Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeons Fulham

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeons Fulham collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Fulham customers in the area, including individuals who request quotations, book services, receive arboricultural work, or otherwise engage with us in connection with tree surgery, maintenance, or related services. We are committed to processing personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to anyone whose personal data we process in the course of providing our services in Fulham and the surrounding area. This includes residential customers, commercial clients, property managers, landlords, tenants, and any authorised representatives who communicate with us on a customer’s behalf. By using our services or interacting with us, you acknowledge that your information may be processed as described in this policy.

2. Personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for delivering our services, managing our business, and meeting legal obligations. The categories of personal data we may collect include:

Identity data such as your name, title, and, where relevant, business name.
Contact data such as your email address, telephone number, service address, and billing address.
Property and service information such as details about the trees, site access, requested work, quotes, job specifications, and service history.
Payment and transaction data such as payment records, invoices, and account information.
Communication data such as correspondence, messages, complaint records, and feedback.
Technical data if you interact with our digital systems, including basic device and usage information where applicable.
Compliance data such as records needed for insurance, health and safety, risk assessments, and legal documentation.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and lawful to do so, or unless you choose to provide it in a particular context and we have an appropriate legal basis for processing it.

3. How we collect your data

We may collect personal data in a number of ways, including:

When you request a quote, book a service, or make an enquiry.
When you communicate with us by phone, email, or other means.
When we visit a property to assess tree work or carry out a job.
When you provide payment or invoicing details.
When data is supplied by a third party acting on your behalf, such as a landlord, managing agent, or contractor.
When we generate records during the delivery of our services, such as site notes, work schedules, or completion documentation.

4. Why we use your personal data

We use personal data only where we have a lawful and necessary reason to do so. Our purposes include:

Providing quotations, scheduling work, and delivering tree surgery services.
Managing customer relationships and responding to queries.
Processing payments, invoices, and account administration.
Maintaining service records and business documentation.
Complying with legal, regulatory, tax, insurance, and health and safety requirements.
Handling complaints, disputes, or claims.
Improving our services and internal operations.

5. Lawful basis for processing

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

Performance of a contract

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

Legal obligation

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

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include maintaining records, improving services, preventing fraud, and defending legal claims. We ensure that any such processing is proportionate and reasonable.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, particularly where the law requires it. If we do so, you can withdraw consent at any time, although this will not affect processing already carried out lawfully before withdrawal.

6. Data sharing and processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our business and deliver services. These third parties act either as independent controllers or as processors acting on our instructions. We use appropriate contracts and safeguards to ensure they process data securely and only for authorised purposes.

Examples of processors and third parties may include:

Accounting and bookkeeping providers.
Payment processing and invoicing services.
IT and cloud storage providers.
Administrative or scheduling systems.
Insurance providers and professional advisers.
Subcontractors or specialists involved in delivering agreed services.

We may also disclose information if required by law, court order, regulatory authority, or to protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of others. Any transfer is limited to what is necessary and appropriate.

7. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and in accordance with legal, tax, accounting, and operational requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the context in which it was obtained.

Customer and service records are retained for a period necessary to manage the relationship, complete the work, and handle follow-up issues.
Financial records are retained for the period required by law and standard accounting practice.
Complaint, dispute, and claim records may be retained longer where needed to defend or establish legal rights.
Communication records are kept only as long as needed for service, administrative, or legal purposes.

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe and controlled manner. We apply the principle of storage limitation to ensure that information is not kept indefinitely without justification.

8. Your rights under data protection law

You have several rights regarding your personal data, subject to legal limits and exemptions. 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 information.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to receive 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.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in line with applicable data protection law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request. Exercising your rights is free of charge in most cases, although we may charge a reasonable fee or refuse a request where it is manifestly unfounded, excessive, or repetitive.

9. Security of your information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures are designed to match the sensitivity of the information and the risks involved. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to maintain a high standard of protection and to reduce the possibility of data incidents.

10. International transfers

If any personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the information in line with data protection law. This may include the use of approved contractual terms or reliance on adequacy regulations where applicable.

11. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or the way we process personal data. Any revised version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is handled.

12. Summary of our commitments

In summary, Tree Surgeons Fulham processes personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. We collect only what is needed, use it for clear and legitimate purposes, keep it for no longer than necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or where legally required. We respect your rights and aim to handle every customer’s information with care, security, and accountability.

For all Tree Surgeons Fulham customers in area, this policy applies whenever we collect or process your personal data in connection with our services.