Branch & Bloom 

1. About this Privacy Notice:
 

Branch & Bloom is a UK horticulture marketplace operated by an individual sole trader.
 

This Privacy Notice explains how Branch & Bloom (“Branch & Bloom”, “we”, “us” or “our”) collects, uses, stores and protects personal information when you use our website, contact us, request a quote, or apply to list a business or professional service on Branch & Bloom.
 

For data protection purposes, the operator of Branch & Bloom is the data controller for personal information processed directly by Branch & Bloom.

Contact email: branchandbloomsolutions@gmail.com
Country of operation: United Kingdom
 

If you have a question about your personal information or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us using the email address above.
 

2. Information We Collect:
 

Depending on how you use Branch & Bloom, we may collect information including:

From customers and website visitors:
 

• Name

• Email address

• Telephone number, where provided

• Postcode or general location

• Services you are interested in

• Information included in enquiries, quote requests or messages

• Preferred contact method
   

From professionals and businesses:
 

• Name and contact details

• Business or trading name

• Business email address and telephone number

• Business website or social media information

• Areas served

• Services offered

• Business descriptions and information submitted for a listing

• Photographs, logos and other listing material provided

• Other information voluntarily provided as part of an application
   

We may also receive technical information relating to use of the website, such as device, browser, IP address and cookie information, where this is collected by our website provider or other services used on the website.
 

Please do not submit unnecessary sensitive personal information through our forms.
 

3. How We Use Personal Information:
 

We may use personal information to:
 

• Respond to enquiries and messages.

• Process applications from horticulture professionals and businesses.

• Create, maintain and administer professional listings.

• Handle customer quote requests and facilitate contact relating to horticultural services.

• Communicate with businesses about their application or listing.

• Operate, maintain, secure and improve Branch & Bloom.

• Prevent misuse, fraud or security problems.

• Keep appropriate administrative and legal records.

• Comply with applicable legal obligations.
   

Branch & Bloom does not sell personal information to third parties.
 

4. Our Lawful Bases:
 

Under UK data protection law, we need a lawful basis for processing personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on:

Contract or steps before entering into a contract — where processing is necessary to provide a service you have requested or deal with an application to use our marketplace.

Legitimate interests — where processing is reasonably necessary to operate, administer, secure and improve Branch & Bloom, respond to users and manage professional listings, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

Legal obligation — where we are required to process or retain information to comply with the law.

Consent — where we specifically ask for your consent for a particular use of your information. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent.
 

5. Professional Listings:
 

Information submitted by a professional or business for the purpose of creating a public listing may be displayed publicly on Branch & Bloom.

This may include the business name, services offered, general service area, business contact information, photographs, logo, business description and other information intended for publication.

We will not intentionally publish information submitted solely for administration or verification unless we have an appropriate reason and lawful basis to do so.

Professionals should ensure that information submitted for public display is information they are comfortable having publicly available.
 

6. Who We Share Information With:
 

We may use third-party providers to operate Branch & Bloom.

These currently include Wix, which provides the website platform and hosting infrastructure, and Formspree, which is used to process website form submissions.

These providers may process personal information in connection with the services they provide.

Information may also be disclosed where required by law, to protect legal rights or security, or to professional advisers where reasonably necessary.

We do not disclose personal information to unrelated third parties for their own direct marketing purposes without an appropriate lawful basis.
 

7. International Data Transfers:
 

Some service providers used by Branch & Bloom may process or store information outside the United Kingdom.

Where UK data protection law requires safeguards for an international transfer, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism or other applicable safeguard is in place.

Information about international transfers and applicable safeguards may also be available in the privacy information provided by the relevant service provider.
 

8. How Long We Keep Information:
 

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and for applicable legal, accounting, security or dispute-resolution requirements.

As a general approach:
 

• General enquiries will normally be retained for up to 12 months after the enquiry has been resolved, unless there is a reason to retain them longer.

• Unsuccessful or withdrawn business applications will normally be retained for up to 12 months after the application has been closed.

• Information relating to an active professional listing may be retained while that listing remains active and for a reasonable period afterwards.

• Records that we are legally required to retain may be kept for the applicable statutory period.
   

We may securely delete or anonymise information when it is no longer required.
 

9. Your Data Protection Rights:
 

Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law may give you rights including the right to:
 

• Request access to personal information we hold about you.

• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.

• Ask us to erase your information in certain circumstances.

• Ask us to restrict processing in certain circumstances.

• Object to certain processing.

• Request transfer of certain information where the right to data portability applies.

• Withdraw consent where we rely on consent.
   

Not every right applies in every situation.

To exercise a right, contact branchandbloomsolutions@gmail.com.
 

Right to object: Where we process your personal information on the basis of legitimate interests, you may have the right to object to that processing in certain circumstances. Please contact us using the email address above.
 

10. Complaints:
 

If you have concerns about how Branch & Bloom uses your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to address the issue.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator.

Information Commissioner's Office — Make a Complaint
 

11. Cookies:
 

Branch & Bloom may use cookies and similar technologies required for the operation and security of the website.

Other cookies, such as analytics or marketing cookies, will be used in accordance with applicable consent requirements.

More information is available in our Cookie Notice and through any cookie controls provided on the website.
 

12. Security:
 

We take reasonable organisational and technical measures intended to protect personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration or loss.

However, no internet-based service can guarantee absolute security.
 

13. Children:
 

Branch & Bloom is intended to connect customers with horticulture professionals and is not designed or directed specifically at children.

We do not knowingly seek to collect children's personal information through professional applications.

If we become aware that personal information relating to a child has been submitted inappropriately, we will take appropriate steps to address it.
 

14. Third-Party Websites:
 

Branch & Bloom may contain links to websites operated by horticulture professionals or other third parties.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third-party websites. Visitors should review the relevant privacy information when leaving Branch & Bloom.
 

15. Changes to This Privacy Notice:
 

We may update this Privacy Notice as Branch & Bloom develops or where our data-processing activities or legal obligations change.

The current version will be published on the Branch & Bloom website with the date it was last updated.

If we introduce a materially new way of using existing personal information, we will provide appropriate information before beginning that processing where required.