Privacy Policy - Landscaping Richmond

This Privacy Policy explains how Landscaping Richmond collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data for all Landscaping Richmond customers in the area. It applies to anyone who uses our services, requests a quote, communicates with us, or otherwise engages with Landscaping Richmond for residential or commercial landscaping work in our service area.

We are committed to handling personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This policy explains the types of data we collect, the lawful bases we rely on, how long we keep data, the third parties that may process data on our behalf, and the rights available to individuals.

1. Who We Are

Landscaping Richmond provides landscaping and related outdoor services to customers in the Richmond area. In the course of delivering those services, we may process personal data about customers, prospective customers, suppliers, property owners, site visitors, and other individuals connected with our business operations.

Important: this policy applies to all Landscaping Richmond customers in area, including private households, landlords, businesses, and organisations that receive or enquire about our services.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for providing our services, managing our business, and complying with legal obligations. Depending on your interaction with us, we may collect the following categories of data:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Property and service information such as site address, garden or land details, service preferences, access notes, and project requirements.
Billing and payment information such as invoice details, payment records, and transaction references.
Communication records such as emails, call notes, messages, quotes, complaint records, and service instructions.
Technical data such as IP address or device information if you interact with our digital systems.
Operational records such as appointment history, work schedules, photographs of work completed, and service notes.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and we have a lawful basis to do so. Special category data may include information about health, religion, biometric data, or other sensitive personal information. Where such information is incidentally provided to us, we will handle it with extra care and only where appropriate and lawful.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations, estimates, and service recommendations;
to carry out landscaping services and manage work at your property;
to communicate with you about scheduling, access, changes, or follow-up work;
to issue invoices, receive payments, and maintain financial records;
to manage customer relationships and respond to questions or complaints;
to meet legal, tax, and regulatory obligations;
to maintain internal records and improve our services;
to protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably determine that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and that such use is permitted under data protection law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Landscaping Richmond relies on the following lawful bases depending on the situation:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, arranging services, completing work, and handling invoicing.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing customer relationships, improving operations, maintaining service records, preventing fraud, and protecting our legal position.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where it is necessary to comply with legal requirements, such as accounting, taxation, health and safety, and recordkeeping obligations.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is required for a specific type of communication or optional use of personal data. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare circumstances, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency involving safety or serious risk.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties when necessary to operate our business and deliver services. Where these third parties act on our behalf, they are treated as processors and may only use your data according to our instructions and applicable law.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

IT and hosting providers who store or support business systems;
accounting and bookkeeping providers who assist with financial administration;
payment service providers who process transactions;
email and communication tools used to manage customer correspondence;
customer relationship or scheduling software providers that help organise bookings and records;
professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where needed;
subcontractors who support service delivery under our control and instruction.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, court order, regulatory request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Landscaping Richmond, our customers, staff, or others.

Where data is transferred outside the UK or EEA, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or equivalent legal protections, to keep your information secure.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, tax, and insurance obligations.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the reason it is held. For example:

customer service and project records may be retained for the duration of the relationship and a reasonable period afterwards;
financial and invoicing records are typically retained for the period required by tax and accounting law;
complaints, disputes, and legal records may be kept until the matter is resolved and any limitation period has expired;
consent-based records are kept only while consent remains valid or until it is withdrawn.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention procedures.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, misuse, or alteration. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality duties, and controlled use of third-party systems.

However, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We therefore continually review our safeguards and aim to reduce risks wherever possible.

8. Your Rights Under GDPR

If you are an individual whose personal data we process, you may have the following rights under data protection law:

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 ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

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

9. Marketing Communications

We may send service-related messages that are necessary to manage bookings, quotes, invoices, or ongoing work. Where we send optional marketing communications, we will do so only where permitted by law and, if required, with your consent. You can opt out of marketing at any time.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is necessary for a service arrangement and lawfully provided by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult. If we become aware that we have collected child data without a proper basis, we will take steps to delete it.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any updates will be made available in a clear and accessible form. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Landscaping Richmond treats privacy as an important part of customer trust. We collect only the personal data needed to deliver our services, rely on appropriate lawful bases, limit retention, use processors responsibly, and respect individual rights. This policy applies to all Landscaping Richmond customers in area and is designed to ensure that personal data is handled with care, transparency, and respect.