Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeons Boundsgreen

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeons Boundsgreen collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing tree surgery and related services. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Boundsgreen customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, former customers, and anyone who interacts with us in connection with our services.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We only collect personal data that is necessary for legitimate business and service purposes, and we take appropriate steps to keep it secure.

1. Data We Collect

We may collect and process different categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us and the services we provide. This may include:

Identity details such as your name, title, and, where relevant, business name.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Property and service information such as property access notes, site addresses, job requirements, and service preferences.
Payment and billing information such as invoice details, payment status, and transaction records.
Communication records including emails, messages, telephone notes, and service enquiries.
Technical information if you use any digital forms or online systems, such as IP address, device type, and browser data.
Health and safety information where necessary to complete a job safely, for example access restrictions, hazards, or conditions affecting site work.
Photographs and site images taken before, during, or after work for quoting, record keeping, quality assurance, or evidence of completed services.

We usually collect personal data directly from you, but we may also receive information from property owners, tenants, contractors, insurers, local authorities, or other parties who arrange services on your behalf.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations, assess service requests, and arrange work.
To carry out tree surgery, maintenance, inspections, stump removal, pruning, and related services.
To communicate with you about appointments, job progress, changes, and service outcomes.
To prepare invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, insurance, and safety obligations.
To manage complaints, disputes, claims, and customer service issues.
To maintain internal records, improve service quality, and train staff.
To protect our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

Where appropriate, we may also use personal data in a limited and proportionate way for service evaluation, auditing, and operational planning.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We only process personal data when we have a valid lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the circumstances, our lawful bases may include:

Performance of a Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, arranging services, completing work, issuing invoices, and handling related communications.

Legal Obligation

We process certain data where required to comply with legal obligations, such as tax rules, accounting requirements, health and safety duties, insurance obligations, or record-keeping requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests may include managing our operations, maintaining service quality, keeping records, preventing fraud, defending legal claims, and improving customer service.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where you specifically agree to certain optional uses of your data. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. However, we may share it with trusted third parties where necessary for service delivery, compliance, or business operations. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers.

Processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers who store data, manage systems, or support communication tools.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who help manage invoices, payments, and financial records.
Payment service providers who process transactions securely.
Scheduling or administration providers who help manage bookings and customer records.
Waste disposal or logistics providers where required to complete a job or comply with legal obligations.
Insurance providers, legal advisers, or professional advisers where necessary to manage claims, disputes, or compliance issues.

We require processors to handle personal data securely, only on our instructions where applicable, and in compliance with data protection law. If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will use appropriate safeguards to protect it.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, tax, insurance, and operational requirements.

Typical retention periods may include:

Customer and job records: retained for a reasonable period after the service ends to support administration, warranty issues, or dispute resolution.
Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by law.
Communication records: retained as long as needed to manage enquiries, complaints, or service history.
Safety and incident records: retained for as long as necessary to demonstrate compliance and manage risk.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or destroy it.

6. 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 lawful 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: you may ask us to delete your data where there is a valid legal basis for doing so.
Right to restriction: you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object: you may object to processing based on legitimate interests in certain cases.
Right to data portability: you may request that we provide certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise any concerns with us first so we can try to resolve them promptly.

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 regular review of our information handling practices.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection that is appropriate to the nature of the data we process.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data directly from children unless it is incidental and necessary for service delivery, such as where a parent, guardian, or responsible adult provides information relevant to site access or safety.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, service practices, or operational requirements. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated.

10. Contact and Further Information

If you have questions about how we use your personal data, wish to exercise your rights, or want more information about this policy, you may contact us through the normal service channels used for customer administration. We will respond in accordance with applicable data protection law.

Tree Surgeons Boundsgreen is committed to respecting your privacy and processing your personal data responsibly, transparently, and securely.