff awareness procedures, and careful selection of processors.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take data protection seriously and review our safeguards from time to time to help maintain a high standard of security.

8. Your rights

As a data subject under UK GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, these may include:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain situations.
Right to restrict processing – to ask us to limit how your data is used in certain circumstances.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to request transfer of certain information in a structured format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data has been handled improperly. We encourage you to raise any concerns so we can try to resolve them promptly and fairly.

9. International transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so that it continues to receive a similar level of protection. This may include the use of approved contractual clauses or reliance on adequacy decisions where available.

10. Children’s data

Our services are intended for adults and property owners, tenants, or authorised representatives arranging gardening work. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If we become aware that we have received such data inadvertently, we will take appropriate steps to delete it where required.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or how personal data is processed. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers in the South Croydon area to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how their information is handled.

12. Summary of our approach

Gardeners South Croydon processes personal data only when there is a valid reason to do so, and only to the extent needed to provide reliable, professional gardening services. We are committed to privacy by design, transparency, and respect for your rights. Our aim is to keep your information safe, use it fairly, and retain it only for as long as necessary.

In short: we collect only relevant information, use it for clear and lawful purposes, share it only when necessary with trusted processors, and honour your rights under data protection law.