Privacy Policy - Gardeners East Bedfont

Last updated: August 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners East Bedfont collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data when providing gardening services to customers in East Bedfont and the surrounding area. It applies to all Gardeners East Bedfont customers in the area, including private households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who use our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Gardeners East Bedfont provides gardening and outdoor maintenance services, including routine garden care, lawn work, planting, pruning, seasonal tidy-ups, and related services. In the course of operating these services, we may process personal data about customers, prospective customers, suppliers, and individuals connected with service delivery.

For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal data we collect and use in connection with our services. This means we determine why and how your data is processed.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for service delivery, communication, administration, safety, and legal compliance. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

Identity details: name, title, and any relevant business or household contact name.
Contact details: address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information: details of the gardening services requested, service preferences, access instructions, and job notes.
Billing and payment records: invoice details, payment status, and transaction references.
Communication records: messages, call notes, quotes, complaints, and service-related correspondence.
Site and property information: garden layout notes, access requirements, and relevant care instructions.
Technical data: limited website or device information if you submit an enquiry online, such as IP address or browser information, where applicable.
Photographs: before-and-after images of gardens or work areas, where needed for service records, quality checks, or proof of completion.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is provided by you and is necessary for a specific lawful purpose, such as an access or safety note. We ask that you do not share unnecessary sensitive information.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or service;
book, amend, or cancel an appointment;
communicate by phone, email, or written message;
make a payment or request an invoice;
leave feedback or submit a complaint.

We may also collect data indirectly from:

property owners, tenants, or managing agents;
third parties involved in arranging access to a property;
payment service providers or accounting systems;
service platforms or administrative tools used to manage enquiries and records.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only when we have a lawful basis under UK GDPR. The main lawful bases we rely on are:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to provide a quote, carry out gardening services, manage appointments, issue invoices, or respond to service requests. This is the most common basis for our customer relationships.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service administration, record keeping, quality control, fraud prevention, and improving customer service.

Legal Obligation

We may be required to retain or disclose certain records to meet legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory requirements.

Consent

Where consent is required, such as for certain marketing communications, we will ask for it clearly and you may withdraw consent at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare situations, we may process limited information where it is necessary to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in a health or safety emergency on a property.

5. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide and manage gardening services;
to communicate about bookings, quotes, and service updates;
to keep accurate business, financial, and service records;
to handle complaints, disputes, and follow-up enquiries;
to maintain safety and operational efficiency;
to meet tax, accounting, and legal requirements;
to prevent misuse, fraud, or unauthorised access;
to improve our customer service and service delivery processes.

We only use your data for the purpose for which it was collected, or for a compatible purpose permitted by law.

6. Processors and Third Parties

We may share personal data with carefully selected third-party service providers who act as processors on our behalf. These processors only handle data under our instructions and must protect it appropriately. Depending on the service arrangement, processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers for secure storage, email, or administration;
accounting and bookkeeping providers for invoicing and financial record keeping;
payment processors for handling card or electronic payments;
customer communication tools used to manage appointments or service records;
professional advisers such as insurers, auditors, or legal advisers where necessary;
public authorities if disclosure is required by law.

We do not sell your personal data. If information is shared with a third party, we only do so where necessary, proportionate, and supported by a lawful basis.

7. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections, so that your data remains protected to an equivalent standard.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, and in line with legal and operational requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record:

Customer service records: retained for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records: kept for the period required by applicable accounting and tax laws.
Communication and complaint records: retained for as long as needed to resolve issues and maintain service history.
Photographs and site notes: retained while relevant to service delivery, quality assurance, or dispute resolution.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

9. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, or alteration. These measures may include access controls, password protection, secure storage, and limiting access to those who need it for business purposes.

While no system is completely risk-free, we work to keep personal data safe and to reduce the likelihood of unauthorised disclosure.

10. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to conditions and exemptions under the law.

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 where there is a lawful basis to do so.
Right to restriction: you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to object: you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: where applicable, you may request your data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you believe your rights have been infringed, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

11. Marketing Preferences

We will only send marketing communications where permitted by law. If you do not want to receive promotional messages, you can opt out at any time. We will continue to send service-related messages where necessary for bookings, invoicing, or legal purposes.

12. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally provided in connection with a household or property arrangement. If we become aware that we have collected personal data unlawfully from a child, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal duties, or data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated.

14. Summary of Key Points

This policy explains what personal data Gardeners East Bedfont collects, why we collect it, the lawful bases we rely on, how long we keep it, who may process it, and the rights available to you. We are committed to keeping your information secure, using it fairly, and respecting your privacy throughout every stage of our service relationship.

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy, in accordance with applicable law.