Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeons Hackney

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeons Hackney collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing services to customers in Hackney and the surrounding area. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Hackney customers in the area, including residential, commercial, and property management clients who enquire about, book, or receive tree surgery, arboricultural, stump removal, pruning, crown reduction, hedge cutting, emergency tree work, site clearance, or related services.

We are committed to handling personal information fairly, lawfully, 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 Hackney is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. This means we decide how and why your data is used in connection with our services. We take privacy seriously and only use personal data for legitimate business purposes that support service delivery, safety, administration, legal compliance, and customer care.

2. Data We Collect

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

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of your business or property management company.
Contact details such as telephone number, email address, and address of the property where work is required.
Service information such as the type of tree work requested, site notes, photographs, access details, and work preferences.
Transaction details such as invoices, payment status, quotations, and records of services supplied.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, complaints, and feedback.
Technical data where applicable, such as limited website usage data or device information if you contact us online, though we do not rely on unnecessary tracking.
Safety and access information relevant to carrying out tree surgery safely, including site hazards, occupier instructions, or emergency access requirements.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and lawful to do so. If such data is incidentally provided to us, for example within correspondence, we will handle it with additional care and only where a valid legal basis applies.

3. How We Collect Data

We may collect your data directly from you when you:

make an enquiry or request a quotation;
book or receive a service;
communicate with us by phone, email, or other written correspondence;
provide access instructions or site details;
pay for services or request an invoice;
leave feedback, make a complaint, or ask for support.

We may also receive data from third parties where necessary, such as property owners, landlords, managing agents, insurers, or subcontractors acting on your behalf. In some cases, we may collect limited data from public sources if needed to verify property information or support safe delivery of services.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We only process personal data when we have a lawful basis under UK GDPR. Depending on the circumstances, the lawful bases we rely on may include:

Contract – to provide quotes, arrange services, carry out tree work, manage billing, and fulfil our agreement with you.
Legitimate interests – to manage our business, respond to enquiries, improve services, maintain records, protect our operations, and ensure safe working practices, where these interests do not override your rights.
Legal obligation – to comply with tax rules, accounting requirements, health and safety duties, or other applicable laws.
Consent – where we ask for your permission for a specific purpose, such as certain types of optional communication, if applicable. You may withdraw consent at any time.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether processing is necessary and whether it is fair to you. We do not use your data in ways that would be unexpected or intrusive.

5. How We Use Your Data

We may use your personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and carry out services requested by you or on your behalf;
to plan work safely and efficiently at the relevant property;
to communicate about appointments, updates, and service matters;
to issue invoices, process payments, and manage accounts;
to maintain records of work completed and customer instructions;
to respond to complaints, claims, or disputes;
to comply with legal, tax, and regulatory obligations;
to protect our staff, customers, property, and business interests;
to improve service quality and customer experience.

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

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the operation of our business and delivery of services. These third parties may act as processors or independent controllers depending on the context.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

IT and cloud service providers that store emails, files, and administrative records;
accounting or bookkeeping providers that support invoicing and financial records;
payment service providers that process card or bank payments;
communication service providers that support telephone or messaging systems;
subcontractors or specialist arboricultural partners where required to complete a job safely and effectively;
professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where necessary;
public authorities where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect rights and safety.

Where a processor is used, we ensure appropriate contracts are in place so that your data is processed only on our instructions, kept secure, and not used for unrelated purposes.

7. International Transfers

In some cases, service providers may store or access data outside the United Kingdom. If this occurs, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms approved under data protection law.

8. Data Retention

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

In general:

customer enquiry records may be retained for a limited period if no service is booked;
service and billing records are normally retained for a period required by tax and accounting rules;
safety, job, and property-related records may be retained where needed to demonstrate what work was carried out or to resolve future disputes;
records will be deleted or anonymised when no longer required.

We review retention periodically and securely dispose of data when it is no longer needed.

9. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limiting data access to those who need it for legitimate business purposes.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take reasonable steps to reduce risks and to respond promptly to any suspected data incident.

10. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing:

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 ask us to delete your data in certain situations.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit processing in certain circumstances.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where applicable.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format, where legally applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

To exercise your rights, you may contact us using the details provided through our usual customer communication channels. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We will handle requests within the time limits required by law.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers, property managers, landlords, and business clients. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children, and where we become aware that such data has been provided unintentionally, we will take reasonable steps to delete it unless we are legally required to keep it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data processing practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

13. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle personal data, please raise them with us first so we can try to resolve the matter. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

14. Final Statement

Tree Surgeons Hackney is committed to using personal data responsibly, securely, and in a way that respects the privacy of every customer in the area. By using our services, making an enquiry, or otherwise engaging with us, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy, subject always to your rights under applicable law.