Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeons Stratford

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeons Stratford collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Stratford customers in the area, including prospective clients, existing customers, property owners, tenants, and anyone who makes an enquiry about our tree surgery services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We respect your privacy and aim to process only the data necessary to provide our services safely and effectively.

1. Who we are

Tree Surgeons Stratford provides professional tree surgery and related arboricultural services. In the course of operating our business, we may process personal data about customers, site visitors, contractors, and other individuals connected with our work. This policy explains what that processing involves and the rights you have over your information.

This policy applies to all customers and service users in the Stratford area and surrounding local service area where our work is carried out.

2. The personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant to the services we offer or that is required for legal, operational, or safety reasons. The categories of data we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of your organisation or property management company.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Property and site information including the location of trees, access details, photos, notes about tree condition, and service history.
Service and communication records such as enquiries, quotations, invoices, messages, job instructions, and feedback.
Payment and transaction information where necessary to process billing and maintain financial records.
Technical information such as basic website usage data if you contact us through digital channels, though only where applicable.
Health and safety information if needed to carry out work safely on site, such as relevant access limitations or risk-related details.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and lawful to do so. If such data is ever required, we will apply additional safeguards.

3. How we use your personal data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To assess jobs, plan work, and deliver tree surgery services safely.
To manage bookings, customer accounts, and service records.
To issue invoices, process payments, and keep financial records.
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and health and safety obligations.
To handle complaints, disputes, and claims.
To improve our services and maintain quality standards.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reason it was collected unless we have a lawful basis to do so.

4. Lawful basis for processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Tree Surgeons Stratford relies on the following lawful bases where appropriate:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, arranging services, completing work, issuing invoices, and communicating about the service.

Legal obligation

We may process data to comply with legal requirements, such as tax records, accounting obligations, insurance obligations, and health and safety duties.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided that your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include managing customer relationships, responding to enquiries, maintaining records, preventing fraud, and improving service quality.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on consent, for example where it is needed for optional marketing communications or for processing specific information not covered by another lawful basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

We always aim to choose the lawful basis that best matches the purpose of the processing.

5. Sharing your data and processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our business and deliver services. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We only share data when there is a valid reason to do so and when appropriate safeguards are in place.

Processors may include:

Accounting and bookkeeping providers that help manage invoices, payments, and financial records.
IT and cloud service providers that store data, host systems, or support secure communications.
Customer management and scheduling tools used to organise jobs and service records.
Payment service providers that handle card or online payment processing.
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where required.
Subcontractors or specialist contractors assisting with site work, where needed for service delivery.

Where processors handle personal data on our behalf, they are required to process it only in accordance with our instructions, protect it appropriately, and not use it for their own unrelated purposes.

We do not sell your personal data.

6. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of information and why it is held.

Customer and service records are retained for the duration of the business relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Health and safety records may be retained for longer where required by law or to defend legal claims.
Enquiry records may be retained for a shorter period if no service is booked, unless we need to keep them for legitimate business reasons.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in a way that prevents unauthorised access.

7. Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality expectations, and limited access to records based on business need.

Although no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a high standard of protection for all customer data.

8. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights regarding your personal data. These may include:

The right of access to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
The right to rectification to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
The right to erasure in certain circumstances, also known as the right to be forgotten.
The right to restrict processing in certain situations.
The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
The right to data portability where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
The right to withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis for processing.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions. If you exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding.

9. Automated decision-making

Tree Surgeons Stratford does not use personal data for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on individuals. If this changes, we will update this policy and provide any required information about the process.

10. Children’s data

Our services are aimed at adults, property owners, and businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental and necessary in the context of a service request involving a household. If we become aware that we have collected data unlawfully from a child, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

11. International transfers

Where any of our service providers store or process data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other approved transfer mechanisms designed to protect your information.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise made available. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how your data is handled.

13. How to exercise your rights

If you wish to make a request relating to your personal data, we will handle it in accordance with applicable data protection law. This may include requests to access, correct, delete, or restrict your information, or to object to certain processing activities. We will respond within the legally required timeframe wherever possible.

By using our services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Tree Surgeons Stratford is committed to respecting privacy, maintaining confidentiality, and processing personal data responsibly for all customers in the area.