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Sutton:      020 8661 8611
Banstead: 01737 212000

Privacy Policy

Privacy and Legal Requirements

Gowen & Stevens LLP is a limited liability partnership which is registered in England and Wales and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. A list of members is open to inspection at our Offices. Registered Number: OC321279. Registered Office: 5 Mulgrave Chambers, 26/28 Mulgrave Road, Sutton, Surrey SM2 6LE. Our VAT registration no. is 523 7560 49. Any reference to a partner in relation to Gowen & Stevens LLP means a member of Gowen & Stevens LLP. Gowen & Stevens is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA No. 449218). The SRA’s Rules can be found in its Standards and Regulations, available through the following link https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/

The Law Society of England and Wales is the designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Market Act 2000 but responsibility for regulation and complaints handling has been separated from the Law Society’s representative function. The SRA is the independent regulatory body and the Legal Ombudsman is the independent complaints handling body. See below for more information regarding complaints.

 

Privacy Policy

Who Are We?

We are Gowen & Stevens LLP. We are a limited liability partnership which is registered in England and Wales and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Our Registered Office is 5 Mulgrave Chambers, 26-28 Mulgrave Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 6LE. You can contact us:-

By post at our registered office address given above;
By email at info@gowenandstevens.com; or
By telephone on 020 8661 8611

We take the protection of our clients’ data seriously. We have reviewed and revised our Privacy Policy to ensure that it complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) which became effective on 25 May 2018.

How We Collect Data

As a client of Gowen & Stevens LLP, we collect personal data about you in relation to the legal advice and services that we provide to you. The data is collected in the following ways:-

     

  • From any contact that we have with you in relation to your matter whether by telephone, in writing, in person, by email or via our website.
  • From information provided to us by other parties such as electronic identification verification companies, other parties that we may have dealings with during the course of any work carried out for you such as mortgage providers, mortgage brokers, estate agents, financial services organisations, opposing parties in litigation, Courts, Government and law enforcement agencies, other information publicly available through online sources.

Use of Cookies on our Website

Our website uses cookies to improve the users experience while visiting the website. Where applicable our website uses a cookie control system allowing the user on their first visit to the website to allow or disallow the use of cookies on their computer/device. This complies with recent legislation requirements for websites to obtain explicit consent from users before leaving behind or reading files such as cookies on a user’s computer/device.

Cookies are small files saved to the user’s computer’s hard drive that track, save and store information about the users interactions and usage of the website. This allows the website, through its server to provide the users with a tailored experience within our website.

Users are advised that if they wish to deny the use and saving of cookies from our website on to their computer’s hard drive they should take necessary steps within their web browsers security settings to block all cookies from our website.

Our website uses tracking software to monitor its visitors to better understand how they use it. This software is provided by Google Analytics which uses cookies to track visitor usage. The software will save a cookie to your computer’s hard drive in order to track and monitor your engagement and usage of the website but will not store, save or collect personal information. You can read Google’s privacy policy here for further information [http://www.google.com/privacy.html ]. It is also possible to opt out of Google Analytics by downloading and installing a browser plug-in from the following link:-

https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en

Other cookies may be stored to your computers’ hard drive by external vendors when this website uses referral programs, sponsored links or adverts. Such cookies are used for conversion and referral tracking and typically expire after 30 days, though some may take longer. No personal information is stored, saved or collected.

Legal Basis and Purposes of Processing

GDPR allows us to use personal information only if we are using it for a reason allowed by law. The basis upon which we may use your personal information will be one or more of the following reasons:-

  • Consent – You have given consent to the use of the data for a specific purpose. You can withdraw your consent at any time. Please see the section later in this Notice as to how you can withdraw your consent.
  • Contractual – When it is necessary for us to use the data in order to be able to perform the Contract between us, i.e. to carry out the work that you have instructed us to deal with such as purchasing a property or drafting your Will for you.
  • Legal obligation – This is when we have to use the personal information in order for us to be able to comply with a legal obligation e.g. in order to comply with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.
  • Legitimate Interests – The processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, unless there is a good reason to protect your personal information which overrides those legitimate interests. A “legitimate interest” is when we have a reason connected to the business or commercial interests of this firm. For example:-
  • Internal administrative purposes;
  • Ensuring that we comply with the legal and regulatory obligations that are applicable to our business and/or the type of work that we carry out for you;
  • To prevent fraud;
  • Ensuring information security;
  • Processing of personal data for direct marketing to you (however, please see the right to object to such processing, referred to later in this policy)

Use of your Personal Data

  • The information that we collect or receive about you may be used in the following ways:-
  • To carry out the work that you have instructed us to carry out for you; or
  • To deal with any queries that you may raise which are not part of the work that we have been instructed to carry out;
  • To contact you and provide information on specific matters or services when you request it;
  • To ensure compliance with our legal and regulatory obligations;
  • To prevent or detect fraud;
  • To ensure the security of our services.

Sharing of your Personal Data

We may share your personal data with our service providers and third parties who provide services on our behalf and who are based in the UK or the European Economic Area (“EEA”).This can include, but is not limited to:-

  • IT providers, e.g. providers of our CRM software, IT support company or to the host of our website;
  • Providers of electronic identification verification or credit reference agencies;
  • Other professionals that we may need to instruct to provide the legal advice or services to you, for example, experts, surveyors, barristers, Courts or other solicitors;
  • Government bodies, regulators, professional indemnity insurers and the Legal Ombudsman.

Transfers of your Personal Data outside the EEA

We do not anticipate that any of your personal data will be transferred to or stored by persons outside the EEA. If any personal data is transferred outside the EEA, we will take steps to ensure that there are appropriate safeguards in place to protect the data or it is otherwise allowed under the applicable law.

Retaining your Personal Information

The period of time that we hold your personal data will vary depending on various reasons. We will need to retain your personal data for as long as is necessary for the purposes referred to above. We will normally retain your data for at least 6 years. This is to meet the purposes of our business; to comply with the appropriate legal and regulatory requirements, or for any legal claims. For example, we need to keep the personal data for a period of up to 5 years after the business relationship has ceased in order to comply with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, or for property transactions involving the disposal of an interest in a property, the personal data will be retained for a period of 12 years.

Your Rights

Although we may obtain or collect a considerable amount of personal data about you, we wish to be as transparent and accessible as possible to you in relation to that personal data. You also have the following rights:-

  • To obtain confirmation from us as to whether or not personal data concerning you is being processed. If it is being processed, to have access to that personal data including:
  1. The purposes of the process;
  2. The categories of personal data concerned;
  3. The recipients;
  4. Storage time period/criteria to determine that time period;
  5. Your rights in relation to that data;
  6. Whether or not automated profiling is in existence.
  • You have the right to have your information kept up to date. We must, without any undue delay, rectify any inaccurate personal data held about you.
  • If the personal data is incomplete, in view of the purposes of the processing, you are entitled to have your data made complete.

Right to Erasure

You can require us to delete data, without undue delay, where one of the following grounds applies (except where the processing is needed for compliance with the legal obligation or other legitimate interests;

    1. The data is no longer necessary for the purpose;
    2. You have withdrawn any consent that you may have given to that data being held;
    3. You object to the processing (please see section below in relation to the right to object) and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing;
    4. Where the personal data is processed for direct marketing purposes and you object;
    5. If the personal data has been unlawfully processed;
    6. The personal data has to be erased in order to comply with a legal obligation to which you are subject.

    Right to restrict processing

    You have the right to restrict processing of your personal data where one of the following applies:-

      1. If you contest the accuracy of the personal data (the data can be restricted for a period sufficient to allow us to verify its accuracy);
      2. The processing is unlawful;
      3. We no longer need the personal data for processing;
      4. You have objected to the processing, for example, if it was for direct marketing purposes;
      5. If the right to restrict processing is used then except for storing the data, we cannot process anything without your consent or to protect another person’s rights or for reasons of important public interest. If the restriction on processing is to be lifted then we will inform you in advance.

      Right to Data Portability

      • You are entitled to receive your personal data which you have provided to us in a structured form and in a commonly used, machine readable format.
      • This right is without prejudice to the right of erasure.
      • If the processing is based upon consent that you have given, then you are entitled to ask us to transmit the data to another data controller without hindrance (if the processing is carried out by automated means).

      Right to Object

      You are entitled to object to the processing of your data if it relies upon our legitimate interests or is for direct marketing (including profiling) purposes.

      You can find out more about your rights by accessing the Information Commissioners Office website at: ico.org.uk

      Contacting us

      If you would like further information on the collection, use, processing or storage of your personal data or exercise of any of the rights listed above then please contact our Data Protection Manager, Karen Bell at Gowen & Stevens LLP, 5 Mulgrave Chambers, 26-28 Mulgrave Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 6LE or by email at karenbell@gowenandstevens.com.

      Contracts, Payments and Refunds

      We do not enter into contracts with clients or suppliers via our website.

      Disclaimer

      The materials on this website are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal or other professional advice and you should not act upon any of its content without taking specific advice. Unless otherwise stated, the materials are the copyright of Gowen & Stevens LLP and are available only for your own personal use. You must obtain our prior written consent to use them in any other way. Where this website contains links to other websites and to material contained on other websites, Gowen & Stevens LLP is not responsible for the content of such websites and disclaims all liability in respect of such content. If you would like legal advice or have a comment to make about the website or any of its content, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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