Privacy Policy
Please read the following information carefully as it contains information about what data we collect, use and store about you and why. It also tells you who we share this information with, the security mechanisms we have put in place to protect your data and how to contact us if you have a complaint.
In this Privacy Policy, “We”, “Us” and “Our” refers to Thorntons Solicitors.
Our registered office is Rowan House South, Shrewsbury Business Park, Shrewsbury, SY2 6LG.
Our contact details are:
Phone Number: 01743 341770
E-mail: enquiries@thorntonslegal.com
Website: www.thorntonslegal.com
Our Data Protection Officer is Emily Parker, Partner.
The type of personal information we collect
We currently collect and process some or all the following information, depending on the services we are providing to you.
Information we will collect
- Name, address and date of birth
- Email address
- Telephone number
- Gender
- Marital Status
- Information regarding the matter in which you wish to engage us to provide services
- Your financial details, (including bank account details) in so far as these are relevant to your instructions
- Your signature
- Nationality
Information we may collect
- National Insurance Number
- Next of kin
- Mortgage details
- Details regarding your physical or mental health
- Details regarding your spouse/partner/family situation/dependants or other family members, e.g. if you instruct us regarding a family matter such as a Will, lasting power of attorney or probate
- Financial information including details of your pensions
- Tax information
- Details of benefits you receive
- Any other information required for provision of the services we have agreed to provide you with
- Information provided on the documents which you provide to us, to verify your identity and address
How and why we use the information that you have given us
Under data protection law, we can only use your personal data if we have a proper reason for doing so, e.g.
- 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
- Where you have given consent
For your information, 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.
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
| What we use your personal data for | Our Reasons |
|---|---|
| To provide legal services to you | For the performance of our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract |
| Preventing and detecting fraud against you or us | For our legitimate interests or those of a third party, i.e. to minimise fraud that could be damaging for you and/or us |
|
Conducting identity checks to verify the identity of our clients via external digital identity verification companies Any other screening necessary Other processing necessary to comply with professional, legal and regulatory or other obligations that apply to our business, e.g. under health and safety regulations or rules issued by our professional regulator or the government |
To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, e.g. our anti-money laundering obligations |
| Gathering and providing information required by or relating to audits, enquiries or investigations by regulatory bodies | To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations |
| Ensuring business policies are adhered to, e.g. policies covering securit | For our legitimate interests or those of a third party, i.e. to make sure we are following our own internal procedures to enable us to deliver the best service to you |
| Operational reasons, such as improving efficiency, training and quality control | For our legitimate interests or those of a third party, i.e. to enable us to be efficient and offer the best possible service to you |
| Ensuring the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information |
For our legitimate interests or those of a third party, i.e. to protect our intellectual property and other commercially valuable information
|
| Statistical analysis to help us manage our practice, e.g. in relation to our financial performance, client base or other efficiency measures | For our legitimate interests or those of a third party, i.e. to enable us to be efficient and offer the best possible service to you |
| Updating and enhancing our client records |
For the performance of our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract
|
| Statutory returns | To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations |
| Ensuring safe working practices, the safety of our staff, clients and third parties |
To comply with our legal, regulatory and other obligations
|
|
Marketing our services to: - existing and former clients |
For our legitimate interests or those of a third party, i.e. to promote our business to existing and former clients |
| External audits and quality checks, e.g. for The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) and the audit of our accounts |
For our legitimate interests or a those of a third party, i.e. to maintain our accreditations which demonstrates our service is of the best possible quality and standard
|
The above does not apply to special category data which we will only process with your explicit consent.
The UK GDPR defines special category data as:
- Personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin
- Personal data revealing political opinions
- Personal data revealing religious or philosophical beliefs
- Personal data revealing trade union membership
- Genetic data
- Biometric data (where used for identification purposes)
- Data concerning health
- Data concerning a person’s sex life; and
- Data concerning a person's sexual orientation
How we collect the personal information and why we have it
Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you. However, it may also be necessary for us to collect data from the following sources depending on the legal services which we contract with you, to provide.
- Digital identity verification companies
- Financial and Tax information from your accountant/financial adviser with your consent
- Details regarding your mortgage from the mortgage provider – with your consent
- Our files regarding previous matters which you have instructed us on
- Companies House/Land Registry or other public sources
- Estate Agents if applicable
- Consultants or other professionals engaged in your matter – with your consent
- Your doctor – with your consent
- Our case management, document management, time recording systems, IT, computer systems and email
- Our office systems such as any call and reception logs
- Insolvency Register
- Land Charges Register
Who we share your personal information with
We routinely share your personal data, (depending on the matter on which you instruct us), with:
- Professional advisers who we or you instruct to act on your behalf or whom we refer you to such as barristers, accountants, financial advisers or tax advisors
- Other third parties necessary to carry out your instructions such as your estate agent, mortgage provider, insurance broker
- Government organisations involved in the services we provide e.g. Companies House, HMRC, HM Land Registry, Office of the Public Guardian, Probate Registry etc.
- Our auditors and accountants
- Digital identity verification companies
- Land Searches agency
- Our insurers and brokers
- External auditors e.g. CQS accreditation
- IT service providers
We will share personal information with law enforcement agencies if required by applicable law.
We may also need to share some of your personal data with other parties, such as potential buyers of some or all of our business or during a re-structuring. We will usually anonymise your information, but this is not always possible. However, the recipient of your information will be bound by confidentiality obligations.
We will not share your personal information with any other third parties without your consent.
Where your Personal Data is held
Information may be held at our offices and at those of third party agencies, service providers and representatives and agents. We have appropriate security measures to prevent personal data from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed unlawfully and review our procedures regularly. Those processing your information are subject to a duty of confidentiality and will do so in an authorised manner.
How long we store your personal data
We will need to keep your personal data after we have finished advising or acting for you. We will do so for the following 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. The minimum storage limit for paper files is 6 years, however some work types have different retention periods, and some paper files are kept for a minimum of 12 years where deeds are involved.
In the case of documents collected for the purposes of identity verification, these will be destroyed after 5 years unless required beyond this period for the purpose of further instructions.
All data is held securely and destroyed in a confidential and secure manner to comply with legislation.
Consent
Where we are relying on your explicit consent to process your personal information such as your special category data (as referred to above) you have the right to withdraw this consent at any time, but this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing activity we have carried out prior to you withdrawing your consent. Please contact us to withdraw your consent but please provide full details of your identity and the information you withdraw your consent about.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
Your right to be informed - You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data.
Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
Your right related to automated decision-making including profiling - You have the right to object to decisions being made based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produce legal affects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you.
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.
If you wish to make a request, please contact our Data Protection Officer, Emily Parker, Thorntons Solicitors, Rowan House South, Shrewsbury Business Park, Shrewsbury, SY2 6LG. You can also email us enquries@thorntonslegal.com or call us on 01743 341770.
If you would like more information about your rights under the GDPR please see the Guidance from the Information Commissioners Office on Individual's rights under the GDPR.
How to complain
If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us at Thorntons Solicitors, Rowan House South, Shrewsbury Business Park, Shrewsbury, SY2 6LG for the attention of Emily Parker. You can also email us enquries@thorntonslegal.com
You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.
The ICO’s address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk