Privacy Policy

Gardeners Colney Hatch Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Colney Hatch collects, uses, stores and protects personal data of its customers and potential customers. It applies to all Gardeners Colney Hatch customers and individuals making enquiries in our service area, regardless of how they contact us or use our services.

We are committed to handling your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and other applicable data protection laws. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand how and why we use your personal data and the rights you have in relation to it.

Who we are and scope of this policy

Gardeners Colney Hatch is a gardening and related services provider operating in the Colney Hatch area. When we refer to we, us or our in this Privacy Policy, we mean Gardeners Colney Hatch as the controller of your personal data. This Privacy Policy covers all interactions you have with us as a customer, former customer, prospective customer or website visitor in our service area.

Personal data we collect

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

Identification and contact details such as your name, home address, service address, billing address, and communication preferences.

Contact and communication records such as your messages, enquiries, feedback, and any correspondence you have with us, including the date and time of communications.

Service and contract details such as the type of gardening or related services requested, service history, visit dates, notes about the services provided, and details of any quotes or contracts agreed.

Payment and transaction information such as records of payments made, amounts, dates, and payment method used. We do not store full payment card details if you pay by card; these are processed by secure payment processors.

Technical and usage information that may be collected when you visit our website, such as IP address, device type, approximate location based on IP, and how you navigate our website. This may be collected using cookies or similar technologies where permitted by law and your browser settings.

Voluntary information that you choose to give us, for example information about your garden, access instructions for your property, or preferences about how services should be carried out.

How we collect personal data

We collect personal data directly from you when you communicate with us, request a quote, make a booking, use our services, or complete a form. We may also receive personal data indirectly when you are referred to us by another customer, a partner, or a third party platform through which you request services.

Technical and usage information may be collected automatically when you visit our website, subject to your browser settings and any applicable cookie consents.

Lawful basis for processing your data

We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis under the UK GDPR. Depending on the specific processing activity, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract. We process your personal data when it is necessary to enter into a contract with you or to perform a contract for gardening or related services, including providing quotes, managing bookings, and delivering the agreed services.

Legal obligation. We process your personal data when necessary to comply with legal obligations, for example keeping certain financial and tax records, or responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate interests. We may process your 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, handling customer enquiries, maintaining accurate records, preventing fraud, and protecting our business and customers.

Consent. In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time by contacting us or using the unsubscribe or preference options that we provide.

How we use your personal data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage our services, including responding to enquiries, arranging visits, preparing quotes, delivering gardening services, and keeping you informed about work being carried out.

To manage our relationship with you, including sending service-related communications, handling complaints, managing contracts, and updating you about changes to our services or terms.

To process payments, issue invoices and receipts, and maintain accurate financial and transactional records.

To improve our services by analysing service usage, customer feedback, and website use, in order to help us develop and enhance our offerings and customer experience.

To ensure security and protect our rights, including preventing misuse of our services, detecting and addressing fraud, and managing disputes or legal claims.

To send you marketing messages about our services where you have given consent or where we are otherwise permitted by law, with the ability to opt out at any time.

Sharing your personal data with processors and third parties

We do not sell your personal data. We may share it with selected third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and where we have an appropriate lawful basis. These may include:

Service providers and processors who act on our instructions, such as IT support providers, website hosting companies, payment processors, booking or scheduling platforms, and providers of customer management or communication tools. These processors are only permitted to use your personal data on our behalf and must protect it in accordance with data protection laws.

Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers where necessary for our business operations and to meet legal obligations.

Public authorities, regulators, law enforcement and courts where we are required or permitted by law to share personal data, or where it is necessary to protect our rights, property or safety or that of our customers or others.

Potential buyers or merger partners, in the event of a sale or restructuring of our business, in which case personal data will only be shared where it is necessary and subject to appropriate safeguards.

International transfers

If we use service providers or processors located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data in accordance with data protection laws. This may include using standard contractual clauses or ensuring the recipient is in a country with an adequacy decision.

Data retention and how long we keep your data

We keep personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements. When deciding how long to retain personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process it, and whether we can achieve those purposes by other means.

In general, service and contract records are kept for the duration of our relationship with you and for a period afterwards to deal with any queries, complaints or legal claims. Financial and transaction records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws. Where we process personal data based on your consent, we will retain it until you withdraw your consent or until it is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to an identifiable individual.

Your data protection rights

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data under the UK GDPR. These rights are subject to certain conditions and exemptions, and we may need to verify your identity before responding to a request. Your rights include:

Right of access. You can request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you, along with certain information about how it is used.

Right to rectification. You can ask us to correct inaccurate personal data about you and to complete any incomplete information.

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 lawful basis for processing.

Right to restriction. You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we verify its accuracy or assess an objection you have raised.

Right to object. You can object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as the lawful basis, including for direct marketing. If you object to direct marketing, we will stop processing your personal data for that purpose.

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

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

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority if you are concerned about how we handle your personal data. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve your concerns.

Security of your personal data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include restricting access to personal data to those who need it for their role, using secure systems and where appropriate encryption or pseudonymisation, and regularly reviewing our procedures and safeguards.

While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal data, no system or transmission of data can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You are responsible for keeping any information you use to access our services secure.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services or legal requirements. Any changes will be effective when we publish the updated policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle your personal data.