Gardeners Westminster Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Westminster collects, uses, stores and shares personal data relating to customers and prospective customers in the Westminster area. It also explains your rights under applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Westminster customers and prospective customers located in our service area, regardless of how you contact us or use our services, whether by phone, in person, in writing, or through any online enquiry form or platform where we are present.
Who we are and scope of this policy
Gardeners Westminster provides gardening and related services to residential and commercial customers in the Westminster area. For the purposes of data protection law, Gardeners Westminster is the controller of the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we decide how and why your personal data is processed.
By engaging with Gardeners Westminster, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. We may update this policy from time to time, and we will apply the latest version from the date it is published.
Personal data we collect
We collect and process different types of personal data about you depending on how you interact with us. This can include:
Identification and contact details: name, address, property access details where relevant, and other basic contact information necessary to deliver our services.
Communication details: any information you choose to provide when you contact us, including enquiries, messages, feedback and complaints.
Service and contract information: details of the gardening services you request or receive, booking dates and times, service history, quotes, invoices, payment status, and records of any changes to your bookings.
Payment related information: limited payment details such as date and amount of payment, method used, and transaction references. We do not store full card numbers or security codes when payments are processed through third-party payment providers.
Technical and usage information: if you contact us or interact with us online, we may collect technical data such as IP address, device type, and basic usage information necessary to operate and secure our online presence.
How we collect your personal data
We may collect personal data directly from you when you request a quote, book a service, contact us with a question, leave feedback, or enter into a contract with us. We may also receive personal data about you from third parties such as online platforms where you have given permission to share your details, payment providers who confirm transactions, or business partners that refer you to us.
In some cases, we may collect data about your property or garden, including descriptions or images, where this is necessary to provide an accurate quote, plan work safely, or deliver the services you request.
Lawful basis for processing your data
We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so under data protection law. The main lawful bases we rely on are:
Contract: we process personal data to take steps at your request before entering into a contract and to perform our contract with you. This includes providing quotes, managing bookings, delivering gardening services, taking payment, and handling queries about the services.
Legal obligation: we process certain information to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as record keeping for tax and accounting purposes.
Legitimate interests: we process personal data for our legitimate business interests, provided that these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests include managing and improving our services, responding to enquiries, maintaining accurate records, preventing fraud, and ensuring the security of our systems and staff.
Consent: in some situations, we may ask for your consent to process your data for specific purposes, for example to send certain types of marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
How we use your personal data
Gardeners Westminster uses your personal data for the following purposes:
To provide gardening and related services you request, including arranging appointments, accessing your property where authorised, and carrying out agreed work.
To issue quotes, invoices and receipts, collect payments, and manage any changes or cancellations to your bookings.
To communicate with you regarding your enquiries, bookings, feedback, or complaints, and to provide customer support.
To manage our relationship with you, including keeping records of services provided, work carried out, and any correspondence between us.
To improve our services and operations, including reviewing feedback, training staff, and monitoring performance.
To comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements.
Subject to applicable law and your choices, to inform you about services, offers or updates that may be relevant to you.
Data retention and storage
We keep your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. The exact retention period will depend on the type of data and our legal and operational needs.
In general, we retain customer and service records for a period that allows us to respond to queries, deal with any complaints, demonstrate that we have performed our services properly, and meet tax and accounting obligations. When personal data is no longer needed, we will either securely delete it or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.
Data processors and third parties
We may share your personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf. These may include:
IT and hosting providers that support our systems and data storage.
Payment service providers that process payments securely on our behalf.
Administrative and professional service providers that assist us with tasks such as bookkeeping or customer management.
When we use processors, we ensure that there is a written agreement in place requiring them to process your personal data only on our instructions, keep it secure, and comply with data protection law. We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
We may also need to share personal data with other third parties in limited circumstances, for example with law enforcement or regulatory bodies where required by law, or with our professional advisors where necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.
International data transfers
Where any of our processors or service providers are located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place before personal data is transferred. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal mechanisms designed to protect your data and your rights.
Security of your personal data
We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures include restricting access to personal data to those who need it for their role, using secure systems and storage, and keeping our procedures under regular review.
While we work hard to protect your information, no system can be completely secure. If we identify a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will act promptly in accordance with our legal obligations, including informing you and the relevant supervisory authority where required.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Depending on the circumstances and any legal conditions that apply, these may include the right to:
Access your personal data and receive a copy of the information we hold about you.
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
Request erasure of your personal data where there is no good reason for us to continue processing it, sometimes referred to as the right to be forgotten.
Request restriction of processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we are checking accuracy or handling an objection.
Object to processing where we rely on legitimate interests, including objecting to direct marketing.
Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to another organisation, where this is technically feasible and the processing is based on consent or contract.
Where we rely on consent for processing, withdraw that consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data. We would, however, welcome the chance to resolve your concerns directly in the first instance.
How this policy applies to Gardeners Westminster customers
This Privacy Policy applies to all existing and prospective customers of Gardeners Westminster within our service area. It applies to personal data collected before, during, and after the provision of services, and covers both individuals and representatives of businesses who engage us for gardening services.
We may provide additional privacy information at the point of data collection where this is appropriate. In the event of any inconsistency, that more specific information will take precedence for the processing it describes.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, operational needs, or legal requirements. Any updated version will be effective from the date it is published and will apply to all personal data held by Gardeners Westminster at that time, including data collected before the change where permitted by law.
We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data and your rights.
