Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeons Purley

This Privacy Policy explains how personal data is collected, used, stored, and protected by Tree Surgeons Purley. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Purley customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, property managers, and business clients who request or receive our tree surgery and related 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.

1. Who We Are

Tree Surgeons Purley provides tree surgery and arboricultural services such as tree pruning, tree removal, hedge trimming, stump grinding, emergency tree work, site clearance, and related assessments. In the course of providing these services, we may collect and use personal data about customers, site owners, occupiers, authorised representatives, and other relevant individuals.

We only collect data that is necessary to manage enquiries, carry out work safely, meet legal obligations, and maintain business records.

2. Data We Collect

We may collect the following types of personal data:

Identity information such as your name or the name of your organisation.
Contact information such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information including details about the work requested, property access, site conditions, and instructions.
Payment and billing information such as invoice details, transaction records, and payment status.
Communication records including emails, messages, notes from calls, and service-related correspondence.
Safety and access information such as gate codes, hazard notes, tree location details, or site restrictions.
Technical data that may be collected automatically through our systems, such as IP address or browser information if you interact with digital services.

We do not seek to collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it voluntarily, or we are required to process it for a specific lawful purpose. If such data is ever needed, we will ensure an appropriate legal basis applies.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To assess work requirements and plan services safely.
To carry out tree surgery and related services.
To communicate with customers about scheduling, access, and service updates.
To issue invoices, receive payments, and manage accounts.
To comply with tax, health and safety, insurance, and other legal obligations.
To keep business records and manage disputes or claims.
To improve service quality and internal operations.

We do not use personal data for unrelated purposes unless we have a lawful basis to do so and, where required, have informed you accordingly.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for every use of personal data. Tree Surgeons Purley relies on the following bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling quotations, booking services, carrying out work, and processing payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where required to meet legal duties, including accounting records, tax compliance, health and safety obligations, insurance requirements, and recordkeeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

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

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on consent, for example where you ask us to send certain marketing communications or where specific optional information is provided. You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing.

Vital Interests

In rare cases, we may process personal data to protect someone’s life or physical safety, for example in an emergency situation involving dangerous tree conditions.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors or independent controllers. These may include:

Accountants and bookkeeping providers for financial administration.
Payment processors for handling transactions securely.
IT and cloud service providers for storage, backup, and communication systems.
Professional advisers such as legal or insurance advisers where necessary.
Subcontractors or specialist contractors assisting with service delivery, where relevant.
Regulators, public authorities, or emergency services when required by law or necessary for safety.

Where we use processors, they are required to handle personal data only on our instructions, to keep it secure, and to use it only for the purposes we specify. We aim to select processors who apply appropriate technical and organisational security measures.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it was collected. For example:

Customer and service records may be retained for the duration of the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records are typically retained for the period required by law.
Safety and incident records may be kept longer where needed for insurance or legal claims.

When personal data is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or destroyed. We do not keep data indefinitely without a valid reason.

7. Data Security

We take reasonable and appropriate steps to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and periodic review of our data handling practices.

While we work to protect data, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. However, we take data protection seriously and aim to reduce risks wherever possible.

8. Your Rights Under GDPR

As a data subject, you have several rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal limits, these include:

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 certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit processing in certain situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to request transfer of data you provided to us, where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond within the time limits required by law. We may need to verify your identity before responding to ensure personal data is protected.

9. Marketing Communications

We will only send marketing communications where permitted by law. If you have opted in to receive them, you may opt out at any time. We will respect your choice and update our records accordingly.

We do not sell personal data to third parties.

10. Cookies and Similar Technologies

If we use digital services that rely on cookies or similar tools, these may collect limited technical information to help the service function, analyse usage, or improve performance. Where required, we will provide appropriate notice and obtain consent for non-essential cookies.

11. Third-Party Websites

If you are directed to a third-party website or service, their own privacy policy will apply. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external sites or services that we do not control.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data protection practices. Any updates will take effect when published in the revised form. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Tree Surgeons Purley is committed to protecting personal data and respecting privacy rights. We collect only the data needed to deliver services safely and effectively, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it for no longer than necessary, and share it only with appropriate processors or where required by law. This policy applies to all Tree Surgeons Purley customers in the area, and it is designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and compliance with GDPR principles.

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable data protection law.