PRIVACY POLICY

Claims Advisory Services is a trading style of Legal Ventures Limited, company registration number 13100030, registered address Swinford House, Albion Street, Brierley Hill, West Midlands, DY5 3EE.

We are a Data Controller which means that we determine the purposes and the means of processing your personal information. We are registered directly with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and our data protection number is ZA886718.

Claims Advisory Services are committed to protecting the privacy of our website visitors and our customers; this policy sets out how we will treat your personal information. Throughout the policy, we refer to your personal information as your data.

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our treatment of your personal data, please contact us:

• by email at: compliance-team@claimsadvisoryservices.co.uk
• by post to: Claims Advisory Services, 84 Salop Street, Wolverhampton WV3 0SR
• by telephone on: 01902 955253**

When you provide your information to us you consent for us to use your personal information to:

• Contact you via text message, telephone, email, post and social media messaging (including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger) in relation to your claim(s).
• Contact you via text message, telephone, email, post and social media messaging (including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger) regarding our other similar claims products and services. 

Administer our website, including ensuring that we can enable your use of the services on our website (including enquiries and complaints about our website) and improve your browsing experience by personalising the website.

During the provision of our services, you agree for us to process your personal information through signing our Letter of Authority which means you agree to our Terms and Conditions, to allow us to:

• Supply to you services under your contract;
• Send you general commercial communications by the contact details you have provided to us during our services;
• Contact third parties on your behalf, with your specific instruction;
• Send you email notifications which you have specifically requested; and
• Send statements and invoices to you and collect payments from you.

We have a legitimate interest in keeping you updated about any further similar services offered by us which may be of interest to you, both during and after the conclusion of your contract with us, including communication of any developments that may have an impact on your original service including a change in the law that will make additional services available to you. We will use the details you have provided to contact you by telephone, email, post, text message and social media messaging (including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger). If you do not wish for us to contact you in this manner you will be able to unsubscribe at any time. To unsubscribe please contact us using the details provided at the top of this Privacy Policy.

We have a legitimate interest in using your data to help us to review our services and obtain analytics in respect of our customer base.

We also use our legitimate interest to ask you to provide your feedback in order to improve our products and services. To do this we share your name, email address and the product/service you purchased (as obtained during the order process) with Feefo, who will send you an email on our behalf asking you to complete a review.

We collect, store, and use the following kinds of your data:

1. information about your computer and about your visits to and use of this website (including your IP address, geographical location, browser type, referral source, length of visit and number of page views);

2. information relating to any transactions carried out between you and us on or in relation to this website, including information relating to the supply of our services;

3. information that you provide to us for the purpose of registering with us to make your claim including but not limited to name, address, telephone numbers, email addresses, date of birth, previous addresses, National Insurance number, PAYE reference number, annual income, your electronic signature(s), and any financial information). Where you have provided your electronic signature(s) you consent to your electronic signature(s) to be applied to any and all documentation necessary in the pursuit of your claim(s).

4. information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our website services, email notifications and/or newsletters);

5. information required to complete our services that we will request directly from you, including your personal circumstances and information about your financial products and services; and

6. any other information that you choose to send to us. In the instance that you have consented for your claim to be transferred to us by a third party, you consent to the third party to transfer all necessary information including your personal information to Claims Advisory Services and that you provide us with consent to contact you by post, email, telephone, and SMS. You can change your mind at any time by contacting compliance-team@claimsadvisoryservices.co.uk

If you do not provide the personal information we have requested, it may affect our ability to provide the services that we offer and, you will be informed of this at the appropriate time.

We control the use of your data as you have expressed.

To allow us to provide our services to you, the following third parties provide critical functions to our business and will process your personal information as directed by us and in accordance with strict data security arrangements:

• Our Services: during our services we will provide your data, under your specific instruction, to HMRC in order to claim back your tax refunds;
• Our Systems and IT: we use third party firms who provide and support to our CRM infrastructure;
• Post and Printing: we use an outsourced print-house who manages our printing, they receive a copy of postal communications and print and send this on our behalf;
• Our Regulators: we may be required to provide your data to our Regulators, who include the Information Commissioner’s Office;
• Our Professional Services: we use professional legal, consultancy and accountancy services to help us fulfil our legal obligations;
• HMRC: Only when submitting a tax reclaim to HMRC on your behalf;
• Client identification: We are required to identify our clients for the purposes of the UK anti-money laundering legislation. We may request from you and retain such information and documentation as we require for these purposes. We also run automated identity checks using companies such as Experian and Credit Safe. These checks include a soft search of your credit report, this will have no impact on your credit score;
• Feefo: We share your name, email address and the product/service you purchased (as obtained during the order process) with Feefo, who will send you an email on our behalf asking you to complete a review;
• Possible successors to our business: We may, from time to time, expand or reduce our business and this may involve the sale and/or the transfer of control of all or part of Legal Ventures Ltd. In this case, your data will, where it is relevant to any part of our business so transferred, be transferred along with that part and the new owner or newly controlling party will, under the terms of this privacy policy, be permitted to use the data for the purposes for which it was originally supplied to us.

You give authorisation for Claims Advisory Services to contact any third party in order to gain information which may be needed to progress your claim. Furthermore, you give consent to the third party or Claims Advisory Services to release any information as requested by the third party or Claims Advisory Services.

We have carefully selected our third parties based on their ability to keep your data safe and secure.

If you request for us to stop processing your data, we will also communicate this to the relevant third parties if they are processing this on our behalf.

If you have any concerns about third parties, please let us know and we can provide advice and support to help you manage your data preferences, compliance-team@claimsadvisoryservices.co.uk.

We may disclose information about you to any of our employees, officers, agents, suppliers, or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes as set out in this privacy policy.

In addition, we may disclose information about you:

• to the extent that we are required to do so by law;
• in connection with any legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings; and
• in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including, providing information to others for the purposes debt collection, fraud prevention, and reducing credit risk).

Your personal information may also be processed by other organisations on our behalf for the purpose of processing your claims, and providing information or services to you. The use of your personal information for these purposes will remain under our control at all times. We may disclose your information to other members of our informal group of companies, and to our partners, associates, agents, or subcontractors and to possible successors to our business.

We will only share your personal information outside the United Kingdom (UK) where we have your consent, to comply with a legal duty, or where we work with a third party service provider who are outside the UK. If we do share your information outside of the UK we will make sure that it is protected in the same way as if it was being used within the UK. This includes through ensuring that the transfer is covered by an appropriate safeguard or that the European Commission has made an ‘adequacy decision’ in respect of their data protection measures. We will ensure that there are appropriate security measures in place such as technical security, including encryption and restricted access to your data. We have strict contracts in place to make sure your data is kept safe.

Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of third party websites.

We may update this privacy policy from time-to-time by posting a new version on our website. You should check this page periodically to ensure you are happy with any changes.  We shall communicate with you if we make any changes that directly affect you.

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site. The table below explains the cookies we use and why.

How do I change my cookie settings?

Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

Find out how to manage cookies on popular browsers:

• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Edge
• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Opera
• Apple Safari

To find information relating to other browsers, visit the browser developer’s website.

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

You can control, access, or restrict the use of your data, and you have rights under this policy.

You can withdraw your consent for us to contact you at any time. Please note: if you have signed a contract to complete a claim, our contractual rights will still apply, and we may contact you in relation to a cancellation fee or any outstanding monies owed to us.

We will keep your contact details following an enquiry to us for a minimum period of three years.

We will keep your contact details following the conclusion of our services for a minimum period of three years.

We may be required to keep your data for longer to fulfil our legal obligations, including our accounting requirements and our regulatory obligations, such as complaints handling. This enables us to provide our services to you, and fulfil our legal obligations.

We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to secure your personal data and to prevent the loss, misuse, or alteration of your personal data.

We will store all the personal information you provide on our secure servers that are subject to strict security requirements.

If you request the rectification, erasure, or restriction of your data, we will also communicate this to any third party who your data has been disclosed to.

In exercising any of your rights, we will take action within thirty (30) days.

We will need to confirm your identity before completing any action on your behalf, and reserve the right to not complete action until we are satisfied that it is you that is making the request. If we cannot complete your request, we will inform you within one month and explain why.

Please note, we require certain personal information to be able to complete our services. If you do not provide this, we may not be able to fulfil our contract with you. In this event, we will explain what data is required and why. If you do not wish to provide this, we have the right to terminate your contract with us.

You can access your data at any time by submitting a Subject Access Request (“SAR”). We will confirm what data is being processed and provide you with a copy of your data in addition to confirming your data rights.

You can make this request using reasonable means, including by telephone, post, or email. If you make the request by email, we will provide your information in a commonly used electronic format unless you instruct us otherwise.

If you wish to amend any inaccurate data that we hold, please notify us specifically by telephone, post, or email.

We will make the amendment as soon as possible.

If any data held is incomplete, you can complete this at any time. We may require this to be completed to allow us to provide our services.

We can erase or “forget” your data when requested by you in the following circumstances:

1. We no longer require your data (when we have finished providing any services requested by you);

2. You withdraw your consent and there is no other reason for us to hold your data (please note: if you have signed a contract to complete a claim, our contractual rights will still apply and we can contact you in relation to a cancellation fee or any outstanding monies owed to us);

3. You object to the processing, as described below;

4. You believe your data has been unlawfully processed; or

5. There is a legal obligation to erase your data.

You can make this request using reasonable means including by telephone, post or email using the contact details at the top of this Privacy Policy. If you request for your data to be erased, we will confirm whether this can take place and the next steps that we will take. If we cannot erase your data, we will explain why and confirm any actions required to allow us to do so.

You can restrict us from processing your data in the following circumstances:

1. You believe your data is inaccurate;

2. You believe your data has been unlawfully processed but do not want us to delete your data;

3. We no longer need your data, but it is required by you for making or defending a legal claim; or

4. You object to the processing, as described below, but we are verifying this.

If you make a restriction request, we will still store a copy of your data but cannot use this. We will inform you if the restriction needs to be lifted. You can make this request using reasonable means including by telephone, post, or email.

If you request for your data to be restricted, we will confirm whether this can take place and the next steps that we will take. If we cannot restrict your data, we will explain why and confirm any actions required to allow us to do so.

You can object to the processing of your data at any time. This right will only apply if we are using your data in relation to a legitimate interest. If you object, we will no longer process your data unless we have a compelling and legitimate reason not to do so (e.g. a legal obligation). In this case, you will be informed why we cannot stop processing your data.

You can opt out at any time to stop receiving marketing from us. To opt out please contact us using the contact details at the top of this Privacy Policy.

You can request your data in a commonly used electronic format, and for us to transfer this to another entity or person, where we are processing your data with your consent or in accordance with a contract. This will only apply to information which is processed by automated means (e.g. by a computer). Where feasible, we will send your data directly to another entity or person.

If you are not happy with how we process your personal information, you should contact us using the contact details provided above, to make a complaint. We are regulated by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in respect of our obligations to protect your data. You have the right to make a complaint about our use of your data to the ICO, who will investigate this on your behalf. We would, however, prefer that you direct any complaints us in the first instance so we may attempt to resolve your concerns.

You can contact the ICO through their website: https://ico.org.uk or by telephone: 0303 123 1113.

If you have any queries concerning this policy and the use of your personal data or to exercise your rights as described above, please email compliance-team@claimsadvisoryservices.co.uk or you can contact us by telephone or post, please see our contact details at the top of this privacy policy.