Data Protection & Privacy Policy

Introduction

AWB Charlesworth Solicitors Limited trading as AWB Charlesworth Solicitors is a registered law firm. Our registered office is Aireside House Royd Ings Avenue Keighley BD21 4BZ. Our company registration number is 10731478.  AWB Charlesworth Solicitors is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number 638656.

This privacy notice sets out how AWB Charlesworth Solicitors will process personal data we collect from or about you, or which you provide to us.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand why data is being collected and what we do with that data once in our possession. This Privacy Policy largely applies to work we carry out but there are elements which also relate to the use of our website.

The Privacy Policy is subject to change. This page will be updated with any amendments.

What type of information will we collect from you?

The personal information we collect will depend on the nature of the services we are providing and what we are contracted to do for you. Typically this might include the following:

• Contact details (including your name, address, date of birth, and email address)
• Photographic identification and proof of address documents (to carry out due diligence)
• Professional information (such as job title, previous positions, and professional experience)
• Banking and financial details (to establish the source of funds where a transaction is involved)
• Details of visits to our website (which enable our website to remember information about you and your preferences). Please read our Cookie Policy for further details.
• In some circumstances, where necessary to act in your best interests, we may need to process information which is sensitive in nature, such as diversity and health related information.  We may need to share this information with third parties, for example a court or tribunal. If you volunteer sensitive personal data, you will be allowing us to process it as part of engaging our services.

On what basis can we process your information?

The legal grounds for processing your personal data are as follows:

• It is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, or to take steps prior to entering into a contract with you. The retainer between you and AWB Charlesworth Solicitors, which is made up of our terms of business and client care letter, sets out the terms of the contract and the services we will provide.
• It is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests, except where our interests are overridden by the interests, rights or freedoms of affected individuals (such as you). To determine this we shall consider a number of factors, such as what you were told at the time you provided your data, what your expectations are about the processing of the data, the nature of the data, and the impact of the processing on you.
• It is necessary in order to comply with mandatory legal obligations to which we are subject under EU or UK law.

Information collected from you about other people

In commercial matters, in the course of providing our legal, financial and other professional services to you we will hold and use personal information about you, your officers and/or your employees.  When you provide personal information to us relating to your officers or employees, you confirm that you are allowed to do so. You should ensure that those individuals understand how their data will be used by us.

In personal matters you may be providing other third party data to us, in which case we will use such data as a data controller in our own right and will comply with data protection legislation in relation to use of that data.  You must have the authority to disclose personal data if it relates to someone else and all data disclosed should be complete, accurate and up-to-date.

Children

In Private client matters involving children, the children will be represented by their parents or guardians.  We will explain to you why we need the information and how it will be used, both when we initially collect the data and as your matter progresses.

What we are going to do with your information?

We will hold and use personal information about you in the following ways:

• Verify your identity and establish the source of funding in any transaction.
• Carry out appropriate anti-fraud checks.
• Provide an instant quote for conveyancing services using Hoowla, an online quote calculator.
• Prevent money laundering or terrorist financing in accordance with financial crime regulations.
• Communicate with you during the course of providing our services, for example providing you with advice and dealing with your enquiries and requests.
• Prepare documentation to complete transactions and commence legal proceedings on your behalf.
• Carry out obligations arising from any contract entered into between you and third parties as part of your legal matter.
• Refer you to other departments within AWB Charlesworth Solicitors for advice on other legal matters
• Statistical purposes so we can analyse management information to help us run our business.
• Seek advice from third parties in connection with your matter, such as legal Counsel.
• Respond to any complaint or allegation of negligence against us.

Information we collect about you from others

Information may be passed to us by third parties in the course of providing our legal services. The processing of this information will be necessary for the progression of your legal matter and to enable us to act in your best interests as your legal representative.

When we obtain information about you from a third party rather than from you directly, we will notify you of any relevant information within a reasonable period, and provide you with details including the type of data and source it came from.

How long we keep your data for

We will only retain your information for as long as is necessary to:

• Carry out the legal work.
• Establish or defend legal claims that could be made against us.
• Comply with legal obligations under EU/UK law.

 Typically we will store the information for fifteen years from the date of your final bill.

Who your information will be shared with

Based upon the services you need we may pass your details to selected people or organisations to carry out certain activities on our behalf. For example, personal information you provide may be disclosed to our agents, who may keep a record of that information.

We may pass your information to any third parties where required to do so in the course of providing legal services, or where we are obliged by law.

At the outset of your matter we may not be aware of all the other parties involved as this will depend on the specific nature of the work.

We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes other than when providing an instant conveyancing quote where data you provide is processed by Hoowla, our online quote calculator.

Security of your data

Your data will be held on secure servers within the European Economic Area (“EEA”) with all reasonable technological and operation measures put in place to safeguard it from unauthorised access.  Where possible any identifiable information will be encrypted or minimised.

Measures when transferring your data to others

There may be occasions where we need to send your data outside the EEA. This would cover situations where we need to deal with international aspects of your matter and instruct overseas organisations to assist.

Some organisations may be located in countries outside of Europe where data protection laws are not as strict as they are in the UK. Where your personal data is being transferred outside the EEA, we will undertake an assessment of the level of protection in light of the circumstances surrounding the transfer. We will make sure that any transfers are not repetitive and only limited to the minimum amount of information possible. In certain circumstances we may need to seek your consent unless there is an overriding legal need to transfer the information.

Your rights and how you can access and update your information

Under the Data Protection legislation, data subjects have the following rights with regards to their personal information:

• the right to be informed about the collection and the use of their personal data
• the right to access personal data and supplementary information
• the right to have inaccurate personal data rectified, or completed if it is incomplete
• the right to erasure (to be forgotten) in certain circumstances
• the right to restrict processing in certain circumstances
• the right to data portability, which allows the data subject to obtain and reuse their personal data for their own purposes across different services
• the right to object to processing in certain circumstances
• rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling
• the right to withdraw consent at any time (where relevant)
• the right to complain to the Information Commissioner

Requests in relation to these rights can be made to our Practice Manager

How you can object to us using your data

You can ask us to limit the way in which we are using your information or object to certain types of processing. We will do our best to comply with your request unless we have to use the information for legitimate business or legal purposes.

Restricting or stopping us processing your data may impact on our ability to provide our services. We may be forced to immediately cease acting. In these situations you would remain liable for the fees and disbursements incurred.

Any queries or concerns about the way in which your data is being used can be sent to the Practice Manager.

Complaints about the use of your personal data

If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact us to have the matter investigated by writing to our Practice Manager

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data not in accordance with the law you can complain to the UK data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office.  Further details can be found at www.ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113.

If you are not our client

If you are not our client your personal data may be processed to enable us to provide legal advice to our client and may also be used in legal proceedings on behalf of our client. We are allowed to use your information because it is in the legitimate interests of our client to do so. We may also have to use your personal data to comply with our own legal and regulatory obligations.

Our Data Protection representative

We have appointed James Dunn as our Data Protection representative.