Gardeners Northolt Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Northolt collects, uses, stores and protects personal information relating to our customers in the Northolt area and surrounding neighbourhoods. It also explains the legal basis on which we process personal data, how long we retain it, the role of our processors, and the rights you have under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This Privacy Policy applies to all customers and prospective customers of Gardeners Northolt who request, use, or are offered our gardening and related services within our service area.

Who We Are

Gardeners Northolt is a local gardening services provider operating in the Northolt area and nearby locations. For the purposes of data protection law, Gardeners Northolt is the data controller in relation to the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. As data controller, we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal information.

Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process personal data that is necessary to provide our services, manage our business, and comply with legal obligations. The categories of personal data we may collect include:

Identification and contact details, such as your name, residential address, service address, and any other basic contact information you provide to arrange or receive our services.

Service information, such as details of your garden, property access requirements, service history, notes on preferences, and any photographs you choose to provide to help us understand the work required.

Communication records, such as information you provide when you contact us to request a quote, book a service, make an enquiry, or give feedback, including the content of your messages and any follow up correspondence.

Billing and transaction information, such as amounts charged, payment status, and records of payments received. We do not store full payment card details. Where payments are processed electronically, this is carried out by secure third party payment processors who operate under their own privacy and security obligations.

Technical information, such as basic device or browser details and log information that may be collected when you visit our website or online pages, to help us manage security and improve the way information is presented.

How We Collect Your Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request information or a quotation, book or receive services, or otherwise communicate with us. We may also receive personal information about you from third parties who are authorised to share it, for example when someone arranges gardening services for you as a gift or on your behalf.

Where we use third party platforms, advertising, or payment systems, some personal data is collected through those systems in accordance with their own terms and privacy policies. In these cases, we only receive the information that is necessary to manage your booking, communicate with you, or record payments.

Lawful Basis for Processing

We will only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so under applicable data protection laws. Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on the following lawful bases:

Performance of a contract. We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging and delivering gardening services, providing quotations, managing bookings, taking payment, and handling customer service queries.

Legitimate interests. We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include scheduling work, maintaining records of past services, improving our services, preventing fraud, ensuring the security of our operations, and managing our business administration.

Legal obligations. We may process and retain certain personal data to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements.

Consent. In limited cases, we may rely on your explicit consent, for example where this is required to send certain types of marketing communications by particular channels. Where processing is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage our gardening services, including arranging appointments, understanding the work required, gaining access to your property where agreed, and carrying out the services you have requested.

To communicate with you about quotations, bookings, changes to appointments, service updates, invoices, and any questions or complaints you may raise.

To manage our business records, including maintaining a history of services provided, addressing operational issues, and planning future work schedules in the Northolt area.

To process payments and maintain accurate financial and transactional records.

To handle disputes, enforce our contractual terms, and respond to legal requests or regulatory obligations.

To improve our services and customer experience by reviewing feedback, analysing service patterns, and enhancing how we operate.

Data Retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy and to meet legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

Service and contact details are generally retained for as long as you remain an active customer and for a reasonable period afterwards, so that we can respond to queries and maintain accurate records of the work we have carried out.

Billing and financial records are typically kept for a number of years as required by tax and accounting laws. After the relevant retention periods have ended, we will securely delete or anonymise your personal data so that it can no longer be linked to you.

Data Processors and Third Parties

We may share your personal data with carefully selected third party service providers who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors only process your data according to our instructions and for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. Typical examples include:

Payment processing providers who handle card or electronic payments on our behalf.

IT and cloud service providers who host our systems, manage backups, or support our software and communication tools.

Administrative and professional service providers, such as accountants or advisers who assist with business operations and compliance.

Where we use subcontractors or additional gardeners to complete work, they may receive limited personal data necessary to access your property and perform the agreed services, and they are required to handle this information securely and confidentially.

We do not sell your personal data. We will only disclose personal information to other third parties when required by law, to protect our rights, property, or safety, or where you have explicitly requested or agreed to such disclosure.

International Transfers

Where any of our processors or service providers are located outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that your personal data is afforded an equivalent level of protection. This may include using standard contractual clauses or other safeguards recognised under data protection law.

Data Security

We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. Measures may include access controls, secure storage, restricted access to records, and staff awareness of data protection responsibilities. While we strive to protect your personal information, no system can be completely secure, and you should take care when sharing information with us and others.

Your Data Protection Rights

As a customer of Gardeners Northolt in our service area, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data, subject to certain conditions and exemptions under the law:

Right of access. You have the right to request information about whether we hold personal data about you and to obtain a copy of that data.

Right to rectification. You have the right to ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

Right to erasure. In some circumstances, you may request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected or where you withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for processing.

Right to restriction. You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as while we verify accuracy or investigate an objection.

Right to object. You have the right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including certain forms of direct marketing. We will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds to continue.

Right to data portability. Where processing is based on consent or on a contract and carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used format and to request that it is transmitted to another controller where technically feasible.

Right to withdraw consent. Where we process your data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing before consent was withdrawn.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, you can contact us using the usual communication channels you use for our services. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request, and we will respond within the time limits set by data protection law.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, how we handle personal data, or changes in legal requirements. Any updated version will apply to all existing and new customers in the Gardeners Northolt service area from the date it is issued. You should review this Privacy Policy periodically to remain informed about how we protect your information.