Gardeners Fortis Green Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gardeners Fortis Green collects, uses, stores and protects personal data of all its customers in the Fortis Green area. It is intended to provide clear and transparent information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and applicable data protection laws. By using our gardening and related services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all Gardeners Fortis Green customers and prospective customers located in the Fortis Green area, including individuals who make enquiries, request quotes, book services, or otherwise interact with us. It covers personal data collected through telephone, written correspondence, online enquiries, and in-person visits or consultations.

What Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data about you:

Identification and contact details, such as your name, address, and general contact information so that we can communicate with you and provide our services.

Service related information, such as details about your property, type of garden, access instructions, job specifications, schedule preferences, and any information you provide about your requirements and expectations.

Contract and transaction data, such as records of services provided, invoices, payment history, and correspondence related to bookings, changes, or cancellations.

Communication data, such as notes from phone calls, messages, or other correspondence, including any feedback, questions, or complaints you share with us.

Technical and usage data, where applicable, such as basic information about how you interact with our online presence, for example visit dates and pages viewed, where such data can be collected in a privacy-compliant manner.

How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us for a quote, book a service, or communicate with us about your gardening needs. This may be by telephone, in person, in writing, or online through enquiry forms or similar tools.

We may also receive personal data indirectly where another person provides your details to enable us to provide services at your property, for example a landlord, tenant, property manager, or relative. In such cases, we will treat your personal data in accordance with this Privacy Policy and will provide you with relevant information where required by law.

Lawful Bases for Processing Your Data

We only process your personal data when we have a lawful basis under the UK GDPR and other applicable laws. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Performance of a contract: We process your data when it is necessary to enter into a contract with you or to perform a contract, such as providing gardening, maintenance, or related services you have requested.

Legitimate interests: We may process your personal data where this is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. Legitimate interests include managing and improving our services, maintaining accurate records, handling queries and complaints, and promoting our services to existing customers in a proportionate and respectful way.

Legal obligations: We may process personal data where we are required to comply with legal obligations, for example financial record keeping, tax reporting, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Consent: In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where required for certain types of marketing communication. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:

To provide and manage our gardening and related services, including scheduling visits, carrying out work, invoicing, and handling follow up queries.

To respond to enquiries and requests for quotes, and to communicate with you about prospective or ongoing work.

To manage our relationship with you as a customer, including updating you about changes to services, terms, or policies, and requesting feedback when appropriate.

To maintain our business records, including service histories and financial records, for operational and legal purposes.

To protect our rights, property, and safety, including the detection and prevention of fraud and other unlawful activities.

To carry out internal analysis to help improve our services and customer experience, in a way that respects your privacy and complies with legal requirements.

Data Sharing and Processors

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, and only where appropriate safeguards are in place.

These third parties may include:

Service providers and subcontractors who assist us with delivering services, maintaining tools or systems we use, processing payments, or providing administrative support. Such parties act as data processors and process your personal data only on our instructions and in accordance with data protection law.

Professional advisers, such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary to obtain professional services or comply with legal obligations.

Regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies, or other authorities, where required by law or necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Gardeners Fortis Green, our customers, or others.

We do not sell your personal data to any third parties.

International Transfers

Where we use third party service providers that process data outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent mechanisms, in line with data protection legislation.

Data Retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and to meet any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

The specific retention period will depend on the type of data and the context of our relationship with you. For example, records of services provided and related financial documents may be retained for a number of years in line with legal and tax obligations, while enquiry information may be retained for a shorter period if no ongoing relationship develops.

When personal data is no longer required, we will take steps to delete or anonymise it in a secure manner.

How We Protect Your Data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure, or access. These measures include limiting access to personal data to those persons who have a genuine business need to know it and who are subject to confidentiality obligations, as well as using suitable safeguards for physical and digital records.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These include:

Right of access: You have the right to request confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and to request a copy of that data, along with certain information about how it is used.

Right to rectification: You have the right to request that inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you is corrected or updated.

Right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you have the right to request that we delete your personal data, for example where the data is no longer necessary 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 have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we verify the accuracy of data or consider an objection you have raised.

Right to object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as the lawful basis, including profiling based on those interests, and to object at any time to the use of your data for direct marketing.

Right to data portability: In some situations, 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 transmit that data to another controller where technically feasible.

Right not to be subject to automated decision making: Gardeners Fortis Green does not carry out solely automated decision making that produces legal or similarly significant effects about you.

You can exercise your rights by contacting us using the details provided in this Privacy Policy. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond to all legitimate requests within the time period required by law.

Complaints and Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, or if you wish to exercise your data protection rights, you can contact Gardeners Fortis Green using the usual communication methods you use to reach us as a customer.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve your concerns.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data protection practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.