Privacy Policy - Landscaping Lee

This Privacy Policy explains how Landscaping Lee collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our landscaping and related services. It applies to all Landscaping Lee customers in the area where our services are offered, including prospective customers, current customers, and former customers who have interacted with us for quotations, bookings, maintenance, installations, or other service-related purposes.

Last updated: This policy is effective as of the date it is published and may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal obligations.

1. Who We Are

Landscaping Lee provides landscaping, garden maintenance, outdoor improvement, and related property services. In the course of delivering these services, we may process personal data belonging to customers, property owners, tenants, site managers, suppliers, and other individuals involved in service arrangements. We are committed to handling personal data responsibly, lawfully, and transparently in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable data protection laws.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information that is necessary for operating our business, responding to requests, and providing our services effectively. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity details: name, title, and any relevant account or reference information.
Contact details: postal address, email address, telephone number, and preferred communication method.
Property and service information: service location, access instructions, project requirements, garden or site preferences, and records of work carried out.
Billing and payment details: invoice information, payment status, and records necessary for accounting and tax purposes.
Communication records: enquiries, quotations, appointment notes, messages, complaints, feedback, and service-related correspondence.
Technical information: basic website or device data if you interact with any online forms or digital communication tools we use, such as IP address or browser data, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is required by law or you choose to provide it in a specific context. We ask that you do not share unnecessary sensitive information with us.

3. How We Use Personal Data

Landscaping Lee uses personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotes;
to plan, schedule, and deliver services;
to manage customer accounts and maintain service records;
to issue invoices, process payments, and handle refunds where relevant;
to communicate about appointments, changes, service updates, and follow-up matters;
to keep records for business administration, quality control, and dispute handling;
to comply with legal, accounting, tax, and regulatory obligations;
to protect our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will not use your personal data in ways that are incompatible with these purposes without first ensuring that we have a valid legal basis.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. Landscaping Lee relies on the following lawful bases, depending on the situation:

4.1 Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations at your request, booking services, carrying out landscaping work, and managing related invoicing or service delivery.

4.2 Legal Obligation

We process certain information to comply with legal duties, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, and other regulatory requirements. In some cases, this may also apply to health and safety or employment-related obligations relevant to our operations.

4.3 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. This may include improving our services, maintaining accurate records, managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, protecting our property, and handling operational communications.

4.4 Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily agree to receive certain optional communications or provide additional information not required for a service. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for business operations, legal compliance, or service delivery. These parties act either as processors or as independent controllers depending on the nature of the arrangement.

Examples of processors may include:

bookkeeping or accounting providers;
payment processing services;
IT support, cloud storage, and data backup providers;
communication tools used to send emails, messages, or appointment reminders;
software providers used for customer records or scheduling;
professional advisers such as legal or tax advisers where required.

When processors handle personal data on our behalf, they are required to act only on our instructions and to keep the data secure. We take steps to ensure that appropriate data processing terms and safeguards are in place.

We may also disclose data if required by law, if needed to establish or defend legal claims, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Landscaping Lee, our customers, staff, or others.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and for any related legal or operational reasons. Retention periods can vary depending on the type of information and the nature of the relationship.

Customer and service records: retained for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by law or accounting rules.
Communication records: retained as needed to manage enquiries, service history, disputes, and continuity of service.
General administrative records: retained only as long as necessary for business administration and legitimate interests.

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

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality practices, and limited access to data on a need-to-know basis. While no system can be completely risk-free, we work to maintain a level of security appropriate to the nature of the data we process.

8. Your Rights Under GDPR

You have a number of rights under data protection law. These rights may apply depending on the legal basis for processing and the circumstances of your request.

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 information.
Right to erasure: you can request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests and, in some cases, direct marketing.
Right to data portability: you can request a copy of certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the time limits required by law and will explain if a request cannot be fulfilled in full due to a legal exemption or other valid reason.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are directed to adults and property-related customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally provided by an adult customer in connection with a service request. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without appropriate authority, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

10. International Transfers

If any processors or service providers store or access data outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are used where required by law. Such safeguards may include adequacy decisions, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal mechanisms designed to protect personal data.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will take effect when published. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled. Where required by law, we will notify you of material changes in a suitable manner.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Landscaping Lee is committed to lawful, fair, and transparent processing of personal data. We collect only what we need, use it for legitimate business and service purposes, retain it for appropriate periods, and protect it with reasonable security measures. We also respect your rights and aim to handle all data in a way that supports trust and compliance.

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this Privacy Policy, in accordance with applicable law.