Bower Bailey (a trading name of Bower & Bailey LLP, Willow House, 2 Heynes Place, Station Lane, Witney, OX28 4YN) is committed to protecting and respecting the privacy of visitors to www.bowerandbailey.co.uk, our clients and contacts. This notice explains how we obtain, use and protect the personal data we hold about you, and what your rights are. We process personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
1. Information we collect
Personal data means any information from which you can be identified, directly or indirectly. The information we may collect includes:
- your name, title and contact details such as postal and email addresses and telephone numbers;
- your date of birth, National Insurance number, photographic identification and proof of address (to meet anti-money laundering requirements);
- bank account and other financial details;
- professional details such as job title and employment history;
- in certain circumstances, special category data such as details relating to health;
- the content of any enquiry form you submit through our website, and information collected automatically when you visit it.
2. How we use your information
We only process your personal information when the law allows it, most commonly to perform a contract with you, to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, or where we have a legitimate interest as a law firm. We may use it:
- to respond to any query you submit to us and to carry out conflict checks;
- to provide the legal services described in our engagement letters and terms of business;
- to verify your identity for anti-money laundering purposes, including through a third-party electronic verification provider (this will not affect your credit rating);
- to establish the source of funding in a transaction;
- to comply with our professional, statutory and regulatory obligations;
- to provide you with updates on relevant areas of law and to invite you to events.
3. Sharing your information
We may share your information with carefully selected third parties who store and process data on our behalf, and where necessary to provide our legal services or meet a legal requirement: for example the other parties to your matter or their solicitors, counsel and experts, courts and tribunals, HMRC or HM Land Registry, lenders, our regulators, the Legal Ombudsman and our professional indemnity insurers. We will not share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.
4. Security and retention
We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used, accessed, altered or disclosed without authority, and we limit access to those with a business need to know. We only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.
5. Your rights
You have the right to request access to, rectification or erasure of your personal information, to restrict or object to its processing, and to request its transfer. We will not use your personal information for automated decision making. Please direct requests to our Data Protection Manager at dataprotection@bowerbailey.co.uk, by post at Bower Bailey, Willow House, 2 Heynes Place, Station Lane, Witney, OX28 4YN, or by telephone on 01993 705095. You may also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
6. Changes to this policy
Bower Bailey may update this privacy notice from time to time to reflect changes to our business, internal processes or applicable laws. The current version will always be available on this page.