Privacy Policy - Tree Surgeons Pimlico

This Privacy Policy explains how Tree Surgeons Pimlico collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Tree Surgeons Pimlico customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and individuals who enquire about our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner 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 who interacts with Tree Surgeons Pimlico in connection with our tree surgery, arboricultural, maintenance, and related services. This includes people who request quotes, book work, receive services at a property, or communicate with us about an existing or potential job. It also covers business clients, property managers, landlords, and representatives acting on behalf of a customer.

2. Personal data we collect

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

Identity details such as your name, title, and, where relevant, business name.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details including information about the trees, property, site access, quotations, job instructions, and service history.
Payment and billing details where needed to process invoices, payments, and records.
Technical and usage information if you interact with us through digital systems, such as device information or basic security logs.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and feedback.
Photographs and site records taken before, during, or after work for quotation, planning, safety, quality, or dispute resolution purposes.

We only collect data that is relevant and necessary for our operations. We do not intentionally collect more information than we need.

3. How we collect your data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or make an enquiry;
book or receive tree surgery services;
communicate with us by phone, email, or other methods;
provide feedback or raise a concern;
enter into a contract with us;
submit payment or billing information.

We may also receive data from:

property owners, landlords, tenants, managing agents, or contractors acting on your behalf;
publicly available sources where necessary to verify site or property information;
third-party service providers supporting our business operations.

4. Why we use your personal data

Tree Surgeons Pimlico processes personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and assess the work required;
to plan, deliver, and manage tree surgery and related services;
to communicate with you about appointments, access, site conditions, and service updates;
to process payments, send invoices, and maintain business records;
to manage health and safety, risk assessment, and operational requirements;
to handle complaints, disputes, warranty matters, or follow-up service issues;
to comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
to improve the quality, reliability, and efficiency of our services;
to protect our rights, property, staff, and customers.

We only process personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so.

5. Lawful basis for processing

Under UK GDPR, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes you request, carrying out agreed work, and managing payment for services.

Legal obligation

We may process personal data to meet legal and regulatory obligations, such as tax compliance, accounting, insurance requirements, or record-keeping duties.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests may include managing our operations, maintaining service quality, preventing fraud, securing our systems, and keeping internal records.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example if we use certain optional marketing or communication preferences. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

6. Data sharing and processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These parties act as data processors or independent controllers, depending on the service provided. Processors may include:

accounting and bookkeeping providers;
IT and cloud storage providers;
payment service providers;
customer administration and record management systems;
surveying, risk assessment, or specialist subcontractors where necessary to complete work;
professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, and auditors.

Where we use processors, we require them to protect personal data and only process it in accordance with our instructions and applicable data protection law. We do not sell personal data.

We may also disclose data if required by law, a court order, a regulatory authority, or to protect our legal rights and the safety of our customers, staff, or the public.

7. Retention of personal data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, insurance, and operational requirements. Retention periods can vary depending on the type of information and the nature of the service provided.

Quotation and enquiry records may be kept for a reasonable period to manage follow-up communications and business records.
Customer and service records may be retained for the duration of the relationship and for an additional period after completion of the work.
Financial and tax records are generally retained in line with statutory requirements.
Health and safety or incident records may be retained longer where needed for legal or insurance purposes.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or otherwise dispose of it.

8. Security of your data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures are designed to reflect the nature of the information we hold and the risks associated with processing it. However, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, so we also encourage users to take care when sharing information.

9. Your rights under data protection law

You have a number of rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal limitations, these may 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 restrict processing - 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.

We will respond to rights requests in accordance with applicable data protection law.

10. International transfers

Where any service provider processes data outside the United Kingdom, we will take appropriate steps to ensure your personal data is protected to a standard required by law. This may include the use of approved safeguards and contractual protections.

11. Children’s data

Our services are intended for adults, property owners, and business users. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally provided in the course of providing services to a household or property, and only where necessary. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without a valid reason, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

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 handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers in the Pimlico area to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their personal data is used.

13. How to exercise your rights

If you wish to exercise any of your rights, or if you have questions about how we use your personal data, you may contact us through the channels normally used for customer communications. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. Verification helps protect your personal data from unauthorised access.

14. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how your personal data has been handled, you can raise your concern with us first so we can review and address the issue. You also have the right to complain to the UK data protection regulator if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

By using our services, making an enquiry, or engaging with Tree Surgeons Pimlico, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.