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Privacy policy

Effective 1 November 2024. Web version last updated 25 August 2026. A PDF copy of our GDPR policy is also available.

Great Oaks Tree Services is committed to protecting the personal data we collect through our tree work, grounds maintenance, surveying, training and assessment services, and through this website. This page explains, in plain English, what we collect, why, who we share it with and the rights you have. We process personal data in line with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Who we are

Great Oaks Tree Services is the data controller for the personal data described on this page.

What we collect and why

WhenWhatWhy
You send an enquiry or ask for a quoteName, phone number, email if given, postcode, your message and any photos you attachTo answer your enquiry and prepare a quote. Legal basis: taking steps before a contract, and your consent to be contacted.
You book tree work, a survey or grounds maintenanceContact details, site address, job details, billing informationTo carry out and invoice the work. Legal basis: performance of a contract, and legal obligations for financial records.
You book a training course or assessmentName, contact details, date of birth where an awarding body requires it, qualification and training records, relevant medical information you choose to tell us for safetyTo deliver the course or assessment and register you with the awarding body. Legal basis: performance of a contract and legal obligations connected to certification.
You pay for a course onlinePayment is taken by our payment provider. We do not see or store your full card details.To process your booking. Legal basis: performance of a contract.
You browse this websiteTechnical information such as IP address, browser and device type, held in security and hosting logsTo keep the website secure and working. Legal basis: legitimate interests.
You use our free online checkersNothing is stored. Postcodes and uploaded letters are processed to produce the answer and are not kept. See the website tools disclaimer.To give you an indicative answer. Legal basis: legitimate interests.

Who we share data with

We share personal data only where it is needed to provide our services, and with organisations that are themselves required to protect it:

  • Awarding and certification bodies, such as City & Guilds and NPTC, when registering candidates for qualifications and assessments.
  • Service providers that run our systems: website hosting, our booking and job management system, email services, and our payment provider for online course bookings.
  • Regulators and legal authorities where the law requires it.

We do not sell personal data, and we do not share it for third party marketing.

How long we keep it

  • Enquiries that do not become work: kept only as long as useful to answer follow up questions, then deleted.
  • Job, survey and invoice records: kept for at least six years to meet financial record keeping requirements.
  • Training and certification records: kept for as long as needed to verify qualifications with awarding bodies, which can be many years by their rules.

When data is no longer required it is securely deleted or anonymised.

Cookies and embedded services

This website uses cookies needed for it to function, and some pages include services from other companies that may set their own cookies, including Google reCAPTCHA on our forms to block spam, embedded Google Maps, and embedded videos on some training pages. Those services are governed by their providers' own privacy policies.

Your rights

Under the UK GDPR you have the right to:

  • ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
  • have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected;
  • ask for data to be deleted when it is no longer needed;
  • restrict or object to processing in certain circumstances;
  • receive your data in a portable format;
  • withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing.

To exercise any of these rights, email office@greatoakstreeservices.co.uk. We aim to respond within one month.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, please tell us first and we will try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this policy

We update this page when our practices or the law change. Significant changes will be communicated directly where required.