Introduction

The firm is registered with the Information Commissioners Office registration number ZA131178Z.

We recognise you trust us to safeguard the personal information you provide to us. We take this trust seriously and are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

Please read this Privacy Notice carefully to understand why data is being collected and what we do with that data once in our possession.

We may change the privacy notice from time to time by amending this page.

How we collect your information

Information may be collected in various forms.

• When potential new clients enquire or require our services, this may be via email, phone or post.
• Through our website or Facebook
• When the information is required for anti-money laundering (AML) compliance
• We may receive information about you from third parties

The information you give us may include your contact details, identification documents, financial and employment information.

We are required by law to comply with anti money laundering regulations to verify your identity and may require sight of original documents. We may also conduct online electronic AML searches to verify your identity.

Any information we receive about you will only be used for the purposes of the legal transaction we are conducting for you.

Your duty to inform us of changes

It is important the personal data we hold is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your details change during your relationship with us.

Personal information we process about you

As a law firm we may process a range of information about you in the course of the legal services we supply to you.

Some examples of the type of information we may process are as follows:

How we use your personal information

We use your information for the purpose of providing the legal service you have requested from us or where you have discussed with us an issue where you are considering taking legal advice.

Disclosure of your information

We do not share your information with any other persons or organisations unless you have given prior written/verbal consent or unless we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

We may share your information with our employees, contractors, and agents who may be given access to information which we collect. Such persons are required and are under obligations of confidentiality and only have access to the information they require in order to perform their duties.

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 (for example negligence claims) that could be made against us.
• Comply with legal obligations under EU/UK law (anti-money laundering regulations say your identification and source of funds information must be kept for a minimum period from conclusion of the matter).

Typically we will store the information for fifteen years from the date of your final bill. This is due to regulatory reasons and to ensure our business records are adequate to maintain the requisite levels of insurance to protect our clients and non-clients.

Where we store your personal data

The data we collect from you is held on a secure server located in the UK and the European Economic Area. By submitting your personal data, you agree to this storing and processing of data.

How we use cookies

Our website uses cookies. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers we put on your computer which allows us to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a user friendly service when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.

The cookies we use are analytical cookies. They allow us to record technical data (such as IP addresses) so we can recognise and count the number of visitors to our site and to see how visitors move around the site when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, by ensuring users find what they are looking for easily. All of the data we collect from the use of cookies is aggregated and anonymous. We do not keep records of individual names, addresses etc.

To find out more about cookies including how to manage your cookie settings, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org

This link is provided for convenience only and we do not have any control over its content. We therefore make no warranties or representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any of the information appearing on that site nor as to the suitability or quality of any of their products or services.

Links to other websites

Our website may include links to the websites of other organisations. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow them to collect or share data about you. We do not control these websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements.

How you can access and update your information

You have a right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you, known as a data subject access request. You also have the right to request that information we hold about you which may be incorrect, or which has been changed since you first told us, is updated or removed. Removal may be restricted where we are requested to retain the information to establish/defend legal claims or comply with our professional or legal obligations

These requests are free of charge and can be sent to enquiries@rfsolicitors.co.uk

We will respond to a subject access request no later than 30 days from receipt of the request. There may be occasions when it may take us longer than 30 days if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. If this is the case we will notify you and keep you updated.

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.

Please note that if you want us to restrict or stop processing your data this may impact on our ability to provide our services. Depending on the extent of your request we may be unable to continue acting for you and be forced to immediately cease acting. In these situations you would remain liable for the fees and disbursements incurred to date.

Any queries or concerns about the way in which your data is being used can be sent to enquiries@rfsolicitors.co.uk

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 Keith Ryan, Ryan & Frost Solicitors, Regent House, 61/62 Oxford Street, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire NN8 4JJ, or by email to enquiries@rfsolicitors.co.uk.

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.