Privacy Policy - Gardeners Longlands

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Longlands collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Gardeners Longlands customers in the Longlands area and to anyone who enquires about, purchases, or receives our gardening services. We are committed to handling personal information in a way that is lawful, fair, transparent, and consistent with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services, making an enquiry, or otherwise interacting with Gardeners Longlands, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this policy. We only collect information that is necessary for the provision, administration, and improvement of our services.

1. Data We Collect

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

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, business name.
Contact details such as telephone number, email address, and postal address.
Service information including details about the gardening work requested, property access notes, scheduling preferences, and service history.
Payment information such as billing records and transaction references. We do not store full card details where payment is processed by a third party.
Communication records including emails, messages, service enquiries, complaints, and feedback.
Technical information where applicable, such as limited device or browser data if you interact with digital systems used to manage bookings or enquiries.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and legally permitted. If such information is ever provided to us, for example in relation to access needs or safety considerations, it will be handled with extra care and only where a lawful basis exists.

2. How We Use Personal Data

Gardeners Longlands uses personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to arrange, deliver, and manage gardening services;
to maintain service records and customer preferences;
to process payments and manage billing;
to communicate about appointments, service updates, and customer support;
to handle complaints, disputes, or legal claims;
to improve service quality, planning, and operational efficiency;
to meet legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.

We will only use your information for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably determine that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and that such use is permitted by law.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis before processing personal data. Depending on the situation, Gardeners Longlands relies on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging services, keeping appointment records, carrying out agreed gardening work, and invoicing.

Legitimate Interests

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

Legal Obligation

We may process certain data where required to comply with the law, including record-keeping, tax, accounting, health and safety, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example for optional marketing communications or for processing information that is not otherwise covered by another lawful basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell personal data. However, we may share information with trusted third parties where necessary to run our services effectively and lawfully.

These third parties may act as processors or, in some situations, as independent controllers. Processors are only permitted to process data on our instructions and must keep it secure.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and hosting providers who support data storage, email, or booking systems;
payment service providers who handle secure transactions;
accounting or bookkeeping providers who support financial administration;
customer management or communications providers who assist with service delivery and record management;
professional advisers such as legal or insurance advisers, where necessary.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, court order, or regulatory request. If our business structure changes, such as through restructuring or sale, customer data may be transferred as part of that process, subject to appropriate safeguards.

5. Retention of Personal Data

Gardeners Longlands keeps personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

In general, retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason it is held:

customer and service records are typically retained for the period needed to manage the relationship and for a reasonable time afterwards;
financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law;
complaint, dispute, or claim-related records may be retained until the matter is fully resolved and for any further period required to defend legal rights;
marketing consent records are retained until you withdraw consent or object to processing.

When personal data is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe and appropriate manner.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or alteration. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful selection of processors.

Although we work hard to protect information, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs, we will act in accordance with our legal obligations, including notifying the relevant authorities and affected individuals where required.

7. Your Rights Under GDPR

As a data subject, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal limits and exemptions, these include:

Right of access – you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – you may request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – you may ask us to limit the processing of your data in certain cases.
Right to data portability – you may request your data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object – you may 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.
Right to complain – you may raise concerns with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data rights have been infringed.

We aim to respond to legitimate requests within the time limits set by law. To protect privacy, we may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

8. International Transfers

Where any of our processors or service providers store or access data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as recognised transfer mechanisms and contractual protections, so that your information remains protected to a standard consistent with UK GDPR requirements.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are directed at adult customers and property owners or occupiers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children for marketing or direct service administration unless it is required for a lawful and necessary purpose. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child without appropriate legal basis, we will take steps to remove it.

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 handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

11. Summary of Our Commitments

Gardeners Longlands is committed to processing personal data responsibly and transparently. We collect only the information needed to provide and manage our gardening services, use it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it only for as long as necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or where the law requires it. We respect your rights and will handle your information with care, professionalism, and strict confidentiality.

This Privacy Policy applies to all customers and service users within the Longlands area who engage with Gardeners Longlands.