Gardeners Marks Gate Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Marks Gate collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to customers in the Marks Gate area. It also explains the rights that individuals have under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws. This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Marks Gate customers within the service area, including prospective, current and former customers.

Scope and Data Controller

Gardeners Marks Gate is the organisation responsible for deciding how and why your personal data is processed within the Marks Gate area. This Privacy Policy covers all personal data processed in relation to our gardening and related services, including enquiries, quotations, bookings, service delivery, invoicing and customer care.

By engaging with Gardeners Marks Gate, whether by making an enquiry, requesting a quote, booking a service or otherwise providing personal data, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Types of Personal Data We Collect

Gardeners Marks Gate collects and processes only the personal data that is necessary for our legitimate business purposes. The types of data we may collect include:

Identification and contact details, such as your name, postal address, service address, and any other contact details you choose to provide, for example for the purpose of arranging and delivering services.

Service and contract information, such as details of your garden or outdoor areas, access instructions, service preferences, records of visits, quotations, invoices, payment status and details of services provided.

Communication records, such as notes of telephone conversations, copies of letters or messages you send to us, and our responses to you for the purpose of handling enquiries, bookings and any issues that arise.

Payment related information, such as basic payment details necessary to process your payments. Gardeners Marks Gate does not store full card details when using third party payment processors, and only retains limited transaction records necessary for accounting and legal purposes.

Technical and usage information, such as basic device and interaction information relating to how you access or interact with our online presence, where applicable, for example to help us understand interest in our services and improve how we present information.

Lawful Basis for Processing Your Data

Gardeners Marks Gate processes personal data only when there is a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the circumstances, the lawful basis may include one or more of the following:

Performance of a contract. We process your personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, for example to provide gardening services, issue quotations, manage bookings, deliver agreed work and manage payments.

Compliance with legal obligations. We process certain personal data to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as tax and accounting obligations, record keeping duties and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate interests. We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests or those of a third party, and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing our relationship with customers, improving our services, securing our premises, preventing fraud, and pursuing or defending legal claims.

Consent. On some occasions we may rely on your consent to process your personal data, for example where we send certain types of optional marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

How We Use Your Personal Data

Gardeners Marks Gate uses the personal data we collect for purposes that include:

Responding to enquiries and providing quotations for services requested by potential and existing customers.

Planning, scheduling and delivering gardening and related services at properties within the Marks Gate area, including any follow up or repeat visits.

Managing our customer accounts, including invoicing, payment processing, debt collection where necessary, and handling questions or complaints.

Maintaining accurate business and financial records, complying with tax, accounting and other legal requirements, and supporting audits and regulatory inspections where applicable.

Improving our services, understanding customer needs, planning our staffing and resources, and monitoring the performance and quality of our services.

Protecting the security of our staff, customers and property, and preventing or detecting fraud, misuse or unlawful activity in connection with our services.

Data Sharing and Use of Processors

Gardeners Marks Gate may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties where necessary for the purposes described above. These third parties will only process your personal data on our instructions and are required to keep your data secure and confidential.

Categories of data processors and recipients may include:

Payment processing providers that handle payments, refunds and transaction verification on our behalf.

Accountants or bookkeeping service providers that support us in meeting our financial and tax obligations.

Information technology and systems providers that supply and maintain software, digital storage or communication tools used in our business operations.

Professional advisers such as legal or financial advisers where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, or in connection with business management or disputes.

Where required by law, Gardeners Marks Gate may also share personal data with public authorities, law enforcement agencies or regulators, for example in response to lawful requests or for the prevention or detection of crime.

Gardeners Marks Gate does not sell personal data to third parties.

Data Retention

Gardeners Marks Gate retains personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, and to meet legal, accounting or reporting obligations.

In general, customer records connected with our services and contracts may be kept for a number of years after the end of our relationship with you, in order to respond to any questions or disputes, maintain accurate financial records and comply with statutory retention periods.

Where personal data is no longer required for the purpose for which it was originally collected and no legal obligation requires its continued retention, Gardeners Marks Gate will securely delete, anonymise or otherwise dispose of the data.

Data Security

Gardeners Marks Gate takes appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access. These measures are designed to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risks presented by the processing of your personal data.

Access to personal data is limited to staff and service providers who have a genuine need to know the information and who are subject to confidentiality obligations.

Your Data Protection Rights

As a customer of Gardeners Marks Gate within the Marks Gate area, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data under data protection law. These rights are subject to certain conditions and legal exemptions.

Right of access. You have the right to request confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you, together with information about how it is used.

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

Right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you may have the right to request the deletion of your personal data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and we have no other lawful basis to retain it.

Right to restriction of processing. You may have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as while we verify the accuracy of the data or consider an objection you have raised.

Right to object. You may have the right to object to the processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis, including for direct marketing. We will stop processing your data for such purposes unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests and rights, or processing is required for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Right to data portability. In certain cases, you have the right to receive the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format, and to ask us to transfer it to another controller where technically feasible.

Right to withdraw consent. Where we rely on your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing prior to withdrawal.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact Gardeners Marks Gate first so that we can seek to resolve any issue directly.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

Gardeners Marks Gate may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or how we handle personal data. Any such changes will take effect when the updated Privacy Policy is made available. You should review this Privacy Policy periodically to remain informed about how we protect your personal data.