Gardeners Mill Hill Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Mill Hill collects, uses, stores and shares personal data relating to customers in the Mill Hill area and surrounding localities. It also explains your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws. This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Mill Hill customers and people who enquire about or use our gardening and related services in our service area.

Who this Privacy Policy applies to

This Privacy Policy covers personal data processed by Gardeners Mill Hill in relation to individual customers, prospective customers, household decision makers, and any other individuals who communicate with us, book services, or are otherwise involved in receiving our services within our operating area.

By contacting us, requesting a quote, or using our services, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy. We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time and will apply any changes to future interactions and services.

Types of personal data we collect

We collect and process different categories of personal data, depending on how you interact with us and which services you use. This may include:

Identification and contact details, such as your name, postal address, billing address, and any communication details you choose to provide when you contact us or request a quotation. Service and property information, such as descriptions of your garden or outdoor space, notes on access requirements, property layout relevant to our work, photographs you choose to share with us for quoting or planning purposes, and records of the services you have requested or received. Transaction and account information, such as details of payments received, amounts due, invoices and relevant bookkeeping records. We do not store full payment card details; where card payments are taken, these are processed by secure third party payment processors. Communication records, such as emails, text messages, or written correspondence between you and Gardeners Mill Hill, including requests, instructions, feedback and complaints. Usage information, such as the dates and times of booked visits, types of services requested, and any preferences you tell us about, for example preferred visit times or recurring service schedules.

We do not intentionally collect special category data such as health, religion or other sensitive information. If you voluntarily provide such information, for example to explain access needs or vulnerabilities, we will treat it with additional care and only use it where necessary to provide our services.

How we collect personal data

We may collect personal data in the following ways. Directly from you, when you contact us, request a quote, make a booking, speak to us in person, or provide information during the delivery of our services. Indirectly, when an existing customer refers you, when another member of your household provides your contact details, or when you are the relevant contact person for a property where services are requested. Through service delivery, as we visit and work at your property and create internal records relating to the services provided, access arrangements, and scheduling notes.

Purposes of processing and lawful basis

We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. The main purposes and lawful bases are as follows. To provide quotations, respond to enquiries and supply our services to you. The lawful basis is performance of a contract or taking steps at your request prior to entering into a contract. To manage bookings, scheduling, and service delivery at your property, including maintaining records of work completed and agreed future work. The lawful basis is performance of a contract. To administer billing, process payments, keep accounting records, and comply with tax and company law requirements. The lawful bases are performance of a contract and legal obligation. To communicate with you about your services, including confirming appointments, notifying you of changes, responding to questions, and dealing with complaints or disputes. The lawful basis is performance of a contract and our legitimate interests in managing our business and customer relationships.

To keep basic internal records of customers, past jobs and quotes, including for planning and business management, and to help ensure continuity and quality of service. The lawful basis is our legitimate interests. To send occasional service related updates or information that we reasonably consider to be of interest to our existing customers, such as seasonal service reminders or important operational notices. The lawful basis is our legitimate interests. You can ask us to stop such communications at any time. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we balance those interests against your rights and reasonable expectations and only process personal data where our interests are not overridden by your privacy interests.

Data sharing and data processors

We may share your personal data with third parties where this is necessary and lawful. These third parties may act as data processors on our behalf or as independent controllers. Service and IT providers, who host our records, email accounts, scheduling tools, or accounting systems. These providers only process your data on our instructions and are subject to contractual data protection obligations. Payment processors, who handle card and electronic payments securely on our behalf. They receive only the information necessary to process your payment. Professional advisers, such as accountants or legal advisers, where required for compliance, financial reporting, or to manage or defend legal claims.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. If in future we need to share data with additional categories of recipients, we will do so only where permitted by law and will update this Privacy Policy when appropriate.

International transfers

Some of our service providers or their systems may be located outside the United Kingdom or may store data on servers located in other countries. Where this occurs, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the use of standard contractual clauses or that the destination country has been recognised as providing an adequate level of data protection.

Data retention period

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and to meet legal, accounting or reporting requirements. The following retention periods will normally apply. Customer and service records are kept for the duration of your relationship with Gardeners Mill Hill and for a reasonable period afterwards, generally up to six years from the end of the tax year in which the last service was provided, to allow us to respond to queries, manage any disputes, and comply with legal obligations. Accounting and transaction records, such as invoices and payment records, are usually kept for at least six years, in line with tax and financial regulations. Enquiry and quotation records for people who do not become customers may be kept for up to two years from the date of last contact, unless you ask us to delete them sooner, to allow us to follow up on your enquiry where appropriate.

We may retain data for longer where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. When data is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted, anonymised or archived.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data processed by Gardeners Mill Hill. Your rights include the following. The right of access. You can request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you, together with certain information about how we use it. The right to rectification. You can ask us to correct inaccurate personal data or complete information that is incomplete. The right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected and we have no legal obligation to retain it.

The right to restriction. You can ask us to restrict the processing of your data in certain situations, for example while we are considering a request for rectification or objection. The right to object. You can object to processing that is based on our legitimate interests, including any direct marketing communications, and we will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue or need to do so for legal reasons. The right to data portability. Where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you can request that we provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format or transfer it to another organisation where technically feasible.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. In the United Kingdom, the supervisory authority is the Information Commissioners Office. We invite you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any concerns directly.

Security of your personal data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include limiting access to personal data to those people who need it for their work, using appropriate authentication for devices and systems, and ensuring that our data processors are contractually required to protect your data.

Updates to this Privacy Policy

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