Gardeners New Cross Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners New Cross collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to customers in the New Cross area. It also explains your rights under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws. This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners New Cross customers and potential customers located in the New Cross area who contact us, request a quote, make a booking, or otherwise use our gardening services.

Who we are and scope of this policy

Gardeners New Cross is a local gardening services provider offering garden maintenance and related services to residential and commercial customers. For the purposes of data protection law, Gardeners New Cross acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we decide how and why your personal data is processed.

This policy covers personal data we collect directly from you, data collected through your use of our services, and data obtained from third parties acting on our behalf as data processors.

Personal data we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data about you:

Identification and contact details, such as your name, postal address, service address, and any other contact details you choose to provide, such as messaging app usernames where applicable.

Service and booking information, such as details of your garden, property access instructions you provide, service preferences, dates and times of appointments, and records of services carried out.

Communication records, such as notes of telephone conversations, text or messaging app correspondence, and any feedback or complaints you submit.

Payment and billing information, such as records of payments made and the method used. We do not store full payment card details when payments are processed by third party payment providers acting as data processors.

Technical and usage data, where relevant, such as information about how you interact with our online content if you visit any website or digital platform we operate, including basic device and connection information and any online forms you submit.

We only collect the minimum personal data required to provide and manage our services, comply with our legal obligations, and improve how we operate.

How we collect your personal data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us, request a quote, make a booking, or communicate with us in any way. We may also collect personal data from third party service providers that support our operations, such as payment processors and communication service providers, where this is necessary to manage your booking and payments.

Lawful bases for processing

Under data protection law we must have a lawful basis for using your personal data. Gardeners New Cross relies on the following lawful bases:

Performance of a contract. We process your personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, for example to provide gardening services, arrange appointments, manage payments, and respond to your requests.

Legitimate interests. We process certain personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes managing and improving our services, keeping appropriate records, maintaining security, and handling customer queries and complaints.

Legal obligations. We process personal data where necessary to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including tax and accounting rules and obligations to respond to lawful requests from public authorities.

Consent. In limited circumstances we may rely on your consent, for example where required for certain forms of marketing communication or specific optional features of our services. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before it was withdrawn.

How we use your personal data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide, schedule, and manage gardening services at your property.

To respond to enquiries, provide quotes, and communicate with you about your bookings.

To process payments, manage invoices, and keep appropriate financial records.

To maintain records of work carried out at your property for quality control and to enable repeat or follow up visits as requested.

To improve our services, including training staff, refining our processes, and enhancing customer experience.

To manage our business operations, including accounting, auditing, and maintaining appropriate business and insurance records.

To comply with applicable laws, respond to legal processes, and protect our rights, property, and safety, as well as that of our customers and others.

Data processors and third parties

We may share your personal data with third party service providers that act as data processors on our behalf. These processors only process your personal data in accordance with our instructions and for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. They are required to keep your personal data secure and to comply with applicable data protection laws.

Examples of such processors include providers of payment processing services, accounting or invoicing tools, communication platforms, and information technology or cloud storage services that support our business operations.

We may also share personal data where required by law, with professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers, or with public authorities when we are legally obliged to do so. We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

International transfers

Where any of our processors or service providers are located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data. These safeguards may include standard contractual clauses approved by relevant authorities or other legally recognised protection mechanisms.

Data retention and storage

We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, including to provide our services, maintain business records, and comply with legal and regulatory requirements.

In general, contact, booking, and service information is kept for as long as you remain an active customer and for a reasonable period afterwards, to allow us to respond to queries about past services and to meet tax and accounting requirements. Financial records are retained for the period required by law.

When we no longer need your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, we will either securely delete it or irreversibly anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to you.

How we protect your personal data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect your personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures include access controls, secure storage practices, and limiting personal data access to those staff and processors who have a genuine business need to know it.

Your data protection rights

As a Gardeners New Cross customer or potential customer in the New Cross area, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data, subject to legal limits and exemptions. These include:

The right of access. You can request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy of that data, together with certain information about how we use it.

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

The right to erasure. In certain circumstances you can request that we 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 there is no other legal basis for processing.

The right to restriction of processing. You can ask us to restrict how we process your personal data in certain situations, for example while we are assessing a request to rectify or erase your data.

The right to data portability. Where our processing is based on your consent or on a contract and carried out by automated means, you can request that we provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine readable format, or transfer it to another controller where technically feasible.

The right to object. You can object to processing of your personal data carried out on the basis of our legitimate interests, including any direct marketing, and we will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests or where processing is required for legal claims.

The right to withdraw consent. Where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect any processing that has already taken place.

Exercising your rights and complaints

If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights, or have any questions about how Gardeners New Cross handles your personal data, you can contact us using the details provided in our customer correspondence or on our service materials. We will respond to your request in accordance with applicable data protection law.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your personal data has not been handled in accordance with the law. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve any concerns directly.

Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, how we process personal data, or changes in the law. Any significant changes will be communicated through our usual customer information channels. The updated version will apply from the date it is issued and will replace any previous versions.

By continuing to use Gardeners New Cross services after any updates, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the latest version of this Privacy Policy.