Privacy Policy

Gardeners Riddlesdown Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Riddlesdown collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to its customers in the Riddlesdown area. It also explains the legal bases relied upon under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the EU General Data Protection Regulation, where applicable, and sets out the rights you have in relation to your personal data.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Riddlesdown customers in the Riddlesdown area, including past, current and prospective customers whose personal data is processed in connection with our gardening and related services.

Data Controller

For the purposes of data protection law, Gardeners Riddlesdown is the data controller of the personal data processed in connection with the provision of services to customers in the Riddlesdown area. This means that Gardeners Riddlesdown determines the purposes and means of processing your personal data.

Personal Data We Collect

Gardeners Riddlesdown collects and processes personal data that is necessary in order to provide and manage our gardening services. The categories of personal data we may collect include:

Identification and contact details, such as your name, home address, property address for service, and other basic contact details you choose to provide. Service and contract information, including details of the gardening or maintenance services requested or received, schedules, access instructions, property notes relevant to the performance of the service, and related correspondence. Billing and payment information, including records of payments received and amounts due, any invoices issued, and basic transaction records processed via third party payment providers. Communication records, such as emails or written correspondence relating to quotes, bookings, feedback, enquiries and complaints. Technical and usage information, which may include basic device or browser information and log data that is generated when you visit our online pages or make use of online forms or tools.

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

How We Collect Personal Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you contact Gardeners Riddlesdown to request a quote, make a booking, ask a question, or provide feedback. This may be done in person, over the phone, or through online or written communication.

We may also receive personal data indirectly when an existing customer provides your details to arrange services at your property, or when third party service platforms or referrers pass on your information to us in order to provide our services.

Purposes and Lawful Bases for Processing

Gardeners Riddlesdown only processes personal data where there is a lawful basis to do so under data protection law. The principal purposes and related lawful bases are as follows:

To provide gardening services and manage our relationship with you. This includes responding to enquiries, issuing quotes, scheduling work, carrying out services at your property, and handling any follow up or aftercare. The lawful basis for this is the performance of a contract or taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.

To manage billing and payments. We process personal data to issue invoices, receive payments, maintain financial records, and address any payment queries. The lawful basis for this is the performance of a contract and our legitimate interest in managing our business operations and financial records.

To communicate with you. We may contact you about appointments, changes to services, important updates relating to your contract, or necessary information regarding the safety or accessibility of the property. The lawful basis is the performance of a contract and our legitimate interests in keeping you informed and maintaining service quality.

To improve and develop our services. We may use non excessive personal data, such as feedback or patterns of service use, to improve our offerings, plan resources, and enhance customer experience. The lawful basis is our legitimate interests in running and developing our business, balanced against your privacy rights.

To comply with legal or regulatory obligations. We may process personal data for accounting, tax, or record keeping purposes, and to respond to lawful requests from public authorities. The lawful basis is compliance with a legal obligation.

Where required by law, or where we wish to send certain forms of direct marketing communications beyond what is permitted by legitimate interests, we may rely on your consent. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Data Retention

Gardeners Riddlesdown retains personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and to meet legal, accounting or reporting obligations.

Customer and service records are usually kept for a period that reflects the potential limitation periods for legal claims and the need to refer to historical work carried out at a particular property. Billing and transaction records are retained for the period required under applicable tax and accounting laws. Where personal data is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected, and there is no legal or regulatory requirement for further retention, it will be securely deleted or anonymised.

Data Processors and Third Parties

Gardeners Riddlesdown may use carefully selected third party service providers to assist in running our business and delivering services. These providers may act as data processors who process personal data on our behalf and under our instructions.

Examples of such processors include providers of payment processing services, secure data storage and backup services, customer administration tools, and external professional advisers who assist with accounting or legal matters. Where we engage processors, we require them by contract to handle personal data securely, to use it only for the purposes of providing their services to us, and to comply with applicable data protection laws.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We may share personal data with public authorities or other third parties only where required to do so by law or where necessary to protect our rights or the rights of others.

International Data Transfers

Where any of our processors or service providers are located outside of the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, or store data in such locations, Gardeners Riddlesdown will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data. These may include the use of standard contractual clauses or reliance on an adequacy decision, in line with data protection law requirements.

Security of Personal Data

Gardeners Riddlesdown takes the security of personal data seriously. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction, and to reduce the risk of loss or misuse.

Measures may include controlled access to records, the use of secure storage, encryption or password protection where appropriate, and regular review of data handling practices. While no system can be completely secure, we work to ensure that the level of security is appropriate to the risks associated with the personal data we process.

Your Data Protection Rights

As a customer of Gardeners Riddlesdown in the Riddlesdown area, you have a number of rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain legal conditions and exemptions, but generally include:

The right of access. You have the right to request confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and, if so, to request a copy of that data and certain information about how it is processed.

The right to rectification. You have the right to request that inaccurate or incomplete personal data about you is corrected or updated.

The right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you may have the right to request that your personal data is deleted, for example where it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or where you withdraw consent and there is no other lawful basis for processing.

The right to restriction of processing. In some cases you may request that we restrict our use of your personal data, for instance while a complaint or request for rectification is being considered.

The right to data portability. Where processing is based on consent or on a contract and is 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 transmit it to another controller.

The right to object. You may have the right to object to processing of your personal data based on our legitimate interests, including profiling, and to object at any time to the use of your personal data for direct marketing.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, Gardeners Riddlesdown will respond in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Updates to This Privacy Policy

Gardeners Riddlesdown may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services or legal obligations. Any changes will take effect when the updated version is made available. You are encouraged to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle personal data relating to customers in the Riddlesdown area.