Privacy Policy

Davidsons Forensic Accountants Ltd Privacy Policy

Davidsons Forensic Accountants Ltd understands that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used. We respect and value the privacy of all of our clients, prospective clients, suppliers and visitors to www.davidsonsforensic.co.uk (“Our Site”) and will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a way that is consistent with our obligations and your rights under the law.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully and ensure that you understand it. If you have any questions, please contact us by email on info@davidsonsforensic.co.uk.

Information About Us

Davidsons Forensic Accountants is a Limited Company registered in England under company number 12938757. Registered address Suite B4, Joseph’s Well, Leeds, LS3 1AB. Davidsons Forensic Accountants Ltd is a data controller, meaning that it determines the processes to be used when using your personal data.

What Does This Notice Cover?

This Privacy Information explains how we use your personal data: how it is collected, how it is held, and how it is processed. It also explains your rights under the law relating to your personal data.

What Is Personal Data?

Personal data is defined by the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (collectively, “the Data Protection Legislation”) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier’.

Personal data is, in simpler terms, any information about you that enables you to be identified. Personal data covers obvious information such as your name and contact details, but it also covers less obvious information such as identification numbers, electronic location data, and other online identifiers.

What Are My Rights?

Under the Data Protection Legislation, you have the following rights, which we will always work to uphold:

1. The right to be informed about our collection and use of your personal data. This Privacy Notice should tell you everything you need to know, but you can always contact us to find out more or to ask any questions.
2. The right to access the personal data we hold about you.
3. The right to have your personal data rectified if any of your personal data held by us is inaccurate or incomplete for example if you move, change your name etc., we would be grateful if you could notify us at the earliest opportunity so we can ensure our records are up to date.
4. The right to be forgotten, in certain circumstances you have the right to ask us to delete or otherwise dispose of any of your personal data that we hold if we are relying upon consent or the personal data is no longer necessary for the purpose which we originally collected or processed it.
5. The right to restrict (i.e., prevent) the processing of your personal data.
6. The right to object to us using your personal data for a particular purpose or purposes.
7. The right to withdraw consent. This means that, if we are relying on your consent as the legal basis for using your personal data, you are free to withdraw that consent at any time.
8. The right to data portability. This means that, if you have provided personal data to us directly, we are using it with your consent or for the performance of a contract, and that data is processed using automated means, you can ask us for a copy of that personal data to re-use with another service or business in many cases.
9. Rights relating to automated decision-making and profiling. We do not use your personal data in this way.

Further information about your rights can also be obtained from the Information Commissioner’s Office or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

If you have any cause for complaint about our use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. We would welcome the opportunity to resolve your concerns ourselves, however, so please contact us first, using the contact us by email on info@davidsonsforensic.co.uk.

What Personal Data Do You Collect?

We may collect and hold some or all the personal and non-personal data set out below. We do not collect any ‘special category’ or ‘sensitive’ personal data and personal data relating to children. 

1. Identity and contact data: name, address, postal address, email, and phone number.
2. Financial data: bank details and payment transaction information.
3. Correspondence data: such as emails communications.
4. Internet data: for example, information collected by cookies and other online technologies such as Google Analytics, as you use our website or contact us by online methods. 

How do we use this data?

Collecting this data helps us:

• To respond to your enquiry submitted on the website, at our office or via phone, email, or post.
• To administer and protect our business and this website (including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, system maintenance, support, reporting and hosting of data).
• To use data analytics to improve our website, services, customer relationships and experiences.
• To make suggestions and recommendations about services that may be of interest to you.
• To provide our professional services to you.

The lawful ways we collect your data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

• to contact you for the first time (for example, where you have made an enquiry).
• where we need to perform the contract, we are about to enter or have entered with you.
• where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests; and
• where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.

How Can I Access my Personal Information?

If you want to know what personal data, we have about you, you can ask us for details of that personal data and for a copy of it (where any such personal data is held). This is known as a “subject access request”.

All subject access requests can be made either in writing and sent to the email or postal addresses shown above, or verbally in person or over the phone.

There is not normally any charge for a subject access request. If your request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’ (for example, if you make repetitive requests) a fee may be charged to cover our administrative costs in responding.

We will respond to your subject access request within one month of receiving it. Normally, we aim to provide a complete response, including a copy of your personal data within that time. In some cases, however, particularly if your request is more complex, more time may be required up to a maximum of three months from the date we receive your request. You will be kept fully informed of our progress.

Controlling information about you

We will not keep your personal data for any longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. Your data will be kept for the lifetime of your status as a client with us. When your matter file is close, your data will be kept for a minimum period 6 years (for civil matters) or ten years (for criminal matters). 

Do You Share My Personal Data?

We may sometimes contract with the following third parties to supply certain products and services.

If any of your personal data is shared with a third party, as described above, we will take steps to ensure that your personal data is handled safely, securely, and in accordance with your rights, our obligations, and the third party’s obligations under the law.

If any personal data is transferred outside of the UK, we will take suitable steps to ensure that your personal data is treated just as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the Data Protection Legislation.

If we sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or assets, your personal data may be transferred to a third party. Any new owner of our business may continue to use your personal data in the same way(s) that we have used it, as specified above.

In some limited circumstances, we may be legally required to share certain personal data, which might include yours, if we are involved in legal proceedings or complying with legal obligations, a court order, or the instructions of a government authority.

How and Where Do You Store or Transfer My Personal Data?

We do store some of your personal data in countries outside of the UK, such as the initial contact form is stored on servers within Europe. These are known as “third countries”. We will take additional steps in order to ensure that your personal data is treated just as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the Data Protection Legislation as follows:

• We will only store or transfer personal data in or to countries that are deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data. For further information about adequacy decisions and adequacy regulations, please refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
• We will use specific approved contracts which ensure the same levels of personal data protection that apply under the Data Protection Legislation. For further information, please refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Please contact us using the details above for further information about the particular data protection safeguards used by us when transferring your personal data to a third country.

How do we keep your data secure?

The security of your personal data is essential to us, and to protect your data, we take a number of important measures, including the following:

• limiting access to your personal data to those employees, and other third parties with a legitimate need to know and ensuring that they are subject to duties of confidentiality.
• procedures for dealing with data breaches (the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, your personal data) including notifying you and/or the Information Commissioner’s Office where we are legally required to do so.

To prevent unauthorised disclosure or access to your information, we have implemented strong physical and electronic security safeguards. In the unlikely event of a data protection breach we will notify the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) so that their procedures can be followed. We will also notify all individuals whose data may have been accessed to alert them to the breach and any potential risks. 

How Do You Use Cookies?

Our Site may place and access certain first-party Cookies on your computer or device. First-party Cookies are those placed directly by us and are used only by us. We use Cookies to facilitate and improve your experience of Our Site and to provide and improve our products and services. By using Our Site, you may also receive certain third-party Cookies on your computer or device. Third-party Cookies are those placed by websites, services, and/or parties other than us. Third-party Cookies are used on Our Sites.

In addition, Our Site use analytics services provided by Google, which also use Cookies. Website analytics refers to a set of tools used to collect and analyse usage statistics, enabling us to better understand how people use Our Site.  Upon your first visit to Our Site, you will be presented with a Cookie Banner to choose whether or not to accept these cookies.

How Do I Contact You?

To contact us about anything to do with your personal data and data protection, including to make a subject access request, please use the following details for the attention of Data Protection Lead:

Email address: info@davidsonsforensic.co.uk

Changes to this Privacy Notice

We may change this Privacy Notice 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. This Privacy Notice was last updated on 5th July 2021.