Privacy Policy - Gardeners Morden Park

Gardeners Morden Park is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the area. This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is collected, used, stored, shared, and protected when you use our gardening services. It applies to all Gardeners Morden Park customers in the area, including private households, landlords, and businesses that request or receive our services.

We follow the requirements of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Our aim is to keep our privacy practices clear, fair, and transparent so that you understand what happens to your information.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for delivering and managing our services. Depending on your interaction with Gardeners Morden Park, we may collect the following categories of information:

Identity details such as your name and title
Contact details such as email address, telephone number, and service address
Service information such as details of the gardening work requested, property access notes, and job history
Billing and payment information such as invoices, payment status, and transaction references
Communication records such as emails, messages, feedback, and complaint notes
Technical data such as website or device information if you use digital enquiry forms
Preference data such as service scheduling, preferred contact method, and marketing choices

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is provided to us for a specific and lawful reason, for example, where it is necessary to support access arrangements or other service-related needs. If such information is received, we handle it with additional care and only where lawful grounds exist.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to provide safe, efficient, and reliable gardening services. This may include:

Responding to enquiries and providing quotations
Scheduling and delivering gardening services
Managing customer accounts and service records
Processing payments and issuing invoices
Communicating updates, appointments, or service changes
Handling complaints, disputes, or aftercare matters
Maintaining internal records for legal, tax, and insurance purposes
Improving our services, planning workloads, and monitoring quality

We only use your information where there is a valid reason to do so. We do not sell personal data and we do not use it in ways that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Gardeners Morden Park relies on the following lawful bases where appropriate:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, delivering services, issuing invoices, and handling service-related communication.

Legitimate Interests

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

Legal Obligation

We process certain information to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including accounting, taxation, insurance, and record-retention obligations.

Consent

Where required, we will ask for your consent before sending marketing communications or processing optional information. You may withdraw consent at any time.

We do not rely on consent where another lawful basis is more appropriate. This approach helps ensure your data is handled fairly and responsibly.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data only when necessary and only with trusted third parties that help us deliver our services. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and cloud storage providers
Booking and customer management systems
Payment service providers
Accountancy and invoicing services
Communication and email service platforms
Website hosting and security providers

Where processors handle personal data on our behalf, they are required to protect it, act only on our instructions, and maintain appropriate security. We choose processors carefully and expect them to follow data protection law.

We may also disclose data if required by law, such as to tax authorities, regulators, courts, or law enforcement bodies. Any such disclosure will be limited to what is necessary.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as it is needed for the purpose it was collected, or as long as required by law. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the service relationship.

Customer and service records are normally retained for the period needed to manage the service relationship and resolve any follow-up issues
Financial records may be retained for the period required by tax and accounting law
Complaints and correspondence may be retained to support service quality, dispute resolution, and legal defence
Consent-based marketing data is kept until you withdraw consent or unsubscribe

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices. We do not keep data indefinitely without a clear reason.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, password protection, secure storage, staff confidentiality duties, and restricted sharing of information on a need-to-know basis.

Although we take reasonable steps to protect data, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We therefore continue to review and improve our safeguards where needed.

7. Your Rights Under GDPR

As a data subject, you have rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing. They 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 information
Right to erasure - you may ask us to delete data in certain situations
Right to restriction - you may ask us to limit how we use your data in some cases
Right to object - you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing
Right to data portability - you may request certain data in a usable format where applicable
Right to withdraw consent - if processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time

If you exercise one of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will usually respond within one month, unless the request is complex or numerous, in which case the deadline may be extended in accordance with GDPR.

You also have the right to raise a concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data has been mishandled.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

If we use digital services that rely on cookies or similar technologies, they may be used to help the service function properly, remember preferences, or analyse basic usage. Where required, we will provide appropriate notice and obtain consent for non-essential cookies.

Any analytics or tracking tools are used only to support service improvement and are limited to what is necessary and lawful.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults who are arranging gardening work. We do not knowingly collect children’s personal data unless it is provided incidentally in a service context and there is a lawful reason for holding it. If we become aware that data has been collected without a proper basis, we will take steps to delete it.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, service operations, or data-handling practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is handled.

11. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Morden Park customers in area, regardless of whether services are booked by phone, email, form submission, or any other communication method. By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy and in accordance with applicable law.

Gardeners Morden Park respects your privacy and is committed to handling personal data with care, transparency, and accountability. We will only use information where we have a lawful basis, retain it only as long as necessary, and protect it through responsible data management practices.