Privacy Policy - Gardeners Queensbury

Gardeners Queensbury is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the Queensbury area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and safeguard personal information in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. It applies to all Gardeners Queensbury customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who use our gardening services.

We believe in transparency and data minimisation. That means we only collect the information we need, only use it for clear purposes, and only keep it for as long as necessary. By engaging our services, making enquiries, or otherwise interacting with us, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this policy.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us. The information we collect may include:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of your organisation or property manager.
Contact details such as address, email address, telephone number, and service location.
Service information including the type of gardening work requested, appointment details, preferences, property access instructions, and notes relevant to service delivery.
Billing and payment information where needed to issue invoices, process payments, or maintain financial records.
Communication records such as emails, messages, call notes, and feedback.
Technical data if you visit any digital service channels we use, including IP address, browser details, and basic usage information.

We do not seek to collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and lawful. If such data is ever provided to us by you voluntarily, we will handle it with additional care and only where a lawful basis applies.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for specific, legitimate business purposes connected to our gardening services. These include:

Responding to enquiries and providing quotations;
Delivering gardening services and managing appointments;
Maintaining service records and customer preferences;
Issuing invoices, processing payments, and managing accounts;
Handling complaints, queries, and service follow-up;
Meeting legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
Improving our services, customer experience, and operational efficiency.

We will never use your data in ways that are incompatible with these purposes unless we obtain your consent or are otherwise permitted by law. We follow the principle of purpose limitation, meaning your data is not used for unrelated activities without a lawful basis.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Gardeners Queensbury relies on the following lawful bases where appropriate:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging services, carrying out gardening work, managing bookings, and handling payment-related tasks.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain data where required to comply with legal obligations, such as accounting rules, tax laws, or record-keeping requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data based on our legitimate interests where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing business operations, preventing fraud, improving service quality, and maintaining customer records.

Consent

In certain cases, we may rely on your consent, particularly where processing is optional and not necessary for the performance of our services. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

We assess each processing activity carefully to ensure the lawful basis is appropriate, fair, and proportionate.

4. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for service delivery, administration, or compliance. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We only share the minimum amount of information required.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers that store customer records and communications;
Accounting or invoicing systems used to manage payments and financial documentation;
Payment service providers that handle card or online transactions;
Scheduling and administrative tools used to manage appointments and customer information;
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers, where necessary.

All processors are required to handle your data securely, only act on our instructions, and comply with data protection requirements. We do not sell your personal data. If data must be shared with third parties for legal reasons, we will do so only when required or permitted by law.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, and reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason for processing.

In general:

Customer service records are kept for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards;
Financial and invoicing records are retained in line with legal and tax requirements;
Communication records are held for as long as needed to resolve queries or demonstrate service history;
Information collected with consent is retained until consent is withdrawn or the purpose ends, unless another lawful basis applies.

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe manner. This supports the GDPR principle of storage limitation.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures are designed to reflect the nature of the data we hold and the risks involved.

Security controls may include:

restricted access to personal data;
password protection and secure systems;
staff awareness of confidentiality duties;
careful selection of service providers;
safe disposal of records when they are no longer needed.

While we work hard to protect your data, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs and we are legally required to notify you or a regulator, we will do so promptly.

7. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have important rights under data protection law. Subject to legal limits and exemptions, you may have the right to:

Access your personal data and receive a copy of the information we hold about you;
Rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data;
Erasure of your data in certain circumstances;
Restriction of processing in certain situations;
Data portability where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means;
Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes;
Withdraw consent at any time where consent is the lawful basis used.

You also have the right to be informed about how your data is used and to challenge any processing that you believe is unfair or unlawful. If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with applicable data protection law.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and property-related customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidental and necessary in connection with a customer’s service request. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without a valid lawful basis, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

9. International Transfers

If personal data is transferred outside the UK or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it. This may include the use of approved contractual safeguards or other lawful transfer mechanisms required by data protection law.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data processing practices. Any updated version will continue to apply to all Gardeners Queensbury customers in the area from the date it becomes effective. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how your data is handled.

11. Fair and Transparent Processing

Gardeners Queensbury is dedicated to processing personal data in a fair, lawful, and transparent manner. We aim to ensure that customers understand what data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and who may process it on our behalf. Our approach is guided by the GDPR principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, confidentiality, and accountability.

If you choose to use our services, you can expect your personal information to be treated with care and respect. We keep our data handling proportional to the service being provided and avoid unnecessary collection. This policy is designed to provide clear information so that you can make informed decisions about your personal data.

Gardeners Queensbury values privacy as part of responsible customer care, and we remain committed to maintaining high standards in every aspect of our data processing.