Twinn Accountants Limited Privacy Policy
Introduction
The Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA 2018”) and the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) impose certain legal obligations in connection with the processing of personal data.
Twinn Accountants Ltd is a data controller within the meaning of the GDPR and we process personal data. The firm’s contact details are as follows:
Twinn Accountants Ltd,
Suite 4 East Barton Barns,
East Barton Road,
Great Barton,
Bury St Edmunds,
Suffolk IP31 2QY.
Tel: 01284 787616. Email info@twinnaccountants.co.uk.
We at Twinn Accountants are committed to protecting any data and information that we collect concerning you. By using our services and visiting our website, you agree to the use of your data that we collect from you in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
We may amend this privacy notice 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 notice.
Where we act as a data processor on behalf of a data controller (for example, when processing payroll), 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 notice.
We Are Committed to Protecting Your Privacy
We collect the minimum amount of information about you that is commensurate with providing you with a satisfactory service and/or a pleasurable website viewing experience.
This Policy indicates the type of data collection processes we use to collect data about you.
If you use our website you give us the right to collect such information and you hereby assent to its use thereof.
Information Collected
We may collect any or all the information that you provide to us, depending on the type of transaction you enter into, including your name, address, telephone number, date of birth, tax information and identification codes, proof of identification and email address, together with data about the services provided or use of the website. Where we process your payroll, we will also hold similar information about your staff.
Other information that may be needed from time to time to process a request may also be collected as required.
Information Use
We primarily use the information collected to process the professional services you have requested from us whether those services are requested by phone, email, via our website or in person.
However, in addition, we may also use the information for the following purposes:
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 Association of Accounting Technicians.
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.
Our intended processing of personal data has the following legal bases:
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).
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.
Data collected will be held in accordance with applicable data protection legislation governing data collection, dissemination and use. All reasonable precautions have been taken to prevent unauthorized access to this information. This safeguard may require you to provide additional forms of identity should you wish to obtain information about your account details.
We may share your personal data with:
Your personal data will be processed in the EEA only
Disclosing Information
We do not, and will not, disclose any personal information obtained about you to third parties except when we need to do so in order to complete the transaction or comply with our legal obligations or contract with you – such as the following:
HM Revenue & Customs
Pension providers (for example, where we administer workplace pension schemes)
any third parties with whom you require or permit us to correspond
subcontractors
an alternate appointed by us in the event of incapacity or death
professional indemnity insurers
our professional body, The Association of Accounting Technicians and/or the Office of Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervisors (OPBAS) in relation to practice assurance and/or the requirements of MLR 2017 (or any similar legislation)
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.
We may also use the information to keep in contact with you and inform you of developments associated with our business. You will have the opportunity to remove yourself from any such mailing list or similar device.
If, at any time in the future, we should wish to disclose information collected to any third party, it would only be with your knowledge and consent.
We may, from time to time, provide information of a general nature to third parties – for example, the number of individuals visiting our website or using our services, but we will not use any information that could identify those individuals.
Retention of personal data
When acting as a data controller, and in accordance with recognised good practice within the tax and accountancy sector, we will retain all of our records relating to you as follows:
where tax returns have been prepared it is our policy to retain information for 6 years from the end of the tax year to which the information relates.
where ad hoc advisory work has been undertaken it is our policy to retain information for 6 years from the date the business relationship ceased.
where we have an ongoing client relationship, data which is needed for more than one year’s tax compliance (e.g. capital gains base costs and claims and elections submitted to HMRC) is retained throughout the period of the relationship, but will be deleted 6 years after the end of the business relationship unless you as our client ask us to retain it for a longer period.
Our contractual terms provide for the destruction of documents after 6 years and therefore agreement to the contractual terms is taken as agreement to the retention of records for this period, and to their destruction thereafter.
You are responsible for retaining information that we send to you (including details of capital gains base costs and claims and elections submitted) and this will be supplied in the form agreed between us. Documents and records relevant to your tax affairs are required by law to be retained by you as follows:
Individuals, trustees and partnerships
· with trading or rental income: five years and 10 months after the end of the tax year;
· otherwise: 22 months after the end of the tax year.
Companies, LLPs and other corporate entities
· six years from the end of the accounting period.
Where we act as a data processor as defined in DPA 2018, we will delete or return all personal data to the data controller as agreed with the controller at the termination of the contract.
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 Chris Twinn.
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. For example, you should tell us:
your date of birth
previous or other name(s) you have used
your previous addresses in the past five years
personal reference number(s) that we may have given you, for example your national insurance number, your tax reference number or your VAT registration number
what type of information you want to know
If you do not have a national insurance number, you must send a copy of:
the back page of your passport or a copy of your driving licence; and
a recent utility bill.
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.
Where you are a data controller and we act for you as a data processor (e.g. by processing payroll), we will assist you with SARs on the same basis as is set out above.
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)
Automated decision-making
We do not intend to use automated decision-making in relation to your personal 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 Chris Twinn at our office address.
If you are not happy with our response, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the ICO (www.ico.org.uk).