Privacy

This statement provides clarity on the circumstances in which we gather your personal data, the reasons behind it, our methods of utilizing it, the situations where we might share it with third parties, and the measures we take to ensure its safety.

If you are our client , we encourage you to review this statement in conjunction with our general terms and conditions. These documents collectively offer more comprehensive information about confidentiality and data privacy among other topics.

Please note that this statement is not applicable to any external websites that may be linked to ours.

 

Introduction

The entity responsible for the collection, processing, and storage of your data is Tyndel Solicitors Ltd, commonly referred to as the ‘data controller’ of the personal data you entrust to us.

Tyndel Solicitors Ltd is a Limited Liability company, accredited and supervised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under the registration number 804468.

Our appointed Data Protection Officer is Tyndel Ezechi, who can be reached via email at tyndel@tyndelsolicitors.co.uk.

Children and Minors

Our website and services are not primarily targeted towards children, as in legal matters, children are typically represented by their parents or guardians. If you are a minor and require further clarification or guidance on how your data would be utilized by us, please reach out to [email protected].

Information Requirements

The specific data we need from you will be determined by the service you have requested from us or the contract we have in place with you.

Generally, the personal data you might be asked to provide us falls into two categories:

  1. General Personal Data: This refers to the basic details you provide about yourself, such as your name, address, gender, date of birth, contact information, financial details, and so on.

  2. Sensitive Personal Data: This category involves more delicate information, potentially including your racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, political views, health records, trade union membership, philosophical beliefs, and biometric or genetic data.

In most instances, the personal data we require is limited to basic details and information necessary to complete identity verification. However, certain services we offer may necessitate the collection of more sensitive data.

Information Origin

Your information can be derived from various sources, including:

  1. Information provided by you directly.
  2. Information relating to another individual, provided by you with their consent.
  3. Information passed on to us by third parties in order to carry out legal work on your behalf. Such third parties may include banks or building societies, panel providers who assign legal work to law firms, referrers of work to us, and medical or financial institutions providing your personal records or information.

Necessity of Your Information

The main reason we request your personal data is to fulfill your requirements, which primarily involve representing you and executing your legal work.

We might use your information for purposes such as:

  1. Confirming your identity.
  2. Verifying the source of funds.
  3. Communicating with you.
  4. Establishing the funding of your case or transaction.
  5. Procuring insurance policies on your behalf.
  6. Processing your legal transactions including providing advice, conducting litigation, attending hearings, preparing documents, or completing transactions.
  7. Maintaining financial records of your transactions and our transactions on your behalf.
  8. Seeking advice from third parties, both legal and non-legal experts.
  9. Addressing any complaints or allegations of negligence against us.

Data Access

We have a robust data protection system in place to oversee the secure and efficient processing of your personal data. We do not sell or rent your information to third parties, nor do we share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.

Typically, your information will only be used within Tyndel Solicitors Ltd. However, in the process of conducting your legal work, we may need to disclose some information to third parties, such as:

  1. HM Land Registry for property registration.
  2. HM Revenue & Customs for matters such as Stamp Duty Liability.
  3. Courts or tribunals.
  4. Opposing solicitors.
  5. Independent barristers or counsel for advice or representation.
  6. Non-legal experts for advice or assistance.
  7. Translation agencies.
  8. Contracted suppliers.
  9. External auditors or regulators like Lexcel, SRA, ICO, etc.
  10. Banks, building societies, or other financial institutions.
  11. Insurance companies.
  12. Identity verification providers.
  13. Legal requirements or regulations, such as preventing financial crime and terrorism.
  14. Emergency situations where we believe you or others are at risk.
  15. The Legal 500 team for case summaries and referee details.
  16. Client feedback platforms like Trustpilot and Review Solicitors.

When sharing any of your information with the above-mentioned third parties, we ensure they adhere strictly and confidentially to our instructions and do not use your personal information for their own purposes, unless you have expressly consented to it.

There may be certain uses of personal data that require your explicit consent. In such cases, we will contact you separately to request your consent, which you have the right to withdraw at any time.

Securing Your Personal Data

We understand the importance of your information and we take all necessary steps to ensure its protection while in our custody.

We implement top-tier technology and operational security measures to safeguard personally identifiable data from loss, misuse, modification, or destruction. We also uphold high standards of confidentiality. Both our internal and external parties are bound by confidentiality agreements to ensure all personal data is handled and processed in accordance with our strict confidentiality and data protection policies.

We deploy computer safeguards like firewalls and data encryption, conduct annual penetration testing, and enforce physical access controls to our buildings and files, where feasible, to ensure data security.

Data Retention Period

Your personal information will be preserved, typically in computer or manual files, only for the necessary duration to fulfil the purposes for which the information was gathered; or as mandated by law; or as specified in any relevant contract you may have with us. For instance:

  1. For the period necessary to execute your legal work.
  2. For a minimum of 7 years from the conclusion or closure of your legal work, in case either you or we need to reopen your case for the purpose of defending complaints or claims against us.
  3. For the duration of a trust.
  4. Some information or matters may be retained for 16 years, such as commercial transactions, sales of leasehold purchases, matrimonial matters (financial orders or maintenance agreements, etc.)
  5. Probate matters where there is a surviving spouse or civil partner may be kept until the survivor’s death to handle the transferable Inheritance Tax allowance.
  6. Wills and related documents may be kept indefinitely.
  7. Deeds related to unregistered property may be kept indefinitely as proof of ownership.
  8. Personal injury matters involving lifetime awards or PI Trusts may be kept indefinitely.

Your Rights

Under the GDPR, you have the right to access your personal data (known as the ‘right to access’). If you wish to make a request, please do so in writing addressed to our Data Protection Officer Tyndel Ezechi; or contact the person managing your matter.

Requesting access to your personal data entitles you to a copy of the data we hold about you – such as your name, address, contact details, date of birth, health information, etc. – but it doesn’t entitle you to the documents containing this data.

Under certain circumstances, in addition to the ‘access your data’ entitlement, you have the following rights:

  1. The right to be informed: fulfilled by this privacy notice and our transparent explanation of how we use your personal data.
  2. The right to rectification: you are entitled to have personal data rectified if it’s inaccurate or incomplete.
  3. The right to erasure / ‘right to be forgotten’: you can request deletion or removal of your personal data where there’s no compelling reason for its continued processing. This right applies in specific circumstances, such as when the data is no longer necessary for the purpose it was originally collected, or if you withdraw your consent and there’s no overriding legitimate reason for processing.
  4. The right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests and direct marketing. This right applies when you have an objection related to your specific situation, and we must stop processing your personal data unless there are compelling legitimate grounds for processing that override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or if the processing is for legal claims.
  5. The right to restrict processing: you can request restriction or suppression of your data. When processing is restricted, we can store the data but not use it. This right applies when you contest the accuracy of the personal data or object to the processing, among other circumstances.

Complaints Regarding Personal Data Use

If you have concerns about how we’ve managed your personal data, you’re welcome to reach out to our Data Protection Officer, Tyndel Ezechi, at [email protected], who will look into the matter. Should you find our response unsatisfactory or believe that we’re not handling your personal data in compliance with the law, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Marketing Preferences

We may use the personal data we’ve collected in line with our privacy policy to reach out to you for marketing purposes. This could include information about our services, events, or other offerings that might be of interest to you. These marketing messages can be delivered through various channels such as social media, email, or post. Rest assured, we do not engage in marketing via SMS or phone calls without your explicit consent, nor do we sell or pass on your details to third parties for their marketing purposes.

Collecting Personal Data

We collect your personal information in several ways, which may include but are not limited to:

  • When you sign up to receive one of our newsletters.
  • When you submit an enquiry online.
  • If you follow, like, or subscribe to our social media channels.
  • When you participate in competitions or promotions we run on our website or social media channels.
  • If you agree to complete a questionnaire or survey on our website.
  • When you contact us with questions or concerns via email or social media.
  • If you post information on our website or social media channels, such as comments or discussion participation.
  • When you leave a review about us on platforms like Trustpilot or Google Reviews.

We provide the opportunity to ‘opt in’ to receive marketing communications whenever we collect your personal data, and you are free to opt out at any time without affecting your access to our legal services.

Handling Enquiries and Marketing

We categorize enquiries into three main groups and handle each as follows:

  • Prospects: We record consent before adding individuals to marketing campaigns.
  • Fixed fee clients: We use legitimate interest as the legal basis for sending relevant marketing communications by email during and after the closure of a case. Clients can opt out at any time.
  • Retainer clients: Similarly, we use legitimate interest as the legal basis for sending relevant marketing communications by email during and after the closure of a case. Clients can opt out at any time.

Contacts who do not engage with our emails over a period of 6 months will be removed from marketing communications.

Using Your Details

We may use your personal information for our legitimate business interests, which include:

  • Fraud prevention.
  • Direct marketing.
  • Ensuring network and information systems security.
  • Data analytics and enhancing, modifying, or improving our services.
  • Identifying usage trends.
  • Determining the effectiveness of promotional campaigns and advertising.

We aim to provide you with information that is relevant and beneficial to you, which helps us to review and improve our offerings.

We may also work with third-party vendors to employ tracking technologies and remarketing services, using first and third-party cookies to analyze user activity and understand online behavior. This helps us to offer a more tailored and personalized service.

Your Rights

You have the right to object to this processing. If you wish to do so, please email [email protected].

Protecting Your Personal Information

We target marketing materials using only non-sensitive personal information, such as your name, address, telephone, email, job description, and previous buying behaviors. We never use sensitive information or specific details for marketing purposes. Personalization may be used to collect analytics to inform marketing and create content that enhances the consumer experience.

If you prefer not to receive marketing communications from us, you can unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions in any of our communications or by emailing [email protected] with your details. Once you unsubscribe, you may still receive transactional emails from us regarding your legal case.

For any questions about this notice or our privacy practices, please email [email protected].