Data we collect
We only collect information you give us directly when you contact us or book a visit. Specifically:
- Name, phone number and email — you give these when you ring or email
- Property address — you give this so we can come do the work
- Photos you send by text or email of the section or the issue you'd like us to look at
- Payment card details — handled by Stripe; we never see or store the card number
- Bank account details — only if you choose direct-credit and only what's needed to reconcile your payment against the invoice
- Anonymous page-view analytics — only if you accept analytics cookies (see cookies policy)
We don't run any kind of automated tracking, marketing-pixel installation, or third-party advertising on this website beyond the analytics cookie, which is opt-in.
How we use it
- To schedule and complete the work you've asked us to do
- To send you the quote, invoice, and GST receipt
- To follow up under the workmanship guarantee if a planting hasn't taken
- To send a reminder text twelve months later that your annual hedge or fruit-tree prune might be due (you can ask us never to do this)
- To improve the website — anonymous analytics show us which pages help people find the right service
We don't sell your data, we don't share it with advertisers, and we don't send marketing emails to people who haven't booked us.
Who we share with
A short list. We share data only with the third-party services we genuinely use to run the business.
- Stripe — handles card payments; receives card details, name, amount, and the work description. Stripe holds data outside New Zealand; their privacy policy and security practices are at stripe.com/nz/privacy.
- Google Workspace — hosts our email; receives anything you email us at kia.ora@waikatogardener.com. Data may be held outside NZ.
- Xero — accounting and invoicing; receives invoice details (name, address, amount). Xero holds data in Australia.
- Plausible Analytics — anonymous page-view stats (opt-in cookie, no personal identifier captured). Plausible's data is held in Germany under EU rules.
We don't share with anyone else, and we don't allow these processors to use your data for their own purposes. Where data is held outside New Zealand, we have satisfied ourselves under Information Privacy Principle 12 that the receiving country has comparable privacy protections, or we have your express consent.
How long we keep it
- Job records (address, scope, invoice) — seven years (tax compliance under IRD record-keeping requirements)
- Quote requests where you didn't book — twelve months, then deleted
- Photos you sent us — until the job is complete and the twelve-month plant-replacement window has expired, then deleted
- Email exchanges — twenty-four months, then archived to a closed folder
Your rights under the Privacy Act 2020
Under the Privacy Act 2020 (NZ), you have the following rights as a data subject:
- The right to access the personal information we hold about you (Principle 6)
- The right to ask us to correct anything inaccurate (Principle 7)
- The right to ask us to delete information we no longer need (subject to the IRD seven-year retention requirement)
- The right to ask us to stop sending the annual maintenance reminder text
- The right to be told if we suffer a privacy breach that may cause you serious harm (notification under Part 6 of the Act)
To exercise any of these rights, email kia.ora@waikatogardener.com with "PRIVACY" in the subject line. We respond within twenty working days as required by the Privacy Act.
Making a privacy complaint
If you believe we have breached the Privacy Act 2020, please contact us first — we want to resolve any issue directly and quickly. If you remain unsatisfied after our response, you have the right to make a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner:
- Phone 0800 803 909
- Online at privacy.org.nz
- By post to PO Box 10094, Wellington 6143
Security
We use industry-standard practices: TLS on the website, two-factor authentication on Google Workspace and Xero, encrypted backups of the job-records database. None of these are absolute guarantees against a sophisticated breach, but they cover the realistic threat profile of a three-person gardening business.
In the event of a notifiable privacy breach (one that has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm), we will notify you and the Privacy Commissioner as required by Part 6 of the Privacy Act 2020.
Contact us about privacy
Email kia.ora@waikatogardener.com with "PRIVACY" in the subject line. Or ring (07) 853 4267 and ask for Hemi. We respond within twenty working days for written requests, usually much sooner.