Gardeners Chelsfield Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Chelsfield collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers in the Chelsfield area. It is intended to meet the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws.

By using our gardening and related services, or by contacting us to request information or a quotation, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Scope and who this policy applies to

This Privacy Policy applies to all customers and prospective customers of Gardeners Chelsfield located in, or engaging our services for, properties within the Chelsfield area. It also applies to individuals who communicate with us on behalf of a customer, such as household members, tenants, or property managers, where their personal data is provided to us.

Personal data we collect

We collect and process personal data that is reasonably necessary to provide our gardening and related services and to operate our business. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identification and contact details, such as your name, postal address, service address, and general location details relevant to providing the service.

Communication details, such as the content of your messages and any preferences you tell us about, for example preferred days or times for visits.

Service and contract information, including records of the services you request or receive, quotations we provide, work schedules, visit history, and any related notes about your property that are relevant to performing our services.

Billing and payment information, such as records of payments, invoices, and payment status. We do not store full payment card details when you pay via third party payment providers; such details are processed and stored by those providers in accordance with their own policies.

Technical and usage information related to your interaction with our website or online tools, such as basic analytic data, approximate location derived from your device or browser settings, and information about how you use our website. This may be collected through cookies or similar technologies where permitted by law and your device settings.

How we collect personal data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us by any communication method to request information, ask for a quotation, book a service, or manage an existing booking. We also collect data when you provide information during site visits or while we are carrying out work at your property.

We may receive personal data about you indirectly if, for example, a landlord, relative, or property manager books our services on your behalf and provides your contact details, or when contact details are given to us to allow access to a property where work will be carried out.

We may also obtain limited personal data from publicly available sources or third party directories in order to respond to enquiries, maintain accurate records, or confirm address details in connection with agreed services.

Lawful bases for processing

We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. The lawful bases we rely on are:

Contract: To take steps at your request before entering into a contract and to perform our contract with you, including providing quotations, scheduling visits, delivering gardening services, handling payments, and managing your account.

Legitimate interests: To manage and improve our business operations, communicate with you about existing or similar services that may interest you, keep appropriate records, prevent and detect misuse or fraud, and protect our legal rights. When we rely on legitimate interests, we balance our interests against your rights and expectations.

Legal obligation: To comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including record keeping, tax, and accounting obligations.

Consent: In limited cases where we ask for your consent, for example for certain types of direct marketing or for non-essential cookies, we will rely on your consent as our lawful basis. Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time.

How we use your personal data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage our gardening and related services, including site visits, quotations, ongoing maintenance, and one-off jobs.

To communicate with you about bookings, schedules, service updates, and any changes or issues that may affect the work to be carried out.

To issue invoices, process payments, manage refunds where applicable, and maintain accurate financial records.

To respond to your enquiries, complaints, or feedback, and to improve our services and customer experience.

To keep internal records of work completed, customer communication, and service history for operational and legal purposes.

To send you information about services similar to those you have previously purchased or enquired about, where permitted by law and subject to your rights to object at any time.

To comply with legal obligations and to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

Data sharing and processors

We may share your personal data with selected third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including:

Service providers that act as data processors on our behalf, such as cloud storage providers, scheduling or invoicing platforms, payment processors, and information technology or administration support. These processors are only permitted to use your personal data in accordance with our instructions and for the specific services they provide to us.

Professional advisers, such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary for business administration, tax, accounting, or to protect our legal rights.

Public authorities or law enforcement bodies, where we are required or permitted to do so by law, or where such disclosure is necessary to protect our rights or the safety of others.

We do not sell your personal data. We do not routinely transfer personal data outside the United Kingdom. If we ever do so, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place as required by data protection law.

Data retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, and in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Customer and service records are generally kept for the duration of your relationship with us and for a period afterwards to respond to any questions, handle complaints, and meet legal, tax, and accounting requirements. This period is normally up to six years after the end of the relevant financial year, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

Where personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete it or anonymise it so that it can no longer be associated with you.

Security of your personal data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure, or access. These measures include limiting access to personal data to those who have a genuine business need to know it, using tools and systems with appropriate security features, and ensuring that our processors are subject to suitable confidentiality and security obligations.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply to all Gardeners Chelsfield customers and prospective customers in the Chelsfield area, subject to certain legal conditions and exemptions. Your rights include:

Right of access: You can request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you, together with certain information about how it is used.

Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate personal data and to complete incomplete personal data.

Right to erasure: In some circumstances, you can ask us to delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected or where you withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for the processing.

Right to restriction of processing: You can ask us to restrict how we use your personal data in certain situations, such as while we are considering a request to rectify or erase data.

Right to data portability: In certain circumstances, you can request that we provide you with personal data you have given us in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format, or that we transmit it to another organisation where this is technically feasible.

Right to object: You can object at any time to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as the lawful basis, including for direct marketing. If you object to direct marketing, we will stop using your personal data for that purpose.

Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent to process personal data, you can withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to address your concerns.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

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