Privacy Policy - Gardeners Fulwell

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Fulwell collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing gardening services to customers in the Fulwell area. It applies to all Gardeners Fulwell customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, former customers, and anyone who contacts us about our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We respect your privacy and only collect personal data that is necessary for running our services, managing customer relationships, processing enquiries, and meeting legal or operational obligations. This policy is written to help you understand what we do with your information and what rights you have over it.

1. Information We Collect

Gardeners Fulwell 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.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as details about the gardening work requested, property access instructions, scheduling preferences, and notes about completed work.
Communication records including enquiries, feedback, complaints, and correspondence.
Billing and payment information where needed to arrange invoicing, payments, and record transactions.
Technical data where applicable, such as basic website or device information used to maintain security and improve performance.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it voluntarily or there is another lawful basis for doing so. If you include sensitive information in a message, we will only use it for the purpose for which it was shared.

2. How We Use Personal Data

Gardeners Fulwell uses personal data for clearly defined purposes connected to the services we provide. These purposes may include:

Responding to enquiries and preparing quotes or estimates.
Arranging and delivering gardening services.
Managing appointments, visits, and service updates.
Handling customer communication and support.
Maintaining internal records of work carried out.
Processing invoices, payments, and account administration.
Meeting legal, tax, insurance, and accounting obligations.
Improving service quality, training, and business operations.

We only use your data in ways that are compatible with the original purpose for which it was collected. Where we need to use personal data for a new purpose, we will make sure there is a valid legal basis and that the use is fair and transparent.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, Gardeners Fulwell must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, scheduling jobs, carrying out services, and managing payments.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing customer records, improving our services, preventing fraud, and ensuring our business runs efficiently.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with legal obligations, including accounting rules, tax requirements, insurance obligations, and regulatory duties.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example if you agree to receive certain types of marketing communication. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

If we ever need to rely on a different lawful basis, we will ensure the change is appropriate and explained where required.

4. Sharing Data and Processors

Gardeners Fulwell may share personal data with trusted third parties, also known as processors, when they help us operate our services. These processors only act on our instructions and must handle your data securely and in compliance with data protection law.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment service providers and invoicing tools.
Accounting and bookkeeping services.
IT support, cloud storage, and data hosting providers.
Communication service providers used to send messages or manage records.
Professional advisers such as insurers, auditors, or legal advisers where necessary.

We may also disclose data if required by law, court order, or public authority request. If a business transfer or restructuring occurs, personal data may be shared with relevant parties under appropriate safeguards.

We do not sell personal data. Any sharing is limited to what is necessary and proportionate for the purpose concerned.

5. Data Retention

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

For example, customer service records may be kept for the period needed to manage the service relationship and address any follow-up issues. Financial and tax records may be retained for a longer period in line with legal requirements. Once data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

When deciding how long to keep information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the data, the risk of harm from unauthorised use, and whether we can achieve our purpose by other means. This approach supports the principle of storage limitation under GDPR.

6. Security of Personal Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality practices, and careful handling of records.

Although no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to reduce risk and review our safeguards regularly. If a personal data incident occurs, we will respond in accordance with our legal obligations and take reasonable steps to minimise harm.

7. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have rights under data protection law. Gardeners Fulwell is committed to respecting these rights and responding to requests appropriately. Your rights may include:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability – to receive certain information in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your data has not been handled properly. We would, however, appreciate the opportunity to address any issue first.

8. Children’s Data

Gardeners Fulwell does not knowingly collect personal data from children for marketing or service administration unless this is necessary and appropriate in the context of providing services to a household. Where information relating to a child is involved, we will ensure it is handled with particular care and only where there is a lawful basis for doing so.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or the way we process personal data. Any revised version will apply from the date it is updated. We encourage customers to review this policy occasionally so they remain informed about how their information is handled.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

Gardeners Fulwell is committed to processing personal data responsibly, securely, and only when there is a valid lawful basis. We collect only the information needed to provide and manage our gardening services, retain it for no longer than necessary, share it only with trusted processors where required, and respect your rights under data protection law. This policy applies to all Gardeners Fulwell customers in the area and is intended to ensure that your personal information is treated with care, transparency, and respect.