Privacy Policy - Gardeners Hackney Wick

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Hackney Wick handles personal data for customers in the Hackney Wick area. It applies to all Gardeners Hackney Wick customers in the area, including people who enquire about services, receive quotes, book garden maintenance, or use any related landscaping or horticultural service. We are committed to protecting personal information and to processing it fairly, lawfully, and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to any individual who interacts with Gardeners Hackney Wick in connection with our services in the local area. This may include residential customers, commercial customers, tenants, property managers, landlords, and other individuals who request information, obtain an estimate, schedule work, or otherwise communicate with us in relation to gardening services.

We only collect and use personal data where it is necessary for the delivery of our services, the management of our business, and compliance with legal obligations. We do not sell personal data, and we do not use it for unrelated purposes without a valid legal basis.

2. Personal data we collect

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

Identity information such as name, title, and any relevant business name.
Contact information such as address, phone number, and email address.
Service information such as property details, requested services, access instructions, garden preferences, and appointment notes.
Payment information where required for invoicing, accounting, and payment processing.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and service-related correspondence.
Technical information if you contact us through digital systems, such as device identifiers, browser data, or basic usage information.
Job and property-related information relevant to carrying out the work safely and effectively, such as site conditions or access requirements.

We aim to keep the data we collect limited to what is necessary and proportionate for the service requested.

3. How we use personal data

Gardeners Hackney Wick uses personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to schedule and deliver gardening or landscaping services;
to manage customer relationships and service preferences;
to issue invoices, process payments, and maintain accounting records;
to communicate about bookings, updates, and service changes;
to improve the quality, efficiency, and safety of our services;
to comply with tax, legal, and regulatory requirements;
to handle complaints, queries, and after-service support;
to maintain internal records and business administration.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose.

4. Lawful basis for processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. Gardeners Hackney Wick may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, confirming appointments, carrying out services, and managing billing.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This can include record keeping, service improvement, internal administration, business communication, and protecting our business against fraud or misuse.

Legal obligation

We process certain data where required to meet legal obligations, such as tax rules, accounting requirements, insurance obligations, or lawful requests from public authorities.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you have agreed to receive certain optional communications. Where consent is the legal basis, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Data sharing and processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that assist us in operating our business and delivering services. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide.

Examples of processors may include:

accounting and bookkeeping providers;
payment service providers;
IT and cloud storage providers;
communication and email service providers;
customer management or scheduling systems;
professional advisers such as lawyers, insurers, or auditors where appropriate;
subcontractors or operational partners engaged to help complete a service request.

We require processors to handle personal data securely, only on our instructions, and only for the purposes we specify. Where data is shared with independent controllers, such as banks or tax authorities, those organisations are responsible for their own use of the data under their own privacy obligations.

We do not allow unnecessary or excessive access to personal data. Any sharing is kept to the minimum needed for legitimate business and service purposes.

6. International transfers

If any personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that it remains protected. This may include using approved contractual safeguards or relying on adequacy decisions where applicable. We aim to make sure that any overseas processing meets the standards required by data protection law.

7. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, tax, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the reason for holding it.

In general:

customer and service records are retained for as long as needed to manage the relationship and maintain business records;
financial and invoice information is kept for the period required by law;
communication records may be retained for a reasonable period to support service history and dispute resolution;
data collected with consent is retained until consent is withdrawn or the data is no longer required.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete, anonymise, or securely archive it in line with our retention procedures.

8. Your rights

Individuals whose personal data we process have rights under data protection law. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, you may have the right to:

access the personal data we hold about you;
rectify inaccurate or incomplete information;
erase your data in certain circumstances;
restrict how we process your data in certain situations;
object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
data portability for information you have provided to us where applicable;
withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data has not been handled properly. We encourage you to raise concerns directly so that we can address them promptly and fairly.

9. Security of personal data

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff awareness, password protection, and data minimisation. While no system can be guaranteed as completely secure, we take protection seriously and review our practices regularly.

10. Children’s data

Our services are aimed at adults and property-related customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary and lawful in a specific context, such as where a parent, guardian, or responsible adult provides the information as part of a service request. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child inappropriately, we will take 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 our services, legal requirements, or operational practices. The latest version will apply to all Gardeners Hackney Wick customers in the area from the date it is published. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we handle personal data.

12. Summary of our approach

Gardeners Hackney Wick is committed to processing personal data responsibly, transparently, and only when necessary. We collect only the information needed to provide and manage our services, use it under a valid lawful basis, share it carefully with trusted processors, and retain it only for as long as required. Your privacy matters to us, and we aim to keep our handling of personal data fair, secure, and proportionate at all times.