Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeons Goldersgreen

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeons Goldersgreen collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Goldersgreen customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who makes an enquiry about our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services, requesting a quote, or communicating with us, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in line with this policy. We take privacy seriously and aim to collect only the information that is necessary to provide our services properly and safely.

1. Who We Are

Tree Surgeons Goldersgreen provides tree surgery and related arboricultural services. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal information we collect and use about our customers, enquiries, suppliers, and other individuals whose data we process in the course of business.

This means we determine why and how your personal data is processed. In some cases, we may use third-party service providers who act as data processors and process data only on our instructions.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity data: name, title, and any details needed to identify you.
Contact data: address, email address, telephone number, and property location.
Service data: information about the tree surgery work requested, site notes, property access details, and job history.
Financial data: billing details, payment records, and transaction references where relevant.
Technical data: limited information such as device or browser details if you interact with our digital services.
Communication data: messages, emails, call notes, complaints, and feedback.
Safety and site data: access instructions, hazard information, and details relevant to carrying out work safely.

We normally collect this information directly from you when you contact us or request a service. In some cases, we may receive data from third parties, such as a property owner, tenant, letting agent, insurer, or another person acting on your behalf. We may also obtain information necessary to complete a job or meet legal obligations.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to deliver tree surgery and related services;
to assess site conditions and plan work safely;
to manage appointments, scheduling, and service delivery;
to issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records;
to communicate with you about your job or any issues arising from it;
to deal with complaints, claims, and dispute resolution;
to meet our legal, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to maintain records of work carried out and decisions made;
to improve service quality and business operations.

We will only process personal data for legitimate and specified purposes. We do not use your data in ways that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

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

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where we are required to do so by law, including tax, accounting, insurance, health and safety, and record-keeping requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your rights do not override those interests. This may include managing customer relationships, maintaining service records, preventing fraud, and improving operations. We always consider whether the processing is proportionate and respectful of your privacy.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is appropriate to use your data for a specific optional purpose. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect processing that has already taken place lawfully.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to provide our services or comply with legal obligations. These may include:

payment service providers;
accountants and professional advisers;
IT, software, and cloud storage providers;
communication service providers;
subcontractors assisting with tree surgery work;
insurers, legal advisers, or dispute resolution bodies when required.

Where third parties process personal data on our behalf, they do so as processors and are required to act only on our instructions, use appropriate security measures, and protect the data in accordance with data protection law. We do not sell your personal data.

In some cases, we may need to share data with public authorities, courts, or regulatory bodies if required by law or where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record and the reason it is held.

For example, customer and job records may be retained for a period that allows us to manage warranties, claims, tax obligations, and service history. Financial records are typically kept for the period required by law. When data is no longer needed, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or destroyed.

We regularly review the data we hold and ensure that information is not kept longer than necessary.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff awareness, and careful management of third-party access. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we aim to maintain a level of security appropriate to the risks involved.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to legal limits and exemptions. They include:

Right of access: you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure: you may request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: you may ask us to limit processing in certain situations.
Right to object: you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: you may request that certain data be provided in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in line with applicable legal requirements. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request. Your privacy rights are important, and we will not discriminate against you for exercising them.

9. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, you should raise them with us so we can review the matter. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection supervisory authority if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or how we process data. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how your information is used.

Tree Surgeons Goldersgreen is committed to treating personal data responsibly and only using it where there is a valid legal basis. This policy is intended to provide clear information to all customers in the area about how their data is handled, retained, and protected.