Effective from 5^th January 2024

Privacy Notice, Cookies & Data Protection

Privacy Notice

We ask that you read this privacy notice very carefully as it contains important information on who we are, how and why we collect, store, use and share personal information, your rights in relation to your personal information and on how to contact us and supervisory authorities in the event that you have a complaint.

Who We Are

The Insolvency Group collects, uses and is responsible for certain personal information about you. When we do, we are regulated under the General Data Protection Regulation which applies across the European Union (including the United Kingdom), and we are responsible as “controller” of that personal information for the purposes of those laws.

The Information We Collect

The personal information we gather will be via telephone and website enquiry. This personal data is required by us to enable us to provide our service to you. If you do not provide the personal data, we ask for; this may delay or prevent us from being able to provide our service to you.

The personal data we collect from you in the course of supporting you may comprise of but is not limited to the following Information:

1. Name (including former names), address and all contact details
2. Date of birth
3. The number and age of any dependents
4. Your current and any former marital status
5. Your current and any former residential property occupation and ownership
6. Your employment details or details of any self-employment or Limited company or corporate partnership you are associated with
7. Your current and historical assets position including disposals of assets
8. Your liabilities to creditors
9. Your current income and expenditure
10. Your current status in terms of any ongoing legal proceedings
11. Your information and explanations in relation to your becoming insolvent and any steps that you have taken to deal with such insolvency
12. Any information provided to us by authorised third parties such as partners; civil partners spouses friends or relatives who may be assisting you and us in the provision of our legal services to you
13. Your current and historical tax affairs

Additionally, we will collect website usage information from cookies based on your interaction with our website.

How Your Data Is Collected

We collect this information from you in a variety of communication mediums including but not limited to telephone, e-mail, post, in person or through our website

We may also collect information from publicly accessible sources such as the Insolvency Service Register; Companies House; HM Land Registry and credit reference agencies.

We may also collect information from authorised third party case management; document management and e-mail systems

How And Why We Store Your Information

Under Data Protection Law, we can only store and use your personal data if we have a proper reason for doing so.

We use your personal information:

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

We use your personal data primarily to provide services to you but also for related purposes as described within this Privacy Notice including:

• Conducting any necessary checks to identify you, verify your identity and screen for financial or other sanctions
• Gathering and providing information required by or relating to audits, enquiries, and investigations by regulatory bodies
• Complying with professional, legal, and regulatory obligations that apply to our business
• Ensuring business policies are adhered to e.g. policies covering security and internet use
• Operational reasons, such as improving efficiency, training, and quality control
• Ensuring the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information
• Statistical analysis to help us manage our practice (e.g. in relation to financial performance, client base, work type and other efficiency measures)
• Updating and enhancing client records
• Preventing unauthorized access and modifications to systems
• Preparing and filing statutory returns
• Ensuring safe working practices and monitoring and managing staff absences and staff access to systems and facilities
• Staff administration and assessments, monitoring staff conduct and disciplinary matters
• Marketing our services
• Any necessary credit reference checks via external credit reference agencies
• External required audits and quality checks e.g. Lexcel, ISO or Investors in People accreditation

Who We Share Your Information With

We will routinely share your personal information with:

• The Insolvency Service for registration of an approved IVA (please note that the IVA register is provided to credit reference agencies, as well as being open for public inspection).
• HM Land Registry where the need arises
• Our case management system software providers to enable your case to be stored and maintained on our case management system
• Our insurers and auditors
• Your Creditors where the need arises
• the Courts Service where the need arises
• Bailiffs and other enforcement officers where the need arises
• Any third party who you authorise to deal with us in both providing and being party to your personal information such as partners; civil partners spouses friends or relatives who may be assisting you and us in the provision of our legal services to you
• Law enforcement agencies; government agencies or our professional regulatory body where we are required to do so
• Legal firms (and their partners) who we instruct to help identify and, if applicable, pursue any claims for compensation arising from the mis-selling of financial products

This data sharing enables us to perform our legal services to you under the terms of the legal services contract between us.

We may also need to share some personal data with other parties regarding our business. Usually such information will be anonymised, but this may not always be possible. The recipient of any such information will be bound by confidentiality obligations.

What Information Has To Be Provided

In order for us to carry out the services to you in a full and comprehensive manner; we need you to provide all required personal information which makes up a comprehensive Statement of your Affairs. An example of what this might include is covered above (The Information We Typically Collect)

How Is Data Held

Information and data may be held at our office; by authorised third parties, service providers connected to our legal services to you; in our e-mail system; storage providers of our files; accounts and case managements systems.

We do not propose to transfer any of your personal information to any party or location based out of the European Economic Area (EEA)

How Long Will Data Be Held For?

We will retain the information identified above in line with applicable UK Tax Law requirements (currently 6 years) and the period for which we are required by any Recognised Professional Body affiliated to our Insolvency Practitioners, such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) or the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA). This is normally 6 years from completion of your IVA.

Basis For Processing Your Data

We rely on our contract to provide services to you as the lawful basis on which we can collect and use your personal data and as otherwise noted in this Notice.

Your Rights

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have a number of important rights free of charge. In summary, those include rights to:

• Fair processing of information and transparency over how we use your personal information
• Access to your personal information and to certain other supplementary information that this Privacy Notice is already designed to address
• Require us to correct any mistakes in your information which we hold
• Require the erasure of personal information concerning you in certain situations
• Receive the personal information concerning you which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and have the right to transmit those data to a third party in certain situations
• Object at any time to processing of personal information concerning you for direct marketing
• Object to decisions being taken by automated means which produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you
• Object in certain other situations to our continued processing of your personal information
• Otherwise restrict our processing of your personal information in certain circumstances
• Claim compensation for damages caused by our breach of any data protection laws
• For further information on each of those rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the Guidance from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on individual’s rights under the General Data Protection Regulation

If you would like to exercise any of those rights, please:

• E-mail, call or write to our Data Protection Officer, at the e-mail address, compliance@theinsolvencygroup.co.uk; or by writing to us at our registered address
• Let us have enough information to identify you (your name and address)
• Let us have proof of your identity (photo ID of your passport or driving licence with separate recent utility bill)
• Let us know the information to which your request relates

If you would like to unsubscribe from any marketing including SMS and e-mail alerts you should make contact via the methods described immediately above. It may take up to 48 hours for this to take place

Keeping Your Information Safe

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

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

If you want detailed information from “Get Safe Online” on how to protect your personal information and your computers and devices against fraud, identity theft, viruses, and many other online problems, please visit www.getsafeonline.org Get Safe Online is supported by HM Government and leading businesses.

Cookies

Like most websites we use cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to make our site work and have already been set. Other cookies help us improve the site content for all site visitors by showing us how you use our site.

This website uses cookies to track individual users around our site and to recognise them should they visit this site more than once. This does not track nor record personal information that could be used to identify you. All Browsers can be set not to accept cookies within their privacy settings.

We use Google for paid advertising. When you visit this site by that channel, a cookie is stored on your device (subject to your privacy settings), which allows us to re-target you with ads once you leave this site and visit other websites which use Google to display ads.

You may opt-out of this method of advertising from Google – visit https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads?hl=en-GB&gl=uk

Changes To Privacy

This Privacy Notice was published on 3^rd August 2020 and amended on 5^th January 2024.

We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time. When we do, we will inform you via e-mail at your nominated e-mail address.

Queries & Assistance

Please contact our Data Protection Officer if you have any questions about this privacy notice, or the information we hold about you, or require any assistance.

If you wish to contact our Data Protection Officer; please send an e-mail to compliance@theinsolvencygroup.co.uk, alternatively call or write to us using the contact details noted on our stationery.