Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeons Hoxton

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeons Hoxton collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Hoxton customers in the area, including individuals who request services, receive quotations, make enquiries, or otherwise interact with us in connection with tree surgery and related arboricultural services.

We are committed to handling personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We aim to process personal data fairly, lawfully, transparently, and only for clear and legitimate purposes.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect and process personal data when you contact us, request a service, receive a quotation, book work, or communicate with us during the provision of services. The information we collect may include:

Identity details, such as your name
Contact details, such as address, telephone number, and email address
Service information, including details of the trees, site conditions, and the work requested
Billing and payment information, where relevant to invoicing and payment processing
Communication records, including messages, notes, and correspondence relating to your enquiry or job
Technical information if you interact with us through digital systems, such as basic device or usage data
Photographs or site images taken for assessment, quotation, planning, or documentation purposes

In some cases, we may also receive personal data from third parties, such as property managers, landlords, agents, contractors, or public authorities, where this is necessary to arrange or deliver services.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so and only for legitimate business purposes. Common uses include:

Responding to enquiries and providing quotations
Planning and carrying out tree surgery services
Managing appointments, scheduling, and site access
Preparing invoices, handling payments, and maintaining records
Communicating important information about the service
Meeting legal, regulatory, insurance, and accounting obligations
Maintaining internal business records and service quality
Preventing fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity

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

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must identify a lawful basis before processing personal data. Depending on the context, Tree Surgeons Hoxton may rely on the following bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, arranging services, completing agreed work, and managing related administration.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data to comply with legal obligations, including tax rules, accounting requirements, health and safety responsibilities, and other applicable regulations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided that your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include record keeping, service improvement, operational management, security, and handling customer enquiries. We always consider whether the use of your data is proportionate and respectful of your privacy.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where this is required for a particular type of optional communication or additional use of information. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as data processors or, in some cases, as independent controllers. These parties are only given access to the information they need to perform their functions and are required to handle it securely and lawfully.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

IT and cloud storage providers
Accounting and bookkeeping services
Payment processing providers
Administrative support services
Professional advisers, such as insurers, auditors, or legal advisers

Where personal data is shared, we put appropriate contractual and technical safeguards in place to protect it. We do not sell your personal data. We only disclose information where it is necessary for service delivery, legal compliance, business operations, or with your permission.

We may also share information where required by law, court order, regulatory authority, or to protect our rights, property, staff, customers, or others.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the nature of the work carried out.

In general, we consider the following when determining retention:

The length of time needed to provide the service
Whether there is an ongoing contractual or warranty-related reason to retain records
Applicable legal, regulatory, or tax retention requirements
Whether retention is necessary for dispute resolution or claims handling

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it, anonymise it, or securely archive it in accordance with our retention practices. Information will not be kept indefinitely without justification.

6. Data Security

We take 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, limited staff access, and sensible administrative procedures.

Although no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take the protection of personal data seriously and regularly review our practices to help keep information safe.

7. Your Rights

As a data subject under the UK GDPR, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain legal conditions or exemptions. You may have the right to:

Access your personal data and receive a copy of the information we hold about you
Rectification of inaccurate or incomplete information
Erasure of your personal data in certain circumstances
Restriction of processing in certain situations
Object to processing based on legitimate interests
Data portability where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means
Withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing

You also have the right to raise a concern with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your data has not been handled properly. Before doing so, we encourage you to contact us so that we can try to resolve the issue directly and promptly.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are generally directed to adults, property owners, managers, tenants, and authorised representatives. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary and appropriate in connection with service delivery and lawful processing. If we become aware that information has been collected incorrectly, we will take steps to address it.

9. International Transfers

Where personal data is processed by service providers located outside the UK, we will ensure suitable safeguards are in place where required by law. This may include approved contractual protections or other lawful transfer mechanisms designed to maintain an appropriate level of data protection.

10. 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 processing practices. Any updates will take effect once published or communicated through appropriate channels. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how your data is used.

11. Our Commitment to Fair Processing

Tree Surgeons Hoxton is committed to processing personal data in a way that is lawful, fair, and transparent. We only collect information that is relevant and necessary for our work, and we aim to ensure that all personal data is handled with care and respect. We also make sure that the information we use is accurate where possible and that it is retained only for as long as needed.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Tree Surgeons Hoxton customers in area and is intended to provide clear information about how personal data is managed in connection with our services.