Privacy Policy - Gardeners Castelnau

Effective for all Gardeners Castelnau customers in the area. This Privacy Policy explains how personal data is collected, used, stored, shared, and protected when you use the services provided by Gardeners Castelnau. It is written to support transparency and to reflect the requirements of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Scope of this Policy

This policy applies to all Gardeners Castelnau customers in the area, including people who request quotations, make enquiries, book gardening services, receive ongoing maintenance, or otherwise interact with our services. It also applies to individuals acting on behalf of households, landlords, businesses, or property managers where Gardeners Castelnau provides services connected to a property in the area.

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this Privacy Policy. We only process data that is relevant, limited, and necessary for the purposes explained below.

2. Data We Collect

Gardeners Castelnau collects personal data that you provide directly, data generated through service delivery, and limited technical or administrative data needed to operate efficiently and lawfully. The types of data may include:

Identity details: name, title, and, where relevant, details of the person placing the order.
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and preferred communication method.
Service information: property access notes, service preferences, garden requirements, appointment times, and work instructions.
Billing and transaction data: invoice details, payment status, and records of payments made or outstanding.
Communication records: enquiries, complaints, feedback, and correspondence relating to services.
Site and job records: notes about garden conditions, photographs taken for service documentation, and completion records where needed.
Technical information: limited data such as device or browser information if collected through digital systems used to manage requests or bookings.

We do not intentionally collect more data than is necessary for the provision of gardening services and related administration.

3. How We Use Personal Data

Personal data is used for lawful and practical business purposes connected to the services Gardeners Castelnau provides. These may include:

responding to enquiries and providing quotations;
arranging and delivering gardening services;
managing appointments, access requirements, and scheduling;
maintaining service records and customer history;
issuing invoices and processing payments;
handling queries, complaints, or service follow-up;
meeting legal, accounting, tax, and insurance obligations;
preventing fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access;
improving the quality, reliability, and efficiency of our services.

We only use personal data for purposes that are compatible with the context in which it was collected.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, Gardeners Castelnau must have a lawful basis for each category of processing. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking booking details, delivering requested gardening services, sending invoices, and managing service arrangements.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where needed to comply with legal duties, such as record-keeping for accounting, taxation, safeguarding, or insurance purposes.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, maintaining service records, and improving operations. When relying on this basis, we consider whether the processing is necessary and proportionate.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, particularly where it is required by law or where you request an optional activity that is not necessary for the service. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing and Processors

Gardeners Castelnau may share personal data with trusted third parties called processors or with independent controllers where required by law or necessary for business operations. These parties are only involved to the extent needed for specific functions and are expected to handle data securely and in accordance with applicable law.

Processors may include:

accounting or bookkeeping providers;
payment service providers;
IT, data storage, and software providers;
administrative or scheduling support systems;
professional advisers such as insurers, lawyers, or accountants where necessary;
maintenance and communications tools used to organise service delivery.

Where a third party acts as a processor, it processes personal data only on our instructions and under appropriate contractual safeguards. We require processors to use suitable technical and organisational measures to protect your data. We do not sell personal data.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason for processing.

Customer and service records: retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by law.
Communication records: kept for as long as needed to manage enquiries, complaints, or service issues.
Photographs and site notes: stored only for as long as needed for service documentation, quality control, or dispute resolution.

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe manner. Retention is reviewed periodically to ensure information is not kept longer than necessary.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, restricted permissions, staff awareness, and careful selection of processors. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, Gardeners Castelnau aims to use reasonable and proportionate safeguards at all times.

8. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have rights under data protection law. Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

access the personal data we hold about you;
rectify inaccurate or incomplete information;
erase your personal data in certain situations;
restrict processing in certain circumstances;
object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
data portability where processing is based on contract or consent and carried out by automated means;
withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis;
lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your rights have been infringed.

We will respond to rights requests in accordance with applicable legal requirements. In some cases, we may need to verify identity before acting on a request.

9. Children’s Data

Gardeners Castelnau services are intended for adults and property-related customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidental and necessary for service-related reasons, such as access arrangements at a household. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it where required.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Gardeners Castelnau is committed to handling personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. We collect only what is needed, use it for clear and legitimate purposes, retain it for only as long as necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or where the law requires it. Your privacy matters, and we aim to protect it with care and accountability.