Privacy Policy - Gardeners Millbank

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Millbank collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Gardeners Millbank customers in the area, including individuals who enquire about our services, receive quotations, book garden services, or otherwise interact with us. We are committed to handling personal data in a fair, transparent, and secure manner in line with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We understand that privacy matters. This policy has been written to clearly describe the types of data we collect, the reasons we collect it, the lawful bases we rely on, how long we keep it, when we share it with trusted processors, and the rights available to you as a data subject.

1. Who We Are

Gardeners Millbank provides gardening and related outdoor maintenance services. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller for personal information collected in connection with our services, enquiries, administration, billing, and customer support.

Data controller means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data. Where we use third-party companies to support our operations, they may act as processors on our behalf, or in some cases independent controllers, depending on the service involved.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for delivering our services, managing our business, and meeting legal obligations. The information we collect may include:

Identity data: name, title, and related identification details.
Contact data: address, email address, telephone number, and service location details.
Service data: information about your garden, requested work, booking history, service preferences, and property access notes.
Financial data: payment status, invoice records, and transaction-related information.
Communication data: messages, emails, call notes, feedback, and complaint records.
Technical data: limited information such as device details or usage data if you interact with our digital systems, where applicable.
Marketing preferences: your choices regarding receiving updates or promotions, where such communications are offered.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it to us and it is strictly necessary for a specific purpose, such as explaining a vulnerability, accessibility need, or health-related access issue. If such information is provided, we handle it with enhanced care and only where lawful.

3. How We Collect Personal Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or service;
book a visit or consultation;
communicate with us by phone, email, text, or written message;
provide feedback, make a complaint, or ask for support;
make a payment or receive an invoice;
subscribe to service updates, where available.

We may also collect data indirectly from:

property owners, tenants, letting agents, or managing agents when they arrange services;
referral partners or business introducers;
payment providers;
publicly available sources where necessary to confirm address or service details;
our internal records and service history.

4. Why We Use Your Data and Our Lawful Basis

We process personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following grounds:

Performance of a Contract

We use your data to provide quotations, deliver gardening services, manage bookings, issue invoices, respond to requests, and perform our service agreement with you.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data for legitimate business reasons, provided your interests and rights do not override ours. This may include managing customer relationships, maintaining service records, preventing fraud, improving our operations, and protecting our business. When relying on this basis, we assess whether the processing is necessary and proportionate.

Legal Obligation

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

Consent

Where we ask for your consent, for example for optional marketing communications, we will only process your data on that basis if you have clearly agreed. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Vital Interests and Public Task

These bases are unlikely to be used in normal service delivery, but may apply in exceptional circumstances where necessary to protect someone’s life or where required by law.

5. How We Use Your Information

Gardeners Millbank uses personal data for the following purposes:

to provide gardening and related services;
to manage bookings, schedules, and service visits;
to create quotes, invoices, and payment records;
to communicate with you about service delivery and administration;
to handle complaints, disputes, and customer queries;
to keep accurate business and financial records;
to improve service quality and internal processes;
to comply with legal duties;
to send marketing updates where legally permitted and appropriate.

We do not use your data for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes, we will inform you and explain the logic involved.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this policy. These parties may include:

IT and cloud service providers that store or secure our records;
accounting and invoicing providers that support financial administration;
payment processors that handle card or electronic transactions;
communication service providers that assist with email, messaging, or phone systems;
professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers;
regulators, public bodies, or law enforcement where disclosure is required by law.

Where these organisations act as processors, they process data only on our instructions and must apply appropriate security measures. We require processors to handle personal data confidentially and in accordance with data protection law. We do not sell personal data.

7. International Transfers

In some cases, personal data may be stored or processed outside the UK. Where this happens, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent protection measures. We only transfer data where lawful and necessary.

8. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting legal, accounting, insurance, and reporting obligations. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the nature of our relationship with you.

Typical retention periods may include:

Enquiry records: kept for a limited period if no service is booked, to manage follow-up and administration.
Customer and service records: retained while services are ongoing and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Invoice and financial records: kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Complaint and dispute records: retained as long as needed to resolve the matter and defend legal claims.

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or archived in a protected format, depending on the context.

9. How We Protect Your Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, confidentiality obligations, and limited staff access on a need-to-know basis.

Although no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we regularly review our safeguards and aim to maintain a standard of protection that is appropriate to the risks involved.

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 depending on the situation.

Right of access: you can ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: you can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure: in certain cases, you can ask us to delete your data.
Right to restrict processing: you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: you can request a copy of certain data in a structured, commonly used format, where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in line with applicable legal requirements and within the required timeframes.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults or those acting on behalf of properties and households. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in a limited and incidental way, such as where a household contact includes a minor’s name in correspondence. If we become aware that we have collected data without an appropriate basis, we will take steps to delete it.

12. Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or operational practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so you remain informed about how we handle personal data.

13. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we process your personal data, you can raise them with us directly and we will take them seriously. You also have the right to contact the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed.

Gardeners Millbank remains committed to processing personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently. By using our services, making an enquiry, or providing your information to us, you acknowledge that we may process your data in accordance with this policy and applicable data protection law.