Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeons Belmont

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeons Belmont collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Belmont customers in the area, including people who request a quotation, make an enquiry, book work, receive tree surgery services, or otherwise 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 hold about you, why we hold it, how long we keep it, and what rights you have.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Tree Surgeons Belmont is the data controller in relation to the personal data described in this policy. This means we decide how and why your personal data is used when you engage with our tree surgery and related services.

This policy covers personal data collected from customers, prospective customers, property owners, tenants, contractors, and other individuals who may contact us in relation to our services. It also covers information collected when we visit a site, prepare a quotation, carry out work, invoice for services, or manage follow-up communications.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact information such as address, email address, and phone number.
Property and service details such as site address, access notes, photographs, work specifications, and records of services requested or completed.
Billing and payment information such as invoice details, payment status, and transaction records.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and any feedback or complaints.
Technical data such as basic device or browser information if you interact with us digitally, where applicable.
Safety and operational information such as risk assessments, job notes, and records needed to plan work safely.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data unless it is necessary and you choose to provide it, or it is otherwise required for a specific lawful purpose. If such data is ever processed, we will only do so where the law allows and appropriate safeguards are in place.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To assess your needs and plan tree surgery work safely and effectively.
To deliver services, including scheduling, attendance, and completion of work.
To manage customer records and maintain service history.
To issue invoices, process payments, and manage accounts.
To communicate with you about appointments, service updates, and aftercare.
To handle complaints, disputes, and insurance-related matters.
To comply with legal, regulatory, tax, and safety obligations.
To protect our business, staff, customers, and property.

We only use your personal data where we have a valid lawful basis to do so. We do not use personal data in ways that are incompatible with the purposes for which it was collected.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, scheduling work, carrying out tree surgery services, and managing billing and payment.

Legal Obligation

We may process your data when needed to comply with legal requirements, such as tax records, accounting obligations, health and safety duties, and other applicable laws.

Legitimate Interests

We may process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing customer relationships, maintaining business records, improving service delivery, preventing fraud, and protecting our operations.

Consent

In some cases, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of optional communication or specific processing activities where consent is the appropriate basis. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the purposes set out in this policy. These parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide.

Examples of processors may include:

Accounting and bookkeeping providers.
IT and cloud storage providers.
Payment processing providers.
Communication and email service providers.
Scheduling or administrative systems used to manage appointments and customer records.

We require processors to handle personal data securely and only in accordance with our instructions and applicable data protection law. We do not sell personal data.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, where necessary to establish or defend legal claims, or where needed to protect the rights, safety, and property of Tree Surgeons Belmont, our customers, staff, or the public.

6. Data Retention

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

In general:

Quotation and enquiry records may be kept for a limited period to support follow-up and customer service.
Customer and service records may be retained for the duration of the working relationship and for a period after completion of work.
Invoice, payment, and accounting records may be retained for the period required by law and business record-keeping rules.
Complaint, dispute, or claim-related records may be retained for as long as necessary to resolve the issue and protect legal interests.

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

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality expectations, and careful management of service records.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the risks associated with the data we process.

8. Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to exceptions or limitations in certain circumstances.

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 request deletion of your data in some situations.
Right to restriction — to ask us to limit how we use your data in some cases.
Right to object — to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability — to request 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.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data has not been handled lawfully. We would appreciate the opportunity to address any concerns first, but you are entitled to contact the ICO directly.

9. Automated Decision-Making

We do not normally use fully automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on individuals. If this position changes, we will update this policy and provide appropriate information about the logic involved and your rights.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and property-related customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally provided in connection with a service request and there is a lawful reason to process it. If we become aware that data has been collected without an appropriate basis, we will take steps to delete it where required.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or the way we process personal data. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated to you. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we protect your information.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Tree Surgeons Belmont respects your privacy and is committed to processing personal data responsibly. We collect only the information we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it only as long as necessary, and protect it through suitable safeguards. We also respect your rights and will respond to data protection requests in line with applicable law.

If you use our services in the Belmont area, this policy applies to you. By engaging with us, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy and the applicable data protection laws.