Gardeners Lower Morden Customer Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Lower Morden collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to our customers. It also explains your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws. This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Lower Morden customers in our service area, including any person who makes an enquiry, requests a quote, or receives gardening or related services from us.

Who We Are

Gardeners Lower Morden is a gardening services provider operating in the Lower Morden area. For the purposes of data protection law, we are the controller of the personal data we collect about our customers. This means we decide how and why your personal data is processed.

Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process only the personal data that is necessary for us to provide our services and manage our relationship with you. The types of data we may collect include:

Identification and contact details, such as your name, address, and basic contact information necessary to communicate with you and visit your property.

Service-related information, such as details of your garden or outdoor space, records of past and planned visits, notes on work requested or completed, and any preferences you communicate to us.

Communication records, such as details of your enquiries, information provided when requesting a quote, and records of any follow-up conversations we have with you.

Payment-related data, such as payment amounts, dates, and methods used. We do not retain full payment card details if you pay by card; where card payments are taken through a third-party provider, they process your card details on our behalf.

Technical and usage information, where relevant, such as information generated when you contact us using any online forms or digital tools we may provide. This may include date and time of contact and basic technical identifiers such as IP address, where this is needed for security or troubleshooting.

How We Collect Your Data

We usually collect personal data directly from you when you contact us, request a quote, make a booking, or ask us to carry out gardening work at your property. We may also collect data when you communicate with us by phone, in person, or through any online forms or messages you choose to send.

In some cases, we may receive your details from another person who refers you to us, for example a family member, neighbour, or friend who asks us to contact you about our services. In that situation, we will inform you that we have received your details and provide you with access to this Privacy Policy.

Lawful Basis for Processing

We rely on different lawful bases under data protection law depending on the activity:

Contract: We process personal data where this is necessary to enter into a contract with you or to perform a contract, such as taking bookings, providing gardening services, preparing quotes, issuing invoices, and managing your customer account.

Legitimate interests: We process personal data for our legitimate business interests where these are not overridden by your rights. This may include keeping records of past work, improving our services, managing appointments, handling customer queries, and maintaining basic customer history for reference.

Legal obligations: We process and retain certain data because we are required to do so by law, for example records relating to tax, accounting, and financial reporting.

Consent: Where required by law, we rely on your consent for specific activities, such as sending certain types of direct marketing communications. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide gardening and related services at your property, including arranging visits, carrying out the work you request, and ensuring that our services meet your requirements.

To respond to your enquiries, provide quotes, and communicate with you about bookings, service updates, cancellations, or rescheduling.

To manage our business administration, including issuing invoices, processing payments, maintaining financial records, and managing customer accounts.

To maintain and improve our services, such as reviewing work completed, responding to feedback, and planning future visits more effectively.

To meet legal and regulatory requirements, including compliance with tax and accounting rules and responding to lawful requests from authorities where necessary.

Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or as required by law.

Customer records and service history are generally kept while we are providing services to you and for a reasonable period afterwards, in case of queries, repeat bookings, or disputes. We will periodically review the data we hold and securely delete or anonymise information that is no longer needed.

Financial records, such as invoices and related transaction information, are kept for a period required by applicable tax and accounting laws. After expiry of these periods, data will be securely deleted or anonymised wherever possible.

Data Processors and Sharing of Personal Data

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf. These processors help us run our business and provide our services, for example by supplying payment processing, appointment scheduling tools, or basic IT support services.

Where we use processors, we ensure that appropriate data protection agreements are in place. These require processors to act only on our instructions, keep your data secure, and not use your data for their own purposes.

We may also share data where necessary with professional advisers, such as accountants, solely for the purpose of fulfilling legal and financial obligations, and with regulators or authorities where we are legally required to do so.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

International Transfers

Where any of our service providers are located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that your personal data receives a level of protection equivalent to that provided within the UK. This may include using standard contractual clauses or relying on adequacy regulations where applicable.

How We Protect Your Data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include controlled access to customer records, secure storage methods, and limiting access to personal data to those who need it for their role.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to the personal data we hold about you. These include:

Right of access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how we use it.

Right to rectification: You have the right to ask us to correct or complete personal data that you believe is inaccurate or incomplete.

Right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you have the right to 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 no other lawful basis applies.

Right to restrict processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we are dealing with a query about its accuracy.

Right to object: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data where we are relying on legitimate interests as our lawful basis. We will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds which override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or where processing is required for legal claims.

Right to data portability: In some cases, you may have the right to receive the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to have that data transmitted to another controller.

You also have the right to withdraw consent at any time where we rely on your consent for processing. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw it.

Exercising Your Rights and Complaints

If you wish to exercise any of your rights or have any questions about how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using any of the normal contact methods we provide to our customers.

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe that we are not processing your personal data in accordance with data protection law, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office or with your local supervisory authority if you are based outside the UK.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or how we handle personal data. Any updated version will apply to all Gardeners Lower Morden customers in our area from the date it is made available. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we use your personal data.