Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeon Towerhamlets

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeon Towerhamlets collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with the services we provide. It applies to all Tree Surgeon Towerhamlets customers in the area, including individuals, landlords, tenants, property managers, and business clients who use our tree surgery, tree care, inspection, maintenance, pruning, felling, stump grinding, and related services.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. We only collect information that is necessary for delivering our services, managing customer relationships, meeting legal obligations, and improving the quality and safety of our work.

1. Data We Collect

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

Identity details: name, title, and company name where relevant.
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and site access details.
Service information: details about the trees, land, property, or site requiring work, including photographs, notes, measurements, and job records.
Billing and payment information: invoice details, transaction records, and payment status.
Communication records: emails, phone call notes, messages, quotations, complaints, feedback, and service updates.
Technical data: limited website or device information if you contact us online, such as IP address, browser type, and basic usage data, where applicable.
Safety and access data: any information necessary to assess risks, arrange site access, or comply with health and safety requirements.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is required for a specific lawful purpose and you have provided it voluntarily or it is otherwise permitted by law. If such information is ever received, it will be handled with extra care and only used where necessary.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations, arrange surveys, and carry out tree surgery services;
to communicate with customers before, during, and after work;
to schedule appointments and manage site access;
to prepare invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records;
to keep records of completed work, recommendations, and follow-up actions;
to meet legal, regulatory, insurance, tax, and health and safety obligations;
to respond to enquiries, complaints, or disputes;
to improve service quality, staff training, and operational planning;
to protect our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or unlawful conduct.

We only use your data for purposes that are compatible with the reason it was originally collected. Where we need to use data for a new purpose, we will ensure we have a valid lawful basis and, where required, will notify you.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, arranging services, carrying out work, issuing invoices, and managing customer accounts.

Legal Obligation

We may process data when necessary to comply with legal duties, including tax reporting, accounting requirements, health and safety obligations, record-keeping, and compliance with applicable regulations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data for our legitimate business interests where these are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing our business efficiently, preventing fraud, improving services, maintaining internal records, and handling customer communications. When relying on legitimate interests, we consider the impact on your privacy and take appropriate safeguards.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, particularly for optional activities that are not necessary for the performance of a contract or another lawful basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who assist us in providing our services. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We only share the minimum information necessary and require appropriate safeguards where appropriate.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

accounting and bookkeeping providers;
payment processors or banks;
IT and cloud storage providers;
email, messaging, and communications systems;
customer management and scheduling tools;
professional advisers such as solicitors, insurers, or auditors where necessary;
subcontractors or specialist contractors involved in delivering a job, when relevant.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, by a court order, or to protect our legal rights, safety, or property. We do not sell your personal data.

Where processors are used, they are expected to handle data securely, use it only on our instructions, and comply with applicable data protection laws. Tree Surgeon Towerhamlets remains responsible for ensuring that personal data is processed appropriately.

5. 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 requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of record and the reason for holding it.

Customer and job records: retained for the duration of the working relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by law.
Communication records: retained as needed to manage service delivery, resolve disputes, or maintain accurate business records.
Site photographs and work notes: retained only as long as necessary for operational, legal, or insurance purposes.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

6. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful selection of service providers.

Although no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to keep data protection practices robust and regularly review our procedures to reduce risk.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing.

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

To exercise your rights, you should provide enough information to help us identify you and understand your request. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the time limits required by law unless an extension is permitted.

Please note: some rights may not apply in every case, particularly where we need to keep information to comply with legal obligations or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

8. International Transfers

Where personal data is stored or processed by service providers outside the UK, we will take appropriate steps to ensure it is protected to a standard that is consistent with UK data protection law. This may include using approved safeguards and contractual protections where required.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are aimed at property owners, occupiers, managers, and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental and necessary in connection with a service request, for example where a family home is being serviced and contact information relates to an adult resident. If we become aware that we have collected data inappropriately, we will take appropriate steps to delete or protect it.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

11. Contact and Complaints

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, or if you wish to exercise your data protection rights, you may raise your request through our normal customer communication channels. If you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal data, you also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

This Privacy Policy is designed to be clear, transparent, and compliant with applicable data protection law. By using the services of Tree Surgeon Towerhamlets, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described above for legitimate business, contractual, and legal purposes.