Privacy Policy

Gardeners Homerton Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Homerton collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to our gardening and related services. It applies to all existing and prospective Gardeners Homerton customers and enquiries within our service area, as well as visitors who contact us in relation to our services.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a fair, transparent and lawful manner in accordance with the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Data controller

Gardeners Homerton is the data controller in respect of the personal data we collect and use in connection with our services. This means we decide how and why your personal data is processed and we are responsible for safeguarding it.

2. Personal data we collect

We collect and process personal data that is necessary for us to provide our services, manage our business, and comply with legal obligations. The categories of personal data we may collect include:

Identification and contact details such as your name, address, property address where services are provided, and other contact information you choose to share so we can arrange and deliver our services.

Service and contract information such as details about the gardening services requested, frequency of services, notes about your preferences, and any photographs of the garden or work completed where required for quoting, planning or record keeping.

Communication records such as messages, notes of phone conversations, and other communications relating to quotes, bookings, customer service and complaints handling.

Payment and transaction data such as records of payments made for our services, the amounts charged, and the dates of transactions. We do not store or process full card details where payments are taken through third party payment processors.

Website or enquiry data such as information you submit through online forms or when you interact with us using digital channels, and basic technical information collected automatically by your browser where this is necessary to operate our website or respond to your enquiry.

3. How we collect your data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request a quote, book a service, make an enquiry, provide feedback or otherwise communicate with us. This may be in person, by post, or via other communication methods.

We may also receive personal data from third parties where it is necessary for us to provide our services. For example, a landlord, letting agent or property manager may provide your contact details and property address so that we can carry out gardening services at the property. In these situations, we will only use your personal data for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

4. Lawful bases for processing

We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the context, our lawful bases include:

Performance of a contract. We process personal data where it is necessary to provide our gardening services, respond to your requests, prepare quotes, manage bookings, take payment and fulfil our contractual obligations to you.

Legitimate interests. We may process your personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes managing and improving our services, maintaining records of work carried out, ensuring the security of our staff, business and systems, and pursuing or defending legal claims.

Legal obligations. We process certain personal data in order to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including record keeping, tax and accounting obligations, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Consent. In some limited circumstances we may rely on your consent, for example if we wish to send you certain types of marketing communications that require your prior agreement. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

5. How we use your personal data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage gardening and related services, including preparing quotes, organising visits, carrying out work, and following up where necessary.

To communicate with you about bookings, changes to services, access to your property, queries, feedback and complaints.

To manage our relationship with you as a customer, including maintaining service records, handling billing and payments, and updating you about relevant changes to our services or terms.

To operate, evaluate and improve our business, including internal record keeping, service planning, staff training and quality assurance.

To comply with legal requirements and assist in the prevention and detection of fraud or other unlawful activity.

6. Data sharing and processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where this is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy or where we are legally required to do so.

Service providers and processors. We may engage third party providers to support our activities, for example for payment processing, accounting, administration, information technology, data storage, or document and messaging tools. These third parties act as data processors on our behalf and are only permitted to process your personal data in accordance with our instructions, for the relevant purpose, and subject to appropriate confidentiality and security obligations.

Professional advisers. We may share data with professional advisers such as accountants, insurers or legal advisers where this is necessary for professional advice, insurance coverage, claims handling or dispute resolution.

Authorities and legal obligations. We may disclose your personal data where required by law or where we believe it is necessary to protect our rights, property or safety, or the rights, property or safety of our customers, staff or others.

If we transfer personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it in accordance with data protection law.

7. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

In general, we retain customer records and service information for a period that allows us to respond to queries, manage ongoing relationships and demonstrate our performance of the contract. Financial records, including invoices and transaction information, are normally retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete or anonymise it in a secure manner. In some cases, we may retain limited information for a longer period if required for legal claims, regulatory investigations or to prove compliance with our legal obligations.

8. Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have certain rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply to all Gardeners Homerton customers and relevant individuals within our service area, subject to legal conditions and exemptions. Your rights include:

Right of access. You can request confirmation as to whether we hold personal data about you and, if so, receive a copy of that data together with information about how we use it.

Right to rectification. You can ask us to correct or complete any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

Right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data. This right is not absolute and may be subject to our need to retain data for legal or contractual reasons.

Right to restriction. You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example where you contest its accuracy or object to our use of it.

Right to object. You can object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis. We will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds or the processing is required for legal claims.

Right to data portability. In some cases, you may request that we provide you with certain personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format, or that we transmit it to another controller, where this is technically feasible.

Rights relating to consent. Where we rely on your consent to process personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority if you believe that we have not handled your personal data in accordance with data protection law.

9. Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include limiting access to personal data to those who need it for legitimate business purposes, using secure storage methods, and maintaining appropriate administrative and technical safeguards. While we take reasonable steps to protect your data, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

10. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services or our data protection practices. The version made available with the most recent date will apply to the personal data we process. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.