Citizens Advice Charnwood
Privacy Policy
At Citizens Advice we collect and use your personal information to help solve your problems, improve our services and tackle wider issues in society that affect people's lives.
We only ask for the information we need. We always let you decide what you're comfortable telling us, explain why we need it and treat it as confidential.
When we record and use your personal information we:
- only access it when we have a good reason
- only share what is necessary and relevant
- don't sell it to anyone
At times we might use or share your information without your permission. If we do, we'll always make sure there's a legal basis for it. This could include situations where we have to use or share your information:
- to comply with the law - for example, if a court orders us to share information. This is called 'legal obligation'
- to protect someone's life - for example, sharing information with a paramedic if a client was unwell at our office. This is called 'vital interests'
- to carry out our legitimate aims and goals as a charity - for example, to create statistics for our national research. This is called 'legitimate interests'
- for us to carry out a task where we're meeting the aims of a public body in the public interest - for example, delivering a government or local authority service. This is called 'public task'
- to carry out a contract we have with you - for example, if you're an employee we might need to store your bank details so we can pay you. This is called 'contract'
- to defend our legal rights - for example, sharing information with our legal advisors if there was a complaint that we gave the wrong advice
We handle and store your personal information in line with the law - including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
You can check our main Citizens Advice policy for how we handle most of your personal information https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/about-us1/citizens-advice-privacy-policy/your-information
This page covers how we, as your local charity, handle your information locally in our offices.
How Citizens Advice Charnwood collect your data
Depending on how you access our service, we collect and retain your information by asking you to either:
- sign a client permission and consent form
- give verbal permission over the telephone if you call our local advice line
What Citizens Advice Charnwood ask for
We'll only ask for information that's relevant to your problem. Depending on what you want help with, this might include:
- your name and contact details – so we can keep in touch with you about your case
- personal information – for example about family, work, or financial circumstances
- details about services you get that are causing you problems – like energy or post
- details of items or services you've bought, and traders you've dealt with
- information like your gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation
If you don't want to give us certain information, you don't have to. For example, if you want to stay anonymous we'll only record information about your problem and make sure you're not identified.
For further information please follow this link:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/about-us1/citizens-advice-privacy-policy/your-information
How Citizens Advice Charnwood use your information
The main reason we ask for your information is to help solve your problem.
We only access your information for other reasons if we really need to – for example:
- for training and quality purposes
- to investigate complaints
- to get feedback from you about our services
- to help us improve our services
All advisers and staff accessing data have had data protection training to make sure your information is handled sensitively and securely.
For further information please follow this link:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/about-us1/citizens-advice-privacy-policy/your-information
Working on your behalf and sharing information with others
If we need to act on your behalf or share information with a third party we will ask for your authority to do this. For example, we may need to share information with Charnwood Borough Council if you have a council tax issue, or if your enquiry relates to benefits then we may need to share information with the DWP or Jobcentre.
How Citizens Advice Charnwood store your information
Your information is stored on a national database 'Casebook' for which members of the Citizens Advice Service are joint data controllers. We also store paper files, correspondence, and consent forms, which are kept securely on our premises. Some of your information might also be stored within our secure IT systems.
Contact Citizens Advice Charnwood about your information
If you have any questions about how your information is collected or used, you can contact our office.
Telephone: 01509 221207 Monday to Thursday 9am-3.30pm
Email: admin@charnwoodcab.co.uk
You can contact us to:
- find out what personal information we hold about you
- correct your information if it's wrong, out of date or incomplete
- request we delete your information
- ask us to limit what we do with your data - for example, ask us not to share it if you haven't asked us already
- ask us to give you a copy of the data we hold in a format you can use to transfer it to another service
- ask us stop using your information
Who's responsible for looking after your personal information
The national Citizens Advice charity and your local Citizens Advice operate a system called Casebook to keep your personal information safe. This means they're a 'joint data controller' for your personal information that's stored in our Casebook system.
Each local Citizens Advice is an independent charity, and a member of the national Citizens Advice charity. The Citizens Advice membership agreement also requires that the use of your information complies with data protection law.
You can find out more about your data rights on the Information Commissioner's website.