Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeons Knightsbridge

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeons Knightsbridge collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing tree surgery, arboricultural, and related property services. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Knightsbridge customers in the area, including prospective customers, existing customers, suppliers, and individuals who interact with us in connection with our services.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy is intended to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and what rights you have in relation to your data.

1. Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is necessary for the purposes described in this policy. The information we hold may include the following:

Information you provide directly

Identity details such as your name or the name of your business or property owner.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information relating to the trees, hedges, or green spaces you ask us to inspect or maintain.
Billing and payment details needed to issue invoices and record payments.
Communication records including enquiries, instructions, feedback, complaints, and service preferences.
Property access details where required to safely carry out work.

Information collected automatically or from third parties

Technical data such as basic device and browsing information when you interact with digital services.
Site and service records such as job sheets, photographs, risk assessments, and arboricultural notes.
Verification and compliance data from publicly available or authorised sources where necessary for legal or contractual reasons.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data unless it is necessary and permitted by law, for example where health and safety information is required to protect you, our staff, or third parties during site work.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for specific and legitimate business purposes, including:

Providing quotes, arranging surveys, and delivering tree surgery services.
Managing customer accounts, bookings, and job scheduling.
Communicating about appointments, work progress, and aftercare.
Preparing invoices, processing payments, and managing financial records.
Maintaining service quality, training, and internal record keeping.
Meeting legal, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
Handling disputes, complaints, and potential claims.
Protecting the safety of workers, customers, visitors, and neighbouring properties.

We only use data for the purpose for which it was collected unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and that such use is lawful.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, carrying out tree surgery work, and issuing invoices.

Legal obligation

We may process and retain data to comply with legal requirements, including tax, accounting, health and safety, insurance, and record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and where your rights do not override those interests. This may include managing customer relationships, maintaining business records, improving services, and protecting property and personnel. When relying on this basis, we consider the balance between our interests and your privacy rights.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may ask for your consent, for example for optional marketing communications. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with carefully selected third parties who act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We only share information when necessary and only to the extent required for the relevant purpose.

Processors may include:

Accounting and bookkeeping providers who assist with invoicing and financial administration.
IT and cloud service providers who support secure storage, email, backup, and system maintenance.
Payment service providers who handle card or bank-related transactions.
Insurance providers, brokers, or claims handlers where required for risk management or claims processing.
Subcontractors and specialist contractors who support service delivery under our instructions.
Professional advisers such as lawyers or auditors where necessary for compliance or dispute resolution.

We require processors to keep personal data secure, use it only on our instructions, and comply with applicable data protection laws. We do not sell personal data.

We may also disclose information where required by law, a court order, or a government or regulatory authority, or where disclosure is necessary to protect vital interests or prevent fraud, abuse, or unlawful conduct.

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, insurance, and operational requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the context in which it was collected.

As a general approach:

Customer and service records are kept for the duration of the business relationship and for a reasonable period afterward.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Health and safety records are retained as needed to demonstrate compliance and manage risk.
Communications and complaints are kept for as long as necessary to resolve issues and maintain accurate records.

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 appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and limited access to records on a need-to-know basis.

Although we do our best to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs and we are required to do so by law, we will notify the relevant authorities and affected individuals without undue delay.

7. Your Rights

Depending on the circumstances and legal basis for processing, you have the following rights under data protection law:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to ask us to delete your data in certain situations.
Right to restriction – to request that we limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data 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 exercise these rights, you may make a request using the method normally used to contact us. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the time limits required by law, unless an extension is permitted.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and property-related customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally included in communications or records and only where lawful and necessary.

9. International Transfers

If any personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so that the transfer is protected in accordance with applicable law. This may include adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, regulation, operational practices, or the services we provide. Any revised version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we handle personal data.

Tree Surgeons Knightsbridge values privacy and transparency. We are committed to processing personal data responsibly, keeping it secure, and respecting the rights of all individuals whose information we handle.