Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeons Foresthill

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeons Foresthill collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Foresthill customers in the area, including prospective customers, existing customers, and individuals who make enquiries about our services. We are committed to handling personal information 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 Foresthill provides tree surgery and related arboricultural services. In the course of our work, we may need to collect and process personal data from customers, site visitors, suppliers, and other individuals connected with our services. This policy sets out how we use that information and the choices available to you.

2. Information We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for running our business and delivering our services. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of information:

Identity details: name, title, and business name where applicable.
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and other communication details.
Service information: details of the work requested, property information, access arrangements, and preferences.
Billing and transaction data: invoice details, payment status, and records of services provided.
Technical data: basic information from device use or website interactions if relevant, such as IP address or browser type.
Correspondence: emails, messages, notes, and records of conversations relating to your enquiry or service.
Photographs and site records: images or notes taken before, during, or after work to assess, deliver, or document services.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and you have provided it or it is otherwise permitted by law. If such information is shared with us, we will only process it where a lawful basis applies.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to assess work requirements and plan site visits;
to carry out tree surgery and related services safely and efficiently;
to manage bookings, invoices, and payments;
to maintain business records and service history;
to deal with complaints, disputes, or insurance matters;
to meet legal, tax, health and safety, and regulatory obligations;
to improve our operations and customer service;
to communicate important updates about an agreed service.

We will only use your information where it is necessary and relevant to the purpose for which it was collected.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Tree Surgeons Foresthill relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling enquiries, providing quotations, carrying out agreed work, issuing invoices, and managing customer accounts.

Legal Obligation

We may need to process data to comply with legal requirements, such as tax and accounting rules, health and safety obligations, and record-keeping responsibilities.

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. This may include managing our operations, maintaining service records, preventing fraud, protecting our property, and improving our services. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the impact on individuals and ensure that processing is proportionate.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is the most appropriate basis for a particular communication or optional activity. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal data. We may share information only where necessary and proportionate for the purposes described in this policy. This may include sharing data with:

service providers and processors who support our business operations;
accountants or bookkeeping providers for financial administration;
payment processors for handling transactions;
insurance providers or advisers where a claim or issue must be addressed;
professional advisers such as legal or compliance advisers;
public authorities where disclosure is required by law;
subcontractors who assist with delivering services on our behalf.

Where we use third parties to process personal data, they act under our instructions and are required to keep information secure and confidential.

6. Processors and Data Protection Safeguards

Tree Surgeons Foresthill may use processors to help operate our business. A processor is a third party that processes personal data on our behalf. Typical processor categories may include:

cloud storage and document management providers;
email and communication service providers;
accounting and invoicing systems;
IT support and security providers;
booking and administrative software suppliers.

We require processors to take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect data. We also aim to ensure that any processing agreement includes confidentiality, security, and data handling requirements consistent with data protection law.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, and reporting obligations. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason for processing.

Customer enquiries: retained for a reasonable period to manage follow-up and business administration.
Service records and invoices: retained for the periods required by tax and accounting law.
Site notes and photographs: kept as long as needed to document work, resolve disputes, or support compliance.
Correspondence: retained while relevant to ongoing service, complaint handling, or legal obligations.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, destroy, or anonymise it. In some cases, we may retain information for longer where it is necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

8. International Transfers

If any of our processors store or access data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place before any transfer occurs. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised by data protection law.

9. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have a number of rights under the UK GDPR. These rights apply depending on the circumstances and any legal exceptions.

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: in certain cases, you can request deletion of your data.
Right to restriction: you can ask us to limit how we use your data in some situations.
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: where applicable, you can ask for your 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 raise a concern if you believe your data has been handled incorrectly. If you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal data, you may complain to the relevant supervisory authority in the UK.

10. Security of Your Information

We take the security of personal data seriously. We use appropriate measures to protect information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff awareness, and restricted data sharing. Although no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, we aim to maintain a level of security appropriate to the risks involved.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to a customer relationship and necessary for service delivery or safety. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child without lawful basis, we will take steps to remove it where appropriate.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or operational practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how we protect personal data.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Tree Surgeons Foresthill is committed to processing personal data responsibly, securely, and only when necessary. We use information to deliver our services, manage our business, and meet legal obligations. We limit access to those who need it, work with processors that provide appropriate safeguards, and respect your rights under data protection law. This policy applies to all Tree Surgeons Foresthill customers in the area and is intended to give you clear, transparent information about how we handle your data.