Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeons Earlscourt

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeons Earlscourt collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing tree surgery and related services. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Earlscourt customers in the area, including individuals, householders, landlords, tenants, property managers, and business clients who request or receive our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Tree Surgeons Earlscourt is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing personal information collected in connection with our services. We take privacy seriously and only collect data that is relevant and necessary for carrying out our work, managing customer relationships, meeting legal obligations, and improving service delivery.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process different categories of personal data depending on the service requested and the circumstances in which you contact us. The data we collect may include:

Identity information: name, title, and where relevant the name of a business or property owner.
Contact details: postal address, email address, telephone number, and any preferred communication details.
Property and service information: details of the trees or outdoor areas requiring assessment or work, site access notes, photographs, measurements, and service instructions.
Transaction information: records of quotations, invoices, payment status, and service history.
Communication records: emails, messages, call notes, complaints, queries, and feedback.
Technical information: limited device and usage data if you interact with our digital systems, such as IP address or browser information, where applicable.
Special category data: we do not normally seek special category data. If such information is voluntarily provided and is necessary for service delivery or safety, we will process it only where a lawful basis applies and additional safeguards are in place.

We generally collect data directly from you when you request a quote, book a service, make an enquiry, or communicate with us. In some cases, we may receive information from a landlord, agent, neighbour, insurer, local authority, or another authorised representative acting on your behalf.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations, assess work requirements, and deliver tree surgery services;
to arrange site visits, manage scheduling, and coordinate teams and equipment;
to maintain records of work completed and service history;
to process payments, issue invoices, and manage accounts;
to communicate with customers about bookings, changes, queries, or complaints;
to comply with legal, tax, insurance, health and safety, and record-keeping obligations;
to prevent fraud, misuse, or security incidents;
to improve our services, training, and operational standards;
to defend, establish, or exercise legal claims where necessary.

We will only use your data for the purposes for which it was collected unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose. If we need to use your data for an unrelated purpose, we will explain the legal basis and, where required, seek consent.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the context, Tree Surgeons Earlscourt relies on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, arranging and carrying out tree surgery work, and managing payments and service delivery.

Legal Obligation

We may process data to comply with legal requirements, such as tax and accounting rules, health and safety obligations, insurance requirements, and other regulatory duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Legitimate interests may include managing customer relationships, maintaining service records, improving our operations, and protecting our business against misuse or claims.

Consent

Where required, we may rely on your consent, for example if we process optional information for a specific purpose that is not covered by another lawful basis. You may withdraw consent at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Vital Interests and Public Task

These bases are unlikely to apply in most routine cases, but may be relevant in exceptional circumstances where processing is necessary to protect someone’s vital interests or where a public authority request applies.

5. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

We may share personal data only where necessary and with appropriate safeguards. We do not sell personal information. We may share data with:

Service providers and processors: third parties who help us operate our business, such as accounting services, IT support, booking systems, secure data storage providers, payment processors, and communications tools.
Subcontractors or specialist contractors: where required to complete a project safely and effectively.
Insurers, legal advisers, and professional advisers: where necessary for claims handling, legal advice, or compliance.
Public authorities: where required by law, court order, or regulatory request.

When we use processors, they act only on our instructions and are contractually bound to protect personal data, use it only for specified purposes, and implement suitable technical and organisational security measures. We require processors to handle data confidentially and to support our compliance obligations under data protection law.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, tax, insurance, and operational requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the reason it was collected.

In general:

Customer and service records are retained for a period needed to manage the relationship, respond to queries, and evidence work performed.
Financial and accounting records are retained for the period required by law.
Complaint, incident, and claim records may be retained longer where necessary to defend or establish legal rights.
Enquiry information that does not lead to a booking may be retained only for a short period unless we need it for follow-up, legal protection, or legitimate business reasons.

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

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful management of data sharing with processors and contractors. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take reasonable steps to protect your information proportionately to the nature of the data we hold.

8. 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 lawful basis and the circumstances of processing:

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 data.
Right to erasure: you can ask us to delete 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 or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: you can ask for certain data to be provided in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To protect your privacy, we may need to verify your identity before responding to a request. We will respond within the time limits required by law unless your request is complex or numerous. Some rights may not apply in full where legal exemptions exist.

9. Marketing and Communications

We only send marketing communications where permitted by law. If you have given consent or if we are otherwise allowed to contact you under soft opt-in rules, you may receive service-related or promotional messages. You can opt out of marketing at any time. Service messages that are necessary to deliver work, confirm bookings, or meet legal duties are not marketing and may still be sent.

10. International Transfers

If any service provider processes data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, approved contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms required by data protection law.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and property-related customers. We do not intentionally collect personal data from children unless it is incidental and necessary for a specific service context. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without appropriate justification, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our processing practices. The 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 we handle personal data.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Tree Surgeons Earlscourt is committed to responsible data handling, privacy by design, and transparency. We will only collect data that is necessary, keep it for no longer than needed, share it only with trusted processors or where legally required, and respect your rights under data protection law. This policy applies to all Tree Surgeons Earlscourt customers in the area and forms part of our approach to providing safe, professional, and lawful services.