Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeons Thamesmead collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing tree surgery and related services. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Thamesmead customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and former customers who have used or enquired about our services.

We are committed to handling personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy applies to all personal information we process in connection with quotations, bookings, site visits, service delivery, invoices, complaints, and general communications.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for the services we provide. The types of information we may collect 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 details such as the location of the site, access notes, and information about trees or vegetation requiring work.
Service information such as quotation requests, booking details, service preferences, job history, and correspondence.
Payment and billing information such as invoice details and payment status. We do not store unnecessary payment card details unless required by a secure payment processor.
Technical information if you contact us electronically, such as device or browser information, where this is collected automatically by our systems.
Photographs and site records related to tree condition, work carried out, or safety assessments.

We may also receive personal data from third parties where needed to deliver our services, such as property owners, managing agents, local authorities, insurers, or subcontractors involved in a project.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data only for legitimate business and operational purposes connected to our services. These purposes may include:

Providing quotations and assessing work requirements.
Managing bookings, scheduling visits, and completing tree surgery services.
Communicating with you about your enquiry, project, or aftercare.
Creating and maintaining customer records.
Preparing invoices, processing payments, and managing accounts.
Meeting health and safety obligations and carrying out risk assessments.
Handling complaints, disputes, and insurance-related matters.
Complying with legal and regulatory requirements.
Improving our services, internal operations, and customer experience.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected unless we have a valid legal basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations at your request, arranging tree surgery services, and managing billing and service delivery.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where required to comply with the law, including tax, accounting, health and safety, insurance, and record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing our business, responding to customer enquiries, preventing fraud, maintaining service records, and improving operations. Where we rely on this basis, we ensure that the processing is proportionate and limited to what is necessary.

Consent

In some situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is appropriate to send optional marketing communications or use certain non-essential cookies or similar tools. If we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our services, meet legal obligations, or protect our rights. These third parties act either as processors or as independent controllers.

Processors are service providers that handle personal data on our instructions. They may include:

IT and cloud service providers that store records, emails, and operational data securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with invoicing, reporting, and tax compliance.
Payment service providers that process transactions securely.
Communication tools used to manage appointment reminders, customer messages, or business administration.
Subcontractors and specialist contractors involved in completing work, where sharing is necessary for service delivery.

We require processors to handle personal data only in accordance with our instructions, to keep it secure, and to use appropriate technical and organisational safeguards.

We may also disclose data to insurers, legal advisers, regulatory bodies, or public authorities where required or permitted by law.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods can vary depending on the type of record and the reason it is held.

In general, we may retain:

Customer and job records for the duration of the customer relationship and a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial records for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Health and safety documentation for as long as needed to demonstrate compliance and manage risk.
Communication records for a period necessary to resolve queries, maintain service history, or defend legal claims.

When personal data is no longer needed, it is deleted, anonymised, or securely archived in accordance with our retention procedures.

6. Data Security

We take the security of personal data seriously and use appropriate safeguards to protect it from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff training, and restricted sharing of information.

Although we take reasonable steps to protect your data, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We therefore cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work continuously to reduce risk.

7. Your Rights

Depending on the circumstances, you have several rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data:

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 may ask us to delete your data in certain situations.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – in some cases, you can request that your data be provided in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in line with legal requirements. In some cases, we may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

8. Automated Decision-Making

We do not make decisions about customers based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and explain the logic involved, the significance of the processing, and your rights.

9. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. This may include reliance on adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms designed to protect your data.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with lawful service delivery and is provided by a parent, guardian, or authorised adult. If we become aware that we have collected personal data unlawfully from a child, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or legal obligations. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

12. How We Apply This Policy

This policy applies to all Tree Surgeons Thamesmead customers in the area, including anyone who makes an enquiry, requests a quotation, books a service, or receives work from us. By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this policy and the applicable law.

We are committed to processing personal data responsibly and respectfully. Our aim is to use only the information we need, keep it secure, retain it for appropriate periods, and ensure that customer rights are protected at all stages of our business operations.