Privacy Policy - Landscaping Kensington

This Privacy Policy explains how Landscaping Kensington collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Landscaping Kensington customers in the area, including existing, prospective, and former customers, as well as individuals who enquire about our services or interact with us in relation to landscaping, garden maintenance, design, installation, and related services.

1. Who We Are

Landscaping Kensington is a landscaping service provider that handles personal data in connection with the delivery of our services. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as a data controller when we decide why and how your personal data is processed. In some cases, we may also act as a data processor when processing information on behalf of another controller, subject to that party’s instructions.

2. Information We Collect

We collect and process only the information that is necessary for our business operations and service delivery. Depending on the way you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, phone number, and email address.
Service information such as property access instructions, preferred appointment times, service history, and landscaping requirements.
Communication records such as enquiries, feedback, complaints, and messages exchanged with us.
Billing and payment details such as invoicing records and payment status.
Technical data such as device and browser information, where relevant to online forms or digital communications.
Photographs or site images if provided for quotations, planning, or project documentation.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it lawfully, or we are otherwise permitted by law to process it. We ask that you avoid sharing unnecessary sensitive information.

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, project updates, and service changes.
To issue invoices, record payments, and maintain financial records.
To manage customer relationships and service quality.
To meet legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To protect our business, prevent fraud, and resolve disputes.
To keep appropriate records of work completed and customer preferences.

We will only process personal data in a fair and transparent way and in a manner that is consistent with the purposes stated in this policy.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR and GDPR principles, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following lawful bases where appropriate:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, arranging services, carrying out landscaping work, managing payments, and providing customer support related to the services you request.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, business record-keeping, health and safety, or other regulatory requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include maintaining our business records, improving our services, preventing misuse, responding to complaints, and protecting our legal rights. We balance our interests against your privacy interests before relying on this basis.

Consent

Where consent is required by law, we will ask for it clearly and separately. For example, if we need to use your data for optional marketing communications, we will only do so where you have given valid consent. You may withdraw consent at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Vital Interests

In rare cases, we may process personal data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency involving health or safety.

5. Sharing Your Information and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share information only where necessary and lawful. This may include trusted third-party processors who process data on our behalf under written instructions and appropriate confidentiality and security obligations.

Examples of processors may include:

Accounting and bookkeeping providers.
Payment service providers.
Scheduling or customer management systems.
IT support, hosting, and data storage providers.
Subcontractors who assist with landscaping services, where needed to complete work.

We may also share data with:

Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, and legal advisers.
Public authorities, regulators, or law enforcement where required by law.
Third parties involved in a business reorganisation, merger, or transfer of assets.

When we use processors, we ensure that they only process your data for the purposes we specify and that they implement suitable security measures. We remain responsible for how your data is handled in line with applicable data protection law.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. The exact retention period depends on the type of data and the reason it was collected.

Customer service and project records may be retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records may be retained for the period required by law.
Communication records may be kept for as long as needed to manage enquiries, disputes, or ongoing obligations.
Data collected on the basis of consent will generally be kept until consent is withdrawn or the data is no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention practices.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures are designed to reflect the nature of the data and the risks involved.

Security controls may include restricted access, password protection, secure storage, and staff training. While no system can be completely secure, we take reasonable steps to safeguard your information.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis relied upon for processing.

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 – you can request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit processing in specific situations.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – you can ask for certain data in a commonly used, machine-readable format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any concerns promptly and fairly.

9. International Transfers

If personal data is transferred outside the UK or the EEA, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place where required by law. This may include approved contractual protections or other lawful transfer mechanisms designed to preserve the security and privacy of your information.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are primarily intended for adult customers and property owners or occupants arranging landscaping work. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary for a lawful purpose and appropriate safeguards are in place.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or how we handle personal data. Any updates will take effect when published in the revised form. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.

12. Summary of Key Principles

In summary, Landscaping Kensington processes personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently. We only collect what we need, we use it for clear and limited purposes, we retain it for no longer than necessary, and we share it only with trusted processors or where legally required. We respect your rights and aim to handle all personal information responsibly and securely.

By using our services or making an enquiry, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy.