Privacy Policy - Landscaping Southwark

This Privacy Policy explains how Landscaping Southwark collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Landscaping Southwark customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who enquires about our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Landscaping Southwark provides landscaping-related services to residential and commercial customers in Southwark and the surrounding area. In this Privacy Policy, references to “we,” “us,” or “our” mean Landscaping Southwark. We act as the data controller for the personal data we collect and use in connection with our services.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us. This may include:

Identity information such as your name, title, and business name if applicable.
Contact information such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as details about your property, requested landscaping work, site access notes, and service preferences.
Payment information such as billing details and transaction records, where required for invoicing and accounting.
Communication records such as emails, messages, and notes from calls or consultations.
Technical information such as IP address, browser type, and basic device data where collected through digital systems used for administration.
Feedback and complaint information including reviews, concerns, and service-related correspondence.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is provided to us voluntarily and is necessary for a specific service, in which case we will handle it with additional care and only where a lawful basis applies.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To plan, deliver, and manage landscaping services.
To communicate about appointments, schedules, changes, and service updates.
To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records.
To handle complaints, queries, and aftercare support.
To keep accurate internal records and improve our services.
To meet legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To protect our business, customers, staff, and property from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will only use personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably determine that we need to use it for a compatible purpose and this is permitted by law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. We rely on the following legal bases:

4.1 Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing landscaping services, preparing quotes, managing bookings, and handling payment arrangements.

4.2 Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include maintaining service records, improving service quality, managing enquiries, preventing fraud, and protecting our business operations.

4.3 Legal Obligation

We process certain data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping requirements.

4.4 Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide information for a specific purpose that is not otherwise covered by another lawful basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data only where necessary and appropriate. This may include trusted processors and service providers that help us operate our business. These processors act on our instructions and are required to protect your information.

Examples of processors or recipient categories may include:

Accounting and bookkeeping providers.
Payment processing services.
IT support and cloud storage providers.
Customer administration and scheduling tools.
Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers.
Subcontractors or specialists involved in delivering services, where needed for your project.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, by a court order, or to public authorities where legally permitted. We do not sell your personal data.

6. International Transfers

Where any processor or service provider stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that your personal data remains protected. This may include using approved contractual safeguards or ensuring the destination country provides an adequate level of protection.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the nature of the service.

Enquiry records may be kept for a reasonable period to manage follow-up communications and business administration.
Contract and service records may be kept for the duration of the service relationship and for a period afterwards for dispute handling and record-keeping.
Financial and tax-related records are retained for the period required by law.
Communication and complaint records may be retained where needed to demonstrate service history or resolve issues.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it or securely anonymise it.

8. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, limited staff access, and careful selection of processors. While we work hard to protect your data, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

9. Your Rights

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data under data protection law. These include:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests in certain cases.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, you may contact us using the details provided through our usual service channels. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. We will respond within the time limits required by law.

10. Marketing Communications

We will only send marketing communications where permitted by law. If you receive such communications from us, you can opt out at any time. Please note that essential service messages, invoices, and legal notices are not marketing communications and may still be sent when necessary.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally provided in the course of a customer relationship and is relevant to service delivery. If we become aware that we have collected data unlawfully, we will take steps to delete it.

12. 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 published or otherwise made available. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so you remain informed about how we protect your personal data.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Landscaping Southwark is committed to processing personal data responsibly and only where we have a valid lawful basis. We collect only the information needed to provide our services, manage our business, and meet legal obligations. We use trusted processors, retain data only as long as necessary, and respect your rights under applicable data protection law. This policy applies to all Landscaping Southwark customers in area and is intended to ensure your information is handled with care, transparency, and accountability.

By using our services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.