Privacy Policy
PRIVACY NOTICE
In order to provide you with legal services, for the administration of our files and records and, if you agree, we will be processing (using and storing) your personal data, which includes information that identifies you, such as your name, address and contact information. In some cases we may also process special categories of personal data, such as your health records and/or criminal conviction and offence records.
We may be required to process your personal data in order to comply with our obligations under legislation such as the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, the Criminal Finances Act 2017, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act 2010 (for clients with US ‘person’ status) and under common law. We may, on occasion, be required to share your personal data with the relevant authorities. This processing of your personal data is to comply with the law, and we would be unable to act for you without doing so.
In addition, we may process your personal data on the basis that we have a contract with you. Alternatively, in some instances we may have a legitimate interest in processing your personal data.
Whenever we are processing special categories of personal data, and/or criminal conviction and offence records, we will only use that data to deliver the services you have instructed us to provide.
All your personal data will be stored, processed, and erased, in accordance with our Data Retention and Erasure Policy, a copy of which is available upon request from our Data Protection Manager, Jane Fiddes.
In addition to our Practice we may, when required and necessary, share your personal data with other organisations. Depending on the work we are undertaking for you the other organisations may include:
- Our firm’s ‘data processors’ who are contractors from whom we obtain operational services including IT support, secure document storage and shredding.
- Other ‘data controllers’ that provide professional or commercial services, such as Counsel, other solicitors and lawyers, accountants, surveyors and estate and letting agents.
- Providers of insurance, financial and banking services to you and/or to our firm.
- HMRC, HM Land Registry, Councils and other national and local government bodies.
- The Council of Licenced Conveyancers, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and organisations involved with the preparation, assessment and certification of quality standards for which our Practice is seeking or maintaining accreditation.
- If you agree, to organisations providing marketing services to our firm.
All of the above are located in the UK.
You have the right of access to your personal data and to verify the lawfulness of the processing. If you would like a copy of your personal data that we are processing please contact our Data Protection Manager, Jane Fiddes. Kindly note, we will need to verify your identity before responding to your request. Normally we make no charge for doing this, and will endeavour to send it to you within one month of receipt of your request. If you notice that any of the information we send you is inaccurate or incomplete, please tell us and we will rectify it promptly.
If you are dissatisfied with our response you may complain to a supervisory authority which, in the UK, is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. The ICO’s Helpline is 0303 123 1113. The ICO’s website is at https://ico.org.uk/. There may also be judicial remedies available to you.
We will not erase or restrict the processing of your personal data during the period in which we have a legal obligation to retain that data under the applicable Act, Regulations or in common law.
Where we obtained your personal data to fulfil our contractual obligations to you, or if we have a legitimate interest for processing your personal data for the exercise or defence of legal claims, we will erase that data as soon as it is no longer necessary to retain it in relation to the purpose for which it was originally collected. Please see our Data Retention and Erasure Policy for timescales.
We are committed to ensuring that all information we hold about you is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure we have implemented appropriate physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and protect that information.
Other data controller recipients of your personal data are each responsible for implementing appropriate physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and protect that information, and to keep it secure.
Data processor recipients of your personal data have provided sufficient guarantees that they have implemented measures to ensure compliance with data protection regulations and to protect your rights.
We will not transfer your personal data overseas.
Cookies
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Uses made of the information
We use information held about you in the following ways:
Information you give to us.
We will use this information:
- to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us and to provide you with the information, products and services that you request from us
- to provide you with information about other goods and services we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about
- to notify you about changes to our service
- to ensure that content from our site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer.
Information we collect about you.
We will use this information:
- to administer our site and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes
- to improve our site to ensure that content is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer
- to allow you to participate in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so;
as part of our efforts to keep our site safe and secure - to measure or understand the effectiveness of content we serve to you and others, and to deliver relevant content to you
- to make suggestions and recommendations to you and other users of our site about goods or services that may interest you or them.