Whitefields Solicitors Privacy Policy

The General Data Protection Regulation seeks to protect and enhance the rights of data subjects in the European Union. Please be advised we will be using your personal data as set out in this Privacy Policy.

We have appointed a Data Protection Officer to oversee compliance with this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact the Data Protection Officer by email: majid.shafiq@whitefieldslaw.co.uk, or by post to: Data Protection Officer, Mr Majid Shafiq , 384-388 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London E17 9AA.

This Privacy Policy was last updated on the 23rd of May 2018. We may change this Privacy Policy at anytime so you should therefore check our firms Website from time to time to ensure you are aware of any changes.

It is important that you read this Privacy Policy, together with our firms Terms of Business so that we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal data about you, so that you are aware of how and why we are using your personal data.

It is important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal information changes during the course of your legal transaction.

About us:

We are a firm of solicitors trading as a partnership and our firm is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number: 472419). Our office is located at 384-388 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London E17 9AA. Our firm will be known as the ‘data controller’ of the personal data you provide to us.

The capacity in which we hold your information:

We use the data you provide us primarily for the provision of legal services to you and in accordance with your instructions to us. Most legal transactions and procedures will involve the sharing of personal data with one or more third parties involved in your transaction. We may also use your personal data for related purposes including updating and enhancing client records analysis to help us manage our firms accounting returns, for professional indemnity insurance purposes and for legal and regulatory compliance etc.

How we collect your personal data:

The personal data we hold is primarily collected when we receive instructions from you. Usually, the data is provided over the telephone, in other electronic formats, on instruction forms, or in other communications which may be in writing, by telephone, via the internet or by any other means. Sometimes the personal data that we collect about you will be the data that you input into our firms website.

We may also gather your personal data from third parties such as estate agents, law firms, lenders, local authorities, governmental bodies, credit reference agencies and regulatory bodies etc

What personal data do we hold about you:

Personal data means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous/ redacted data).

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you, such as: full name and title, contact information including email addresses and postal addresses, telephone numbers and fax numbers, date of birth, gender, identification or supporting documents (such as passport, driving license, birth certificate, utility bill etc.), IP address, details of any potential conflicts of interest, bank details, customer data (which in addition to the above may include mortgage account information and other personal data in respect of the legal transaction).

Our firm does not collect any Special Categories of Personal Data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data).

How we use the personal data held about you:

We use your personal data to comply with your instructions and to complete your legal transaction. The Data Protection Regulation state that we are allowed to use and share your personal data only where we have a proper reason to do so. These reasons are as follows:

· Contract - your personal information is processed in order to fulfil our contractual obligations under our agreement with you.

· Consent – where you agree to us using your information in this way.

· Legitimate Interests - where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests).

· Legal Obligation – where there is statutory or other legal requirement to share the information e.g. when we have to share your information for law enforcement or regulatory compliance purposes.

In summary this means we use your personal data to enable us to facilitate the exchange of instructions, documentation and information between the law firm and third parties such as estate agents, lenders, other law firms, local authorities, courts, governmental bodies (like HMRC and the Land Registry), freeholders, landlords, managing agents, search providers, insurance companies, ID and credit reference agencies and regulatory bodies etc. Without using and sharing your data we will probably be unable to proceed with your matter.

We also input your personal data into our firms case management software. The company which maintains our firms case management software are acting as the ‘data processors’ and they process your personal data in compliance with the obligations placed under them by the Data Protection Regulations.

Our firm is also a subscriber of web based platforms which act on behalf of lending institutions ‘Lenders’. These websites compile and hold personal data about living individuals for the purposes of panel management and transactional activities by lenders. These websites are also committed to protecting your personal data and privacy and adhere to the Data Protection Regulations.

We do not share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes or the promoting of other goods and services. However, we may from time to time send you information that we think might be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive that information please notify our office in writing by contacting us at: majid.shafiq@whitefieldslaw.co.uk, or by post to: Mr Majid Shafiq, 384-388 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London E17 9AA.

Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances and for the purposes of:

What we use your personal data for (Purpose)

Our reasons for doing so ( Lawful basis)

Opening your case matter and inputting details into our case management software

-Performance of our contract with you

- Necessary for our legitimate interests (for the running our business)

Internal record keeping and storage of case files

-Performance of a contract with you

-Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

-Necessary for our legitimate interests (to keep

our records updated and to study how clients use our services)

Facilitating the exchange of instructions, documentation and information

-Performance of our contract with you

Progressing your legal transaction

-Performance of our contract with you

Liaising with any third parties to progress your legal matter

-Performance of our contract with you

Undertaking checks with third parties

-Performance of a contract with you

-Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

Inputting and maintaining data on web based lender platforms. Submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns to HMRC and submitting applications to the Land Registry to progress legal transactions

-Performance of our contract with you

- Necessary for our legitimate interests (for the running our business)

Maintaining firms website, network and data security

- Necessary for our legitimate interests (for the running of our business and to maintain the security of our network this in turns helps us to maintain the safety and confidentiality of your information)

Updating and enhancing client records analysis to help us manage our firms accounting returns

- Necessary for our legitimate interests (for the running our business)

Monitoring any complaints that are made

-Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

-Necessary for our legitimate interests (to find ways to improve the services we provide)

Undertaking anti-money laundering, identity and credit checks

-Performance of a contract with you

-Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

Compliance with applicable laws and regulations

-Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

Contacting you for client satisfaction surveys/ market research purposes

-Performance of a contract with you

-Necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how customers use our products/services, to develop them and grow our business)

Change of purpose:

We will use your personal data in accordance with your instructions to us and primarily for the purposes for which the data was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another purpose and that reason is connected with the original purpose. If we need to use your personal information for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

Disclosure of your personal information:

We may share the personal data that we have about you with any organisation that we may appoint to carry out services on our behalf in the future. For example providers of IT solutions, third party consultants, contractors or other service providers who may access the personal data when providing services to us (including but not limited to IT support services).

Transfers to third countries:

Some of the information you provide to us where necessary may be transferred outside the European Economic Area to other countries. This is a transfer to a “third country”. We may need to share your personal data for a variety of reasons. We require third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We work with suppliers and partners who may make use of cloud and/or hosted technologies. We undertake data security due diligence on our partners/subscribers and ensure that that you can expect a similar degree of protection in respect of your personal data. Wherever transfers of data to third counties occurs we will put in place appropriate contractual provisions to ensure that there are strict rules regarding both the confidentiality and security of your information.

What happens if you choose not to provide us with your personal data:

If you fail to provide certain personal data when requested, we may not be able to perform the agreement we have entered into with you, or we may be prevented from complying with our legal obligations. If you are unwilling to provide personal data this may also impact our ability to progress you legal transaction.

What are your rights in regards to your personal data that we hold:

Under the Data Protection Regulations, you have certain rights in respect of the processing of your personal data, which may vary dependent on the legal basis for collection of your personal information and the uses made of this personal data.

You are entitled to request the following from us, these are called your Data Subject Rights and there is more information on these on the Information Commissioners website www.ico.org.uk

· Right of access – you have a right to access a copy of the personal information that is held about you and how we use this data (subject to Data Protection Laws).

· Right to rectification – a right to correct personal information that is held about you if it is inaccurate or incomplete.

· Right to erasure (also known as the Right to be Forgotten) – in certain circumstances you can ask for the personal information held about you to be erased (please note our retention period set out below).

· Right to restriction of processing – where certain conditions apply you have a right to restrict processing (please note this may impact our ability to provide our legal services to you).

· Right to data portability - you have the right to have the personal information held about you to be transferred to another organisation, where applicable we will provide copies of personal data in a standard form.

· Right to object - you have the right to object to certain types of processing, such as marketing (please note that we will only ever use your contact information for marketing purposes where you have provided express consent).

· Right to withdraw consent- In the limited circumstances where you may have provided your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your personal information for a specific purpose, you have the right to withdraw your consent for that specific processing at any time.

If you have any general questions about your rights or want to exercise your rights please contact majid.shafiq@whitefieldslaw.co.uk, or by post to: Mr Majid Shafiq, 384-388 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London E17 9AA. Should you choose to exercise your rights as a ‘data subject’, we will endeavour to respond to your request without undue delay and no later than one month from the receipt of the request.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection regulator in Europe, in particular in a country you work or live or where your legal rights have been infringed. The contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the data protection regulator in the UK, are available on the ICO website www.ico.org.uk where your personal information has or is being used in a way that you believe does not comply with data, however, we encourage you to contact us before making any complaint and we will seek to resolve any issues or concerns you may have.

How long we keep your personal data:

We will retain your personal information for the duration of our agreement with you and for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, reporting requirements or in exercise or defence of legal claims. We are required to retain the papers in connection with your legal transaction for a period 7 years from the date of completion.

Security:

We have put in place safeguards to protect the security of your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed.

However the internet is not a secure medium but we are committed to ensuring that your personal data is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the personal data we collect. We will use our best efforts to ensure that no unauthorised parties have access to any of your personal data.

Our Website:

In some areas of our website we ask you to provide information that will enable us to supply you with our services or contact you. We may also use this information to contact you to advise you of other services that may be of interest to you. The information you provide will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed to third parties without your consent.

How we use Cookies:

Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard internet log information and visitor behaviour information. This information is used to track visitor use of the website and to compile statistical reports on website activity. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any personal information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us. You can set your browser not to accept cookies. However, in a few cases some of our website features may not function as a result.

Further information:

In the event you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to make a complaint about how your personal data is being processed by us you have the right to complain to our Data Protection Officer, by email to: majid.shafiq@whitefieldslaw.co.uk, or by post to: Mr Majid Shafiq, 384-388 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London E17 9AA.

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 23rd of May 2018.