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Complaints - privacy notice

Why we need your information and how we use it

We are always working to improve the way services are provided to our customers. We want to ensure that we are transparent and provide you with information about how we will use your personal data.

In order to investigate and administer your complaint it is necessary for us to collect and hold personal information about you.

If you make a complaint, we will hold the information you provide to us securely and use it to help process your complaint. Your information will only be passed to officers within the relevant departments who are responsible for handling, investigating and responding to your complaints. All information pertaining to complaints are administered and held on a central system which will be accessible by complaints management staff.

Any personal data collected through the complaints handling process will be processed in accordance with the UK Data Protection Legislation.

What type of information is collected from you

We will ask for details such as:

  • your name
  • address
  • contact number
  • email address
  • the type of service your complaint is about.

If the complaint relates to another person, we will need to contact them separately to gain consent if this has not already been provided.

Who your information may be shared with (internally and externally)

We will only share your information with internal departments and organisations that we are contracted with or who we need to share information with to deal with your complaint, for example the Local Government Ombudsman.  We will not normally share your information with any other external organisation without your consent. However there may be certain circumstances where we would need to share your information, for example; where we are required to do so by law, for safeguarding purposes or in risk of harm or emergency situations

How long we keep your information (retention period)

We are required to keep your information relating to your complaint for a minimum of six years after which time your information will be destroyed.

Your information we use for marketing purposes will be kept with us until you notify us that you no longer wish to receive this information.

How we protect your Information

We will not transfer your personal data outside the EU without your consent.

We have implemented generally accepted standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personal data from loss, misuse, or unauthorised alteration or destruction.  

Please note however that where you are transmitting information to us over the internet this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure.  

For any payments which we take from you online we will use a recognised online secure payment system. We will notify you promptly in the event of any breach of your personal data which might expose you to serious risk.

Your rights 

You have rights under the Data Protection Legislation to:

  • access your personal data
  • be provided with information about how your personal data is processed
  • have your personal data corrected
  • have your personal data erased in certain circumstances
  • object to or restrict how your personal data is processed
  • have your personal data transferred to yourself or to another business in certain circumstances
  • to be told if we have made a mistake whilst processing your data and we will self report breaches to the Commissioner 

How you can access, update or correct your information

The Data Protection Legislation allows you to find out what information is held about you, on paper and computer records. This is known as ‘right of subject access’ and applies to your data along with all other personal records. 

If you wish to see a copy of your records you should contact the Data Protection Officer. You are entitled to receive a copy of our records free of charge, within a month.

In certain circumstances access to your records may be limited, for example, if the records you have asked for contain information relating to another person.

The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly. We are working to make our record keeping more efficient. In the meantime, if you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date please contact us.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner.