Privacy Policy

Gardeners Heston Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Heston collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers in our service area. It is intended to be fully compliant with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation. By engaging our gardening and related services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Heston customers, as well as individuals who contact us for quotes, enquiries, or information about our services within our operating area. It covers personal data collected through any communication channel, including in person, by post, and via online or digital means that do not involve direct contact details listed in this policy.

Data Controller

The data controller is Gardeners Heston. Gardeners Heston is responsible for deciding how and why your personal data is used and ensuring that such use is carried out in a lawful and transparent manner. Where we use third parties to process data on our behalf, they act as data processors and are bound by contractual obligations to safeguard your personal data.

Personal Data We Collect

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

Identification and contact details, such as your name, postal address, and any other contact details you choose to provide when you ask for our services or information.

Service-related information, such as property access notes, garden size, type of work requested, photographs you provide to describe a job, and any instructions or preferences relating to gardening work.

Contract and transaction details, such as records of services requested or provided, dates and times of visits, payment status, amounts paid, and invoicing details.

Communications data, such as enquiries, feedback, complaints, and any correspondence between you and Gardeners Heston in relation to our services.

Technical or usage data, where applicable, such as general information about how you interact with any online forms or digital tools we may provide, limited to what is necessary to operate and improve those tools.

How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact Gardeners Heston, request a quote, enter into a service agreement, make a payment, or communicate with us about our services. We may also obtain personal data from third parties where you have authorised them to share your details with us, for example, a landlord, letting agent, or property manager arranging gardening services for a property you occupy or own.

Lawful Basis for Processing

Gardeners Heston relies on one or more of the following lawful bases under data protection law when processing your personal data:

Contract: We process personal data to enter into and perform a contract with you, including providing gardening services, arranging appointments, issuing invoices, and managing payments.

Legal obligation: We process data where this is necessary to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as record-keeping, accounting, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate interests: We process data where this is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms are not overridden. These interests include managing our operations, improving services, handling customer queries, and protecting our business from fraud or misuse.

Consent: In limited cases, we may process your data based on your consent, for example, where we wish to send you certain types of marketing communications that are not covered by legitimate interests. Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage gardening and related services, including scheduling visits, carrying out work, and communicating with you about ongoing or future services.

To prepare and send quotes, estimates, and invoices for work you request or authorise.

To handle payments, refunds, and any associated financial administration.

To respond to enquiries, feedback, or complaints, and to provide customer support.

To maintain accurate business records and comply with accounting, tax, and other legal requirements.

To improve our services, including understanding typical customer needs, refining our offerings, and training our staff or contractors.

To protect our business, property, and staff, including the prevention and detection of fraud or misuse of our services.

Data Sharing and Processors

Gardeners Heston will not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with trusted third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These may include:

Payment and accounting service providers who help us process payments and maintain financial records.

IT and system support providers who assist in hosting or maintaining our business systems and data storage solutions.

Professional advisers, such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary for the operation of our business or to obtain professional guidance.

Operational partners or subcontractors who support the delivery of gardening services to you, where they require limited information about your property or booking to perform their role.

All processors are required to use your personal data only in accordance with our instructions and to protect it with appropriate technical and organisational measures. We may also share data with public authorities, regulators, or law enforcement agencies where we are required to do so by law.

International 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 to protect your personal data. This may include the use of standard data protection clauses approved by relevant authorities or reliance on adequacy regulations that confirm an equivalent level of protection in the destination country.

Data Retention

Gardeners Heston retains personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and to meet legal, accounting, or reporting obligations. In general:

Customer and contract records are kept for the duration of your relationship with us and for a reasonable period afterwards to handle queries, disputes, or potential claims.

Financial and invoicing information is typically retained for a minimum period required under tax and accounting laws.

Enquiry records for prospective customers who do not proceed to services are retained for a limited period to follow up on your request and to understand demand for our services.

At the end of the relevant retention period, we will either securely delete or anonymise your personal data so that it can no longer be associated with you.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply to all Gardeners Heston customers in our service area, subject to certain legal limitations and conditions:

Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how we process it.

Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you can ask us to 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 of processing: You can request that we restrict the processing of your data in specific situations, such as while we are verifying its accuracy or considering an objection you have raised.

Right to data portability: Where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you may request that we provide your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format or transfer it to another controller.

Right to object: You can object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including certain types of marketing, on grounds relating to your particular situation. We will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights, and freedoms or the processing is needed for legal claims.

Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. This will not affect processing that has already taken place but may limit our ability to provide certain services or communications.

Security of Your Data

Gardeners Heston takes the security of your personal data seriously. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures are reviewed periodically and updated where necessary to reflect changes in technology, regulation, or our operations.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or how we process personal data. The updated version will apply from the date it is published. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how Gardeners Heston protects your personal data.