Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeon Bromley

Tree Surgeon Bromley is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers, prospective customers, website visitors, and other individuals whose information we process. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy applies to all Tree Surgeon Bromley customers in the area, including individuals and businesses who request quotations, book services, receive tree surgery work, or otherwise interact with us in relation to our services.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Tree Surgeon Bromley acts as the data controller for the personal data we collect and use in the course of providing our services. This means we decide how and why personal data is processed. We are responsible for ensuring that personal data is handled lawfully, fairly, and transparently.

We only process personal data where we have a valid legal basis and where the processing is necessary for legitimate business and service purposes.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity information, such as your name or business name.
Contact details, such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information, including details about the trees, shrubs, hedges, or outdoor areas you want us to assess or work on.
Quotation and booking information, such as preferred dates, appointment notes, and service history.
Payment-related information, such as billing records and transaction details.
Communication records, including messages, emails, calls, and any feedback or complaints.
Technical information, where applicable, such as basic website usage data or device information collected through standard security and analytics tools.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is provided by you and is necessary for a specific service interaction. If such information is ever provided, we will handle it with additional care and only process it where permitted by law.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or consultation,
book a service,
contact us by phone, email, or other communication methods,
pay for a service or receive an invoice,
provide feedback, make a complaint, or ask a question,
engage with our customer service or operational teams.

We may also receive personal data from third parties where necessary to deliver our services, for example from property owners, landlords, letting agents, insurers, or subcontractors acting on our behalf. In such cases, we only use the information for the relevant service purpose.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for each processing activity. Depending on the nature of the service and the relationship with you, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, scheduling services, carrying out tree surgery work, invoicing, and handling customer service matters related to the service.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include responding to enquiries, managing our business operations, preventing fraud, maintaining records, improving service quality, and handling administrative tasks.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where needed to comply with legal or regulatory requirements, such as tax, accounting, insurance, health and safety, or record-keeping obligations.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent. If we do so, we will clearly explain what you are consenting to and you may withdraw your consent at any time, where applicable.

5. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and assess service requirements,
to deliver tree surgery and related services,
to communicate with you about appointments, service updates, and invoices,
to keep accurate internal records,
to manage payments and accounting,
to resolve complaints and improve our services,
to meet legal, safety, and insurance obligations,
to protect our business, staff, and customers from misuse or unlawful activity.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for a compatible purpose and the law allows us to do so.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business and provide services. These parties act as processors when they process data on our behalf and under our instructions. Examples may include:

IT and cloud service providers used for secure storage, email, and system administration,
accountants and bookkeeping services for financial administration,
payment processors for handling transactions,
subcontractors or specialist contractors involved in service delivery,
administrative support providers assisting with bookings or record management,
professional advisers such as lawyers, insurers, or auditors where necessary.

Where we share data with processors, we ensure appropriate contracts are in place and that they only process personal data according to our instructions and applicable data protection law.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, court order, regulatory authority, or to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, insurance, or reporting requirements. The retention period will depend on the type of data and the reason for processing.

In general:

quotation and service enquiry records may be kept for a reasonable period to manage follow-up or repeat work,
customer service and contract records may be retained for the duration of the relationship and for a period afterwards,
financial and tax records are typically retained for the period required by law,
complaints, claims, and dispute records may be kept longer where needed to defend or establish legal rights.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices.

8. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include restricted access, secure storage, password protection, and staff awareness procedures.

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.

9. 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 legal basis for processing:

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 can ask us to delete your data in certain situations.
Right to restrict processing - you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object - you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing where applicable.
Right to data portability - you can request that certain data be provided to you or transferred to another controller, where legally applicable.
Right to withdraw consent - if we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

10. International Transfers

If any personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it in accordance with applicable data protection law. This may include using approved transfer mechanisms and contractual protections.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally provided in the context of a service request or site visit, and only where necessary and lawful.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

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

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Tree Surgeon Bromley is committed to processing personal data fairly, securely, and transparently. We collect only the information necessary to provide our services, rely on appropriate lawful bases, keep data only for as long as needed, and use trusted processors under proper safeguards. We respect your rights and aim to respond appropriately to any request relating to your personal data.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Tree Surgeon Bromley customers in the area.