We take your privacy seriously. Please read this privacy policy carefully as it contains important information on who we are and how and why we collect, store, use and share your personal data. It also explains your rights in relation to your personal data and how to contact us or supervisory authorities in the event you have a complaint.

When we use your personal data, we are regulated under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 and we are responsible as “controller” of that personal data for the purposes of the GDPR. Our use of your personal data is subject to your instructions, the GDPR, other relevant data protection or privacy legislation and our professional duty of confidentiality.

Hart Will Writing & Estate Planning is a data controller within the meaning of the GDPR and we process personal data. The firm’s contact details are as follows:

Hart Will Writing & Estate Planning, Suite 243, 16 City Business Centre, Hyde Street, Winchester, SO23 7AT

Data Protection Officer: Rachel Hart

We may amend this privacy policy from time to time. If we do so, we will supply you with and/or otherwise make available to you a copy of the amended privacy policy.

Where we act as a data processor on behalf of a data controller, we provide an additional schedule setting out required information as part of that agreement. That additional schedule should be read in conjunction with this privacy policy.

The purposes for which we intend to process personal data

 We intend to process personal data for the following purposes:

  • To enable us to supply professional services to you as our client.

  • To fulfil our obligations under relevant laws in force from time to time (e.g. the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (“MLR 2017”)).

  • To comply with professional obligations to which we are subject as a member of The Society of Will Writers.

  • To use in the investigation and/or defence of potential complaints, disciplinary proceedings and legal proceedings.

  • To enable us to invoice you for our services and investigate/address any attendant fee disputes that may have arisen.

  • To contact you about other services we provide which may be of interest to you if you have consented to us doing so.

The legal bases for our intended processing of personal data

Our intended processing of personal data has the following legal bases:

  • At the time you instructed us to act, you gave consent to our processing your personal data for the purposes listed above.

  • The processing is necessary for the performance of our contract with you.

  • The processing is necessary for compliance with legal obligations to which we are subject (e.g. MLR 2017).

  • The processing is necessary for the purposes of the following legitimate interests which we pursue including:

    • in the investigation and/or defence of potential complaints

    • disciplinary proceedings

    • legal proceedings.

It is a requirement of our contract with you that you provide us with the personal data that we request. If you do not provide the information that we request, we may not be able to provide professional services to you. If this is the case, we will not be able to commence acting or will need to cease to act.

 Personal data we collect about you

 The personal data we will collect will depend on why you have instructed us, and may include, but is not limited to: 

  • Your name, address and telephone number;

  • Information to enable us to check and verify your identity;

  • Your e-mail address and mobile phone number;

  • Information relating to the matter in which you are seeking our advice or representation;

  • Information to enable us to undertake a credit or other financial checks on you;

  • Your financial details so far as relevant to your instructions;

  • Your National Insurance and tax details;

  • Your bank and/or building society details;

  • Details of your spouse/partner and dependants or other family members;

  • Your employment status and details including salary and benefits;

  • Your nationality and immigration status and information from related documents;

  • Details of your pension arrangements;

  • Your employment records including, where relevant, records relating to sickness and attendance, performance, disciplinary, conduct and grievances (including relevant special category personal data);

  • Your racial or ethnic origin, gender and sexual orientation, religious or similar beliefs;

How your personal data is collected

How we collect personal data will depend on why you have instructed us.

We will collect most of this information from you. However, we may also collect information from publicly accessible sources, such as Companies House or HM Land Registry; or directly from a third party; or from a third party with your consent.

We may also collect personal data through our information technology (IT) systems including case management, document management and time recording systems, reception logs, our computer networks and connections, CCTV and access control systems, telephone, email and other communications systems.

Persons/organisations to whom we may give personal data

We may share your personal data with:

  • HM Revenue and Customs

  • HM Land Registry

  • Any third parties with whom you require or permit us to correspond

  • Credit reference agencies

  • Our subcontractors

  • An alternate appointed by us in the event of incapacity or death

  • Professional indemnity insurers

If the law allows or requires us to do so, we may share your personal data with:

  • the police and law enforcement agencies

  • courts and tribunals

  • the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”)

We may need to share your personal data with the third parties identified above in order to comply with our legal obligations, including our legal obligations to you. If you ask us not to share your personal data with such third parties, we may need to cease to act.

How and why we use your personal data

Under data protection law, we can only use your personal data if we have a proper reason for doing so:

  • to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations;

  • for the performance of our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract;

  • for our legitimate interests or those of a third party; or

  • where you have given consent.

A legitimate interest is when we have a business or commercial reason to use your information, so long as this is not overridden by your own rights and interests.

Transferring your personal data out of the EEA

To deliver services to you, it may sometimes be necessary for us to share your personal data outside the European Economic Area (EEA). These transfers are subject to special rules under European and UK data protection law. We will ensure the transfer complies with data protection law and all personal data will be secure.

Where your personal data is held

Information may be held at our offices and those of our service providers. We use a cloud-based case management system which includes storage for client files. The cloud infrastructure is provided and maintained by Iris which demonstrates a commitment to information security at every level of the organisation and compliance with all internationally recognised standards, the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

How long your personal data will be kept

We will keep your personal data after we have finished advising or acting for you. We will do so for one of these reasons:

  • to respond to any questions, complaints or claims made by you or on your behalf;

  • to show that we treated you fairly;

  • to keep records required by law.

We will not retain your data for longer than necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.

Keeping your personal data secure

We have appropriate security measures to prevent personal data from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed unlawfully. We limit access to your personal data to those who have a genuine business need to access it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Requesting personal data we hold about you (subject access requests)

You have a right to request access to your personal data that we hold. Such requests are known as ‘subject access requests’ (“SARs”).

Please provide all SARs in writing marked for the attention of Rachel Hart.

To help us provide the information you want and deal with your request more quickly, you should include enough details to enable us to verify your identity and locate the relevant information.

DPA 2018 requires that we comply with a SAR promptly and in any event within one month of receipt. There are, however, some circumstances in which the law allows us to refuse to provide access to personal data in response to a SAR (e.g. if you have previously made a similar request and there has been little or no change to the data since we complied with the original request).

We will not charge you for dealing with a SAR.

You can ask someone else to request information on your behalf – for example, a friend, relative or solicitor. We must have your authority to respond to a SAR made on your behalf. You can provide such authority by signing a letter which states that you authorise the person concerned to write to us for information about you, and/or receive our reply.

Your rights

You have the following rights in relation to your personal data under data protection law:

  • The right to be provided with a copy of your personal data.

  • The right to require us to correct any mistakes in your personal data.

  • The right to require us to delete your personal data in certain situations.

  • The right to require us to restrict processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.

  • The right to receive the personal data you provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and/or transmit that data to a third party in certain situations.

  • The right to object at any time to your personal data being processed for direct marketing (including profiling), or, in certain other situations, to our continued processing of your personal data.

  • Not to be subject to automated individual decision-making.

For further information on each of those rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, please contact us, or see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on its website at https://ico.org.uk/.

Putting things right (the right to rectification)

You have a right to obtain the rectification of any inaccurate personal data concerning you that we hold. You also have a right to have any incomplete personal data that we hold about you completed. Should you become aware that any personal data that we hold about you is inaccurate and/or incomplete, please inform us immediately so we can correct and/or complete it.

Deleting your records (the right to erasure)

In certain circumstances you have a right to have the personal data that we hold about you erased. Further information is available on the ICO website (www.ico.org.uk). If you would like your personal data to be erased, please inform us immediately and we will consider your request. In certain circumstances we have the right to refuse to comply with a request for erasure. If applicable, we will supply you with the reasons for refusing your request.

The right to restrict processing and the right to object

In certain circumstances you have the right to ‘block’ or suppress the processing of personal data or to object to the processing of that information. Further information is available on the ICO website (www.ico.org.uk). Please inform us immediately if you want us to cease to process your information or you object to processing so that we can consider what action, if any, is appropriate.

Obtaining and reusing personal data (the right to data portability)

In certain circumstances you have the right to be provided with the personal data that we hold about you in a machine-readable format, e.g. so that the data can easily be provided to a new professional adviser. Further information is available on the ICO website (www.ico.org.uk).
The right to data portability only applies:

  • to personal data an individual has provided to a controller;

  • where the processing is based on the individual’s consent or for the performance of a contract; and

  • when processing is carried out by automated means

We will respond to any data portability requests made to us without undue delay and within one month. We may extend the period by a further two months where the request is complex, or a number of requests are received but we will inform you within one month of the receipt of the request and explain why the extension is necessary.

Withdrawal of consent

Where you have consented to our processing of your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Please inform us immediately if you wish to withdraw your consent.

Please note:

  • the withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of earlier processing

  • if you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to continue to provide services to you

  • even if you withdraw your consent, it may remain lawful for us to process your data on another legal basis (e.g. because we have a legal obligation to continue to process your data)

 Complaints

 If you have requested details of the information we hold about you and you are not happy with our response, or you think we have not complied with the GDPR or DPA 2018 in some other way, you can complain to us. Please send any complaints to Rachel Hart.

If you are not happy with our response, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the ICO (www.ico.org.uk).

Changes to this Privacy policy

We may change this Privacy policy from time to time.

This may be necessary, for example, if the law changes, or if we change our business in a way that affects personal data protection.