Privacy Policy

Gardeners Blackfriars Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Blackfriars collects, uses and protects personal data of customers in our service area. We are committed to complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and all applicable data protection laws. This Privacy Policy applies to all customers and prospective customers who engage with Gardeners Blackfriars, whether by telephone, in person or online.

Who this Privacy Policy applies to

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Blackfriars customers and potential customers located in our operating area who enquire about, book or receive our gardening and related services. It also applies to individuals who represent business customers, suppliers or partners in the same area where we provide our services.

Personal data we collect

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

Identification and contact details such as your name, postal address, property address for service delivery, and any other contact details you choose to provide to us so that we can communicate with you about our services.

Service and contract information such as details of the gardening or maintenance services you request, quotes issued, bookings, schedules, service notes, invoices, payments received and other records of our transactions and communications with you.

Payment-related information such as basic payment details necessary to process your transactions. We do not store full card information if payments are handled through a third-party payment processor, but we may receive confirmation of payment status and transaction references.

Communication records such as notes of telephone conversations, copies of written correspondence and any other information you choose to share with us when you contact us with questions, feedback, complaints or other enquiries.

Technical and usage information where applicable, including basic information generated when you visit any online pages we operate, such as date and time of contact and the pages you access, to the extent needed for security and service provision.

How we collect personal data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request a quote, book a service, ask a question, or otherwise communicate with Gardeners Blackfriars. This may be in person, by telephone or through any other communication channels we make available.

We may also receive personal data indirectly from third parties where they act on your behalf, such as a landlord, letting agent, property manager or other representative who provides your details so that we can supply services at a property. In such cases, we rely on those third parties to confirm that they are authorised to share your information with us.

Lawful bases for processing

Gardeners Blackfriars only processes personal data when we have a lawful basis under data protection law. The main lawful bases we rely on are:

Contract performance: We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into, perform or manage a contract with you, for example to provide gardening services, issue quotes, arrange appointments, manage your account and handle billing.

Legal obligations: We process certain data where we are required to do so by law, such as for tax, accounting, record keeping and to respond to lawful requests from regulatory or public authorities.

Legitimate interests: We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, provided that your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This includes managing and improving our services, protecting our business, preventing fraud, and handling customer enquiries and complaints.

Consent: In some limited cases we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of optional marketing communications if we decide to offer these in the future. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

How we use personal data

We use personal data for purposes connected with running our gardening services and managing our relationship with you. These purposes include:

Providing and managing our services, including giving quotes, scheduling and carrying out gardening work at your property, and keeping you informed about appointments and access needs.

Customer service and communication, including responding to your questions, handling feedback or complaints, and keeping a record of our interactions to ensure consistent service.

Administration, billing and payments, including creating and sending invoices, processing payments, managing accounts and maintaining accurate business records.

Business management and improvement, including monitoring demand, planning resources, enhancing the quality and safety of our services and ensuring security and integrity of our operations.

Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, including retaining certain records for tax and audit purposes and cooperating with lawful requests from authorities when necessary.

Sharing personal data with processors and other recipients

We may share your personal data with carefully selected external service providers who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors only use your data as instructed by us and for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. Examples include companies that provide accounting software, payment processing, secure data storage or administrative support.

We may also share personal data with other recipients where necessary, such as professional advisers including accountants or legal advisers, insurers, law enforcement or regulatory bodies where required by law, and third parties involved in a business sale or restructuring where permitted by data protection law.

We do not sell your personal data. We require all processors and recipients who handle personal data on our behalf to take appropriate security measures and to treat your information in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Data retention

Gardeners Blackfriars keeps personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and to meet any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

In practice this means we retain core customer and contract records, including service information and related correspondence, for a period that allows us to respond to queries, handle any disputes and meet our tax and accounting obligations. At the end of the relevant retention period, personal data is securely deleted or anonymised so that it can no longer be linked to identifiable individuals.

The specific retention period may vary depending on the nature of the data, the service provided and legal requirements. We review our retention practices periodically to ensure that data is not kept longer than necessary.

International transfers

If we use service providers located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, your personal data may be transferred to countries that have different data protection standards. Where such transfers occur, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, in line with data protection law, so that your personal data remains adequately protected.

Data security

We take the security of your personal data seriously. Gardeners Blackfriars implements appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, disclosure or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, encryption where appropriate and staff awareness measures.

While we strive to protect your personal data, no system can be completely secure. We therefore cannot guarantee absolute security of information transmitted to or stored by us, but we do our best to reduce security risks to a reasonable level.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data processed by Gardeners Blackfriars. These rights may be subject to certain conditions and exemptions. They include:

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

The right to rectification: You can ask us to correct or complete any personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.

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 purpose for which it was collected and we have no legal obligation to retain it.

The right to restrict processing: You can ask us to restrict how we use your data in certain situations, for example while we investigate a concern you have raised about its accuracy.

The right to data portability: Where we process your personal data on the basis of consent or contract and by automated means, you may have the right to receive that data in a commonly used, machine readable format and request that we transfer it to another controller where technically feasible.

The right to object: You can object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis. We will then stop processing your data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests or we need to continue processing for legal claims.

The right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent to process personal data, you can withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

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 any concerns.

Updates to this Privacy Policy

Gardeners Blackfriars may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations or how we process personal data. Any updates will apply from the date they are published. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we protect your personal data.