Gardeners Brompton Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Brompton collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers in our service area. It also explains your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws, and how you can exercise those rights.

Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Brompton customers and prospective customers located in our service area, including individuals who contact us for quotes, make bookings, receive gardening or maintenance services, or otherwise interact with us in relation to our services.

Who we are and how we act as data controller

Gardeners Brompton is the organisation responsible for deciding how and why your personal data is used in connection with our gardening and related services. In data protection terms, this means Gardeners Brompton is the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy.

Personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that we need in order to provide and manage our services, comply with our legal obligations and improve our business operations. The types of personal data we may collect include the following categories.

Identification and contact details such as your name, postal address, service address, and any contact details you choose to provide to us such as email address or other communication details.

Service and booking information such as details of your garden or outdoor space, property access notes you choose to share with us, preferred dates and times for visits, records of work requested, quotes provided, services delivered and invoices issued.

Payment and transaction data such as records of payments you make for our services, the method of payment used and any relevant transaction references. We do not store full payment card details where payment is processed by a third party payment processor.

Communication records such as messages, enquiries, feedback or complaints you send to us and our responses, including any records of telephone conversations or written correspondence that we keep for our legitimate business purposes.

Technical and usage information where relevant, such as basic information about how you interact with our online content or digital tools, to the extent this is necessary to deliver or improve our services.

How we collect personal data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request a quote, book a service, ask a question, provide feedback, or otherwise communicate with us in relation to our services.

We may also receive personal data indirectly when another person acts on your behalf, for example when a relative, tenant, landlord or managing agent arranges services at your property. In these situations we take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of this Privacy Policy.

Purposes and lawful bases for processing

We rely on a number of lawful bases under data protection law to process your personal data, depending on the specific purpose.

To provide our services: We use your personal data to provide quotes, manage bookings, deliver gardening and related services, communicate with you about your appointments, and handle payments. Our lawful basis is that processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or in order to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract.

To manage our business and improve services: We may use your personal data to monitor service quality, train staff, improve the way we schedule and deliver work, and maintain accurate business records. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests in running and improving our business, provided that these interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

To comply with legal obligations: We may process your personal data to meet legal, accounting or tax requirements, including maintaining records required by law. Our lawful basis is compliance with our legal obligations.

To send service-related communications: We may use your contact details to send you important information about your existing bookings, changes to our terms, or updates that are necessary for the delivery of our services. Our lawful basis is performance of a contract and our legitimate interests in keeping customers informed about essential matters concerning the services they receive.

With your consent: In some limited situations, we may ask for your explicit consent to use your data for a specific purpose, such as certain types of marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time, and we will explain how to do this at the time we obtain your consent.

Data retention and storage

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

In most cases, we retain customer records, including basic contact details, service history and invoicing information, for a period that reflects applicable limitation periods for legal claims and relevant regulatory guidance. After this period, we securely delete or anonymise the data so that it can no longer be linked back to you.

The specific retention period may vary depending on the type of data and the applicable legal requirements. Where we have obtained your consent for a particular use of your data, we may retain that data until you withdraw your consent or until it is no longer needed for the relevant purpose, whichever occurs first.

Use of data processors and third parties

We sometimes use carefully selected third party service providers to help us operate our business and deliver services. These third parties may act as data processors, meaning they process personal data on our behalf and only in accordance with our instructions.

Examples of activities that may involve data processors include payment processing, accounting support, customer management tools and secure data storage. When we use processors, we enter into written agreements requiring them to protect your personal data, use it only for the agreed purposes, and implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures.

We may also share personal data with other third parties where necessary, for example with professional advisers such as accountants or insurers, or where we are required to do so by law or to protect our legal rights. In such cases, the third party will generally act as an independent data controller and will be responsible for its own compliance with data protection laws.

International transfers

Where we work with service providers located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, or where they store data in other countries, we take appropriate steps to ensure that your personal data is afforded an equivalent level of protection. This may include using standard contractual clauses or relying on other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised under data protection law.

Data security

We take the security of your personal data seriously. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage.

These measures include limiting access to personal data to staff and service providers who need it for legitimate business purposes, using secure storage methods and taking reasonable steps to ensure that anyone who processes your data is subject to a duty of confidentiality.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data, subject to certain conditions and exemptions.

Right of access: You have the right to request confirmation that we process your personal data and to obtain a copy of that data, along with certain information about how and why we use it.

Right to rectification: You have the right to ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data that we hold about you.

Right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you may have the right to ask us to delete your personal data. This is sometimes known as the right to be forgotten. It is not an absolute right and may not apply where we still need the data for lawful reasons.

Right to restriction of processing: You can ask us to restrict the way we use your personal data in certain situations, for example while we are considering a request you have made to rectify or erase your data.

Right to data portability: Where we process your personal data based on your consent or a contract and by automated means, you may have the right to receive that data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and to request that we transfer it to another controller where technically feasible.

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

Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent to process personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before your withdrawal.

Exercising your rights and complaints

If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights in relation to Gardeners Brompton, or if you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using the usual communication methods you use to reach us as a customer. We will respond to your request or concern in line with our legal obligations.

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 would, however, welcome the chance to address your concerns directly before you approach a supervisory authority, and we encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve any issues.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, our internal practices or applicable laws. When we make significant changes, we will take reasonable steps to inform our customers where appropriate. The date of the most recent version will be indicated in the Policy, and we encourage you to review it periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.