Gardeners Lisson Grove Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Lisson Grove collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers within our service area. It also explains your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act, and how you can exercise those rights.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Lisson Grove customers and individuals who make enquiries, request quotations, or otherwise interact with us within our operating area, whether in person, by phone, or online.

Data Controller

Gardeners Lisson Grove is the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we decide how and why your personal data is processed when you use our gardening and related services.

Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data about you:

Identification and contact details: name, postal address, property address where services are provided, and basic contact details such as your preferred contact method.

Service and contract information: details about the services you request or receive, site notes, instructions you provide, schedule and booking information, and communication history.

Billing and payment information: records of invoices issued, amounts due, payment status, and payment method used. We do not store full payment card details; where electronic payments are used, they are processed through secure third-party providers.

Usage and communication data: information from your communications with us, including enquiries, quotations, feedback, complaints, and any photos or descriptions you choose to provide to help us assess work required at your property.

Technical information: limited technical information may be collected when you interact with our online presence, such as basic device or browser information and log data, to ensure security and proper functioning. We do not seek to identify individuals from this technical data unless required for security, legal, or fraud prevention reasons.

How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us, request a quotation, agree to a service, or communicate with us by any method. We may also receive personal data indirectly when someone books services on your behalf or refers you to us, and from publicly available sources when necessary to confirm an address or property details for service planning and security purposes.

Lawful Basis for Processing

We process your personal data under one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract: To take steps at your request before entering into a contract, and to perform a contract for gardening or related services, including arranging visits, carrying out work, and handling billing and payments.

Legal obligation: To comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as record keeping, tax, accounting, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate interests: To operate and improve our business, manage our relationship with you, prevent fraud or misuse of services, protect our staff and property, maintain service quality, and pursue or defend legal claims. When we rely on legitimate interests, we balance our interests against your rights and freedoms.

Consent: In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of marketing communications where required by law. When we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time by contacting us using your usual contact route.

Purposes of Processing Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage gardening and related services at your property, including arranging visits, understanding your requirements, and delivering the agreed work.

To prepare and provide quotations, respond to your enquiries, and communicate with you about existing or proposed services.

To manage billing, payments, and accounting records, and to handle refunds, adjustments, or disputes.

To manage our customer relationship, including service reminders, follow-up communications, and handling feedback or complaints.

To maintain safety and security for our staff and customers, and to plan work in a safe and efficient way.

To comply with legal obligations and cooperate with public authorities when required by law.

To protect our legitimate business interests, including managing risk, establishing or defending legal claims, and maintaining appropriate business records.

Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties only where necessary and lawful, including:

Service providers who act as data processors on our behalf, such as information technology support, secure data storage providers, payment processing providers, and providers of tools used to manage bookings and customer communications.

Professional advisers such as accountants, legal advisers, or insurers where this is necessary for accounting, legal, or insurance purposes.

Public authorities, regulators, law enforcement, or courts where we are legally required to do so, or where this is necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

When we use processors, they are only permitted to process your personal data according to our instructions, for the purposes set out in a written agreement, and they must have appropriate security measures in place.

International Transfers

Where any of our service providers or systems involve transfers of personal data outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as an adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses, to protect your data and ensure your rights are maintained.

Data Retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and to meet any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

In general, we retain customer records, including basic contact details, service information, and invoices, for as long as you remain a customer and for a period afterwards in line with legal limitation periods and tax and accounting obligations. This period is typically several years from the end of the financial year in which the last service was provided or the last payment was made.

Where personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete it or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to an identifiable individual.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights are subject to certain conditions and exemptions. They include:

Right of access: You have the right to request confirmation that we process your personal data and to obtain a copy of that data, along with information about how it is used.

Right to rectification: You have the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data that we hold about you.

Right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you may request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected and we have no legal or contractual reason to retain it.

Right to restriction of processing: You may request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we verify its accuracy or consider an objection you have raised.

Right to object: You may object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including certain types of direct marketing. We will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds or we need the data to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

Right to data portability: Where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to request that we transfer it to another controller, where technically feasible.

Right not to be subject to certain automated decisions: We do not carry out automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects about you.

Exercising Your Rights and Complaints

If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights or have questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us using your usual communication channel with Gardeners Lisson Grove. We may need to verify your identity before responding to certain requests to ensure we protect your data.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority if you are concerned about how your personal data is being handled. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any concerns directly.

Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or how we process personal data. Any changes will take effect when the updated version is made available. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.