Privacy Policy
Scope
This privacy notice applies to hc solicitors LLP
Personal Information
- We collect personal information directly from You when You give the information to us
- We keep information on your activity with us, including your visits to our website
- We may use information from other companies about You
Purposes & Disclosures
- We use this personal information to deal with your requests and offer You other services
- We may use information collected from our website to personalise your repeat visits to our website.
- We do not disclose information to other selected companies so that We may offer their products or services to You.
- If you become a Client, we may use Personal Information provided by you to conduct anti-fraud checks. Personal information that you provide may be disclosed to a credit reference or fraud prevention agency, which may keep a record of that information.
Your choices
- You may opt out of receiving marketing material from us.
- You may opt out of receiving offers from others.
- You have the right to see the information that We have about You and to get mistakes corrected.
Important Information
- Your information is protected by national data protection law.
How to reach us
For the full privacy notice or for access or correction, please telephone us on +44(0)1733 882800 or write to the Data Protection Officer at hc solicitors LLP, 35 Thorpe Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom PE3 6AG.
1. INTRODUCTION TO OUR POLICY
| 1.1. | In general, any information You provide to Us will only be used within our organisation and by our agents and service providers. Your information will be disclosed where We are obliged or permitted by law. |
| 1.2. | When you supply any personal information to our Website We have legal obligations towards you in the way We use that information. We must collect the information fairly, that is, We must explain how We will use it and tell you if We want to pass the information on to anyone else. We will only use the data which We collect about you lawfully in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. |
| 1.3. | We will use our best efforts to safeguard your privacy. |
| 1.4. | This Policy explains how We collect and use any personal information you supply to us, when using our Website. Please read this Policy carefully. It is important. |
| 1.5. | The Policy also gives you information about cookies; our use of cookies and third parties' use of cookies; and how you may reject such cookies. |
| 1.6. | By giving any Personal Information to us by using this Website you consent to us collecting that personal information from you, using it and also contacting you in certain ways, as set out in this Policy. |
| 1.7. | If you have any queries on our use of information, please contact us. |
2. WHO ARE WE?
| 2.1. | We are hc solicitors LLP, a firm of solicitors practising in the law of England and Wales. We are a Limited Liability Partnership registered in England with registration number OC320243 and with our registered office at 35 Thorpe Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom PE3 6AG. A list of directors is available for inspection at all the firm's offices. |
| 2.2. | We are regulated by our professional body, the Solicitors Regulation Authority and, like other firms of solicitors, are subject to their regulations, found in the Guide to the Professional Conduct of Solicitors, a copy of which can be found online at www.sra.org.uk. |
| 2.3. | We are registered with HM Revenue and Customs in the United Kingdom for VAT with the registration number 120013160. |
| 2.4. | We have notified the Office of the Information Commissioner of our data processing activities: our registration number is Z9856652. |
3. SOME DEFINITIONS
| 3.1. | In this Policy, the following words bear the following meanings: | |
| "We", "Us", "Our", "HC" | hc solicitors LLP | |
| "Website" | www.hcsolicitors.co.uk | |
| "Personal Information" | basic information which identifies You as an individual, such as your name and email address, | |
| "IP address" | a set of numbers which is assigned to your computer during a browsing session whenever You log on to the Internet via your internet service provider or your network (if You access the Internet from, for example, a computer at work). | |
4. GIVING PERSONAL INFORMATION TO US
| 4.1. | You may be asked to provide certain Personal Information such as your contact details which may include your name, address, e-mail address, job title and/or business details. |
| 4.2. | Whenever You provide any personal information to us, We will treat that information in accordance with this Policy. When using your personal information We will act in accordance with current legislation and aim to meet current Internet practice. |
5. HOW DO WE USE THE INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
| 5.1. | We may use Personal Information that You provide or that is obtained by us: | ||
| 5.1.1. | to register You with our Website and to administer our Website services | ||
| 5.1.2. | for assessment and analysis (e.g. market, customer and product analysis) to enable us to review, develop and improve the services which We offer | ||
| 5.1.3. | to make decisions about You, for example by selecting products or services which We think will interest You from the information We have | ||
| 5.1.4. | to keep You informed of such products and services (including seminars, newsletters, bulletins, events, special offers, discounts, offers, competitions and so that We feel might be of particular interest to You on by any of the following methods: | ||
| 5.1.4.1. | |||
| 5.1.4.2. | telephone | ||
| 5.1.4.3. | SMS text message and other electronic messages such as picture messaging | ||
| 5.1.4.4. | post | ||
| 5.1.4.5. | fax | ||
| 5.1.4.6. | or otherwise | ||
| 5.1.5. | to administer any prize draws or competitions You may enter. | ||
| 5.1.6. | to add to our Marketing database and used for the administration of our contacts for client administration, event and marketing related purposes. We may, from time to time, send You information which We believe may be of interest to You, such as details of our products and services; newsletters, legal updates and briefing notes and invitations to our events. We will contact You from time to time to ensure that the information You have provided us with is still accurate. | ||
| 5.2. | We may supplement the information that You provide to us with information that We receive from third parties. | ||
| 5.3. | If You do not wish us to make use of your Personal Information in this way, please email: info@hcsolicitors.co.uk | ||
| 5.4. | We feature advertisements for current vacancies at our firm on this Website. If You submit your details to us for the purpose of being considered to fill a vacancy we will only use your information for that purpose unless You agree otherwise. | ||
6. ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
| 6.1. | You have the right to request a copy of the personal information We hold about You. We charge £10 for complying with requests for information. Please address requests to the Data Protection Officer, hc solicitors LLP, 35 Thorpe Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom PE3 6AG. |
| 6.2. | If You become aware that the personal information We hold about You is inaccurate, You may request that We amend it. Any requests should be made in writing to us. |
| 6.3. | If You want to be removed from our mailing list, please send an email to info@hcsolicitors.co.uk with the word 'remove' in the subject line and the email address that You wish to be removed within the email. Please note that it may take up to 28 days to action your request. |
7. STORING YOUR INFORMATION
| 7.1. | We may keep Your Personal information on a remote server (or if on paper in secure storage) if We think that is necessary for the proper care of it for records, audit and Solicitors Regulation Authority reasons and may make paper copies of any of it. |
| 7.2. | For safety reasons We may store messaging transcript data (including message content, member names, times and dates) arising from the use of Our Website for a period of at least six months. |
| 7.3. | We will hold your personal information on our systems, which may include a remote server, and, if We think it necessary, on paper. We will ensure that all personal information supplied is held securely, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. |
8. INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT
| 8.1. | If You post or send offensive, inappropriate or objectionable content anywhere on or to Our Website or otherwise engage in any disruptive behaviour on Our Website, We can use whatever information that is available to it about You to stop such behaviour. This may involve informing relevant third parties including as appropriate, your employer, school, e-mail/Internet provider and law enforcement agencies about the content and your behaviour. |
| 8.2. | In accordance with our security procedures We may also request proof of your identity before disclosing certain information to You. |
9. AUTOMATED INFORMATION COLLECTION
| 9.1. | We have a policy of continual improvement of our Website. We therefore may collect information automatically about your visit to it. This is used to help us see browsing preferences and our marketing and positioning of the Website. |
10. PRIVACY AND LINKS
| 10.1. | This Website may contain links to other websites and web pages which are outside our control and are not covered by this Privacy Policy. |
| 10.2. | If You access other websites or web pages using the links provided, the operators of those websites or web pages may collect information from You which will be used in accordance with their respective privacy policies which You should read. |
| 10.3. | We are not liable for the practices of such third party website operators in respect of your Personal Information. |
11. SECURITY
| 11.1. | We take appropriate steps to keep secure any records which contain your personal information both online and off-line. We use firewalls to protect the information on our servers. |
| 11.2. | No data transmitted via the Internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure during transmission. We cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information You transmit to us whether by email or otherwise before We receive it. |
| 11.3. | You accept the inherent security risks of providing information and dealing on-line over the Internet and will not hold us responsible for any breach of security unless this is due to our negligence or wilful default. |
| 11.4. | We will take reasonable precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your Personal Information Our employees, contractors and agents may be given access to any Personal Information which We collect, but their use shall be limited to the performance of their duties in relation to facilitating your use of the Website. Our employees, contractors and agents who have access to your Personal Information are required to keep that information confidential and are not permitted to use it for any purposes other than to enable You to use the Website or to deal with requests which You submit to us. |
12. IP ADDRESSES
| 12.1. | Your browser also generates other information, including which language the Website is displayed in, and your IP address. Your IP address may be automatically logged by our servers and used to collect traffic data about visitors to our Website, including analysing trends, administering this Website and tracking your movements whilst on this Website. We do not use your IP address to identify You personally. |
13. COOKIES : WHAT IS A COOKIE?
| 13.1. | Cookies are small pieces of information which may be sent by a web server (such as that used to run this Website) to an individual's computer which are then stored on that computer's hard drive. |
| 13.2. | Cookies record certain information about your online browsing, for example the type of web browser You are using. |
| 13.3. | Cookies do not contain confidential information such as your home address, telephone number or credit card details. |
| 13.4. | Each Website can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser's preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a Website to access the cookies it has already sent to You, not the cookies sent to You by other Websites. |
14. WHAT MAY WE USE COOKIES FOR?
| 14.1. | Cookies and similar tracking devices help us to monitor the way in which our Website is used to recognise You as a prior Website visitor, to keep track of Your browsing patterns on the Website, to personalise your browsing and to track your interests so We can improve this Website for your benefit and keep our Website relevant to its users. |
| 14.2. | Information supplied by cookies can help us to provide You with a better online user experience and assist us to analyse the profile of our visitors. For example: if on a previous visit You went to our commercial property law pages, We might find this out from your cookie and highlight commercial property law information on your second and subsequent visits. |
| 14.3. | Many Websites do this, because cookies enable Website publishers to do useful things like find out whether the computer (and probably its user) has visited the Website before. This is done on a repeat visit by checking to see, and finding, the cookie left there on the last visit. |
| 14.4. | These tracking devices are restricted for use only on this Website and are not used to transfer any personal information to any third party which is not directly connected with the operation of this Website. |
| 14.5. | Cookies allow us to understand who has seen which pages and advertisements, to determine how frequently particular pages are visited and to determine the most popular areas of our Website. Depending on the type of cookie We use, cookies also allow us to make our Website more user friendly, for example, permanent cookies allow us to save your password so that You do not have to re-enter it every time You visit our Website. |
| 14.6. | We do not exchange cookies with any third party Websites or external data suppliers. |
| 14.7. | An independent measurement and research company may gather non-personal information regarding the visitors to our Website on our behalf using cookies, log file data and code which is embedded on our Website. We may use this type of information, as with that obtained from other cookies used on the Website, to help Us improve Our services to Website users. |
15. HOW TO CONTROL YOUR COOKIES
| 15.1. | Most browsers allow You to change settings and prevent cookies being stored on your computer. |
| 15.2. | Users have the opportunity to set their computers to accept all cookies, to notify them when a cookie is issued, or not to receive cookies at any time. The last of these, of course, means that certain personalised services cannot then be provided to that user and accordingly You may not be able to take full advantage of all of the features and services on our Website. |
| 15.3. | If You do not wish to allow this use You may well be able to change the settings on your browser to disable them. There is more information to help You on this link: www.allaboutcookies.org. |
16. USERS AGED 16 AND UNDER
| 16.1. | If You are aged 16 or under, please get your parent/guardian's permission beforehand whenever You provide personal information to the Website. Users without this consent are not allowed to provide us with personal information. |
17. EMAIL MONITORING
| 17.1. | Whilst every member of the Our firm team has a direct email address, email which You send to us or which We send to You may be monitored by Us to ensure compliance with professional standards and our internal compliance policies. |
| 17.2. | Monitoring is not continuous or routine, but may be where there are reasonable grounds for doing so. Occasional spot checks or audits may also be undertaken on instructions in accordance with our internal policies. |
18. TRANSFERRING INFORMATION ABROAD OR TO OTHERS
| 18.1. | We will not disclose your personal information to third parties other than as necessary to provide You with the service You have requested and as required by law. | |
| 18.2. | We do not transfer information in this way unless We need to transfer information abroad or to others specifically to ensure that the service You seek is properly provided to You. | |
| 18.3. | Our information technology systems allow access from all of our firm's offices, including any overseas office. We may also transfer information between our offices, including any overseas office. It is also possible that informaiton may be held on devices, such as POAs and laptops, which are temporarily outside the European Economic Area, or outside England and Wales, for example when our employees are working when overseas or on holiday. We will endeavour to keep these circumstances to a reasonable minimum. | |
| 18.4. | We operate our information technology systems but some data processing in relation to web and email services is carried out on our behalf by a third party. We may provide aggregate statistics about our users and traffic patterns and related Website information to reputable third-parties, but these statistics will include no personally identifying information. We endeavour to ensure appropriate security measures are in place to prevent unauthorised disclosure of personal information. | |
| 18.5. | We may give information about You to the following, who may use it for the same purposes as set out earlier in this policy: | |
| 18.5.1. | to enable third parties to promote certain services to us, for example web listing | |
| 18.5.2. | to our employees and agents to administer any accounts, products and services provided to You by us now or in the future | |
| 18.5.3. | to other organisations for the administration of prize draws or competitions | |
| 18.5.4. | to anyone to whom We transfer or may transfer our rights and duties under our agreement with You | |
| 18.5.5. | if We have a duty to do so or if the law allows us to do so | |
| 18.5.6. | to a successor organisation which acquires the legal practice carried on by hc solicitors LLP. If this happens, We will require the firm or company to which We transfer personal information to observe standards of data protection and privacy no less secure than those set out in this statement | |
| 18.5.7. | in connection with any legal proceedings (including prospective legal proceedings) | |
| 18.5.8. | in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights | |
| 18.6. | In carrying out the activities specified in this section, We may transfer data to reputable companies outside the European Economic Area. We take steps to ensure that your information will be afforded the same level of protection as that required of us under applicable UK data protection legislation. | |
| 18.7. | The internet is global and it is possible that information You provide to us will be temporarily transferred via a route outside the European Economic Area as it passes between You and us. | |
19. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
| 19.1. | We reserve the right, at Our discretion, to make changes to any part of the Website or this Policy at any time. |
| 19.2. | Please review this Policy regularly to ensure that You are aware of any changes made to this Policy. |
| 19.3. | Any changes to this Policy take effect immediately on your first use of the Website after any amended Policy has been posted. By continuing to access and use the Website after any amended Policy has been posted You agree to be legally bound by any amended Policy. |
20. SEVERABILITY
| 20.1. | If this Policy or any part of this Policy is determined to be illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable by reason of the laws of any state or country in which this Policy is intended to be effective, then to the extent and within the jurisdiction in which the Policy (or any part of the Policy) is illegal, invalid or unenforceable, it shall, in that state or country, be treated as severed and deleted from this Policy and the remaining parts of the Policy shall survive, remain in full force and effect and continue to be binding and enforceable in that state or country. |
21. EVENTS BEYOND OUR CONTROL
| 21.1. | We will not be responsible for any breach of this Policy caused by circumstances beyond Our reasonable control. |
22. THIRD PARTY RIGHTS
| 22.1. | This Policy is not intended to confer any benefit on a third party under the provision of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. |
23. JURISDICTION
| 23.1. | This Policy shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and You irrevocably agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute which may arise out of, under, or in connection with this Policy, your use of the Website or any materials on it. |
