Privacy Policy - Landscaping Stratford

This Privacy Policy explains how Landscaping Stratford collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing services to all Landscaping Stratford customers in the area. It applies to enquiries, quotations, scheduled work, ongoing maintenance, customer support, and any related communication. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way, in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who This Policy Applies To

This policy applies to anyone who uses, requests, or receives services from Landscaping Stratford within our service area, including residential and commercial customers, site visitors, and individuals who contact us on behalf of a property owner, tenant, business, or managing agent. By engaging our services or providing personal information, you acknowledge that your data will be processed as described in this policy.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information we need to deliver our services, manage our relationship with you, and meet legal obligations. The categories of data may include:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as address, telephone number, and email address.
Property and service information such as the location of the site, access notes, service preferences, garden or landscape requirements, and photographs relevant to the work.
Billing and payment information such as invoicing details, payment status, and transaction records.
Communication records including emails, text messages, call notes, quotation requests, complaints, and feedback.
Technical information when you interact with our digital systems, such as IP address, device type, browser type, and basic usage information where applicable.
Special category data only when strictly necessary and lawfully permitted, for example if you voluntarily share accessibility or health-related information to support safe service delivery. We minimise the collection of such information.

We do not intentionally collect unnecessary personal data. Providing accurate information helps us complete work safely, efficiently, and to the expected standard.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To schedule, deliver, and manage landscaping services.
To maintain customer records and service histories.
To process invoices, payments, and account administration.
To communicate about appointments, changes, and service updates.
To handle complaints, disputes, or requests for support.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations.
To improve our services, operations, and customer experience.
To protect against fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access.

We only process data for the purposes for which it was collected unless we reasonably determine that another lawful use is compatible with the original purpose.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for each use of personal data. Landscaping Stratford relies on the following bases:

Performance of a Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to provide a quotation, carry out landscaping work, manage bookings, issue invoices, or fulfil our contractual duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include managing customer relationships, improving services, maintaining records, preventing fraud, and protecting our operations.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information to comply with legal duties, such as tax recordkeeping, accounting requirements, health and safety obligations, and lawful requests from authorities.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for optional communications or where you choose to share certain information. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting processing already carried out before withdrawal.

5. Retention of Personal Data

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, including legal, contractual, and operational requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason for collecting it.

Customer and service records are usually kept for the duration of the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to support ongoing administration and any follow-up work.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Communication records may be kept for a period necessary to resolve queries, maintain continuity, and demonstrate what was agreed.
Photos and site notes are kept only as long as needed for service delivery, quality assurance, or recordkeeping.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you. We do not keep data indefinitely without a valid reason.

6. Data Processors and Third Parties

We may share personal data with trusted third-party service providers, known as processors, who help us operate our business. These processors act only on our instructions and are required to protect your data appropriately. Examples may include:

Accounting and bookkeeping providers.
IT and cloud storage providers.
Payment processing services.
Communication and scheduling systems.
Professional advisers such as insurers, auditors, or legal advisers where necessary.

We may also disclose information where required by law, court order, or public authority, or where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims. We do not sell your personal data.

Whenever data is shared, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient has appropriate security measures and only processes the data for legitimate purposes.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful management of records.

Although no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we continuously assess our controls and aim to reduce risk. If we become aware of a data incident that may affect your rights or freedoms, we will take appropriate action in line with legal requirements.

8. Your Rights Under GDPR

As a data subject, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these may include:

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

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will assess your request in accordance with applicable law and respond within the required time limits. In some cases, we may need to retain certain data for legal or contractual reasons.

9. International Transfers

If any processor or service provider stores or accesses data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that suitable safeguards are in place to protect your personal data and to maintain an equivalent level of protection consistent with GDPR requirements.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided by a parent, guardian, or authorised representative in connection with a service request. Where such data is necessary, it will be handled carefully and only for the relevant service purpose.

11. 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 revised version will apply from the date it is updated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their personal data is handled.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Landscaping Stratford is committed to processing personal data responsibly, securely, and lawfully. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and legitimate purposes, keep it for no longer than necessary, share it only with appropriate processors or where required by law, and respect your rights at all stages. Our goal is to protect your information while providing reliable landscaping services to customers in the area.