Privacy policy
At Citizens Advice Ipswich, we collect and use your personal information to help solve your problems, improve our services and tackle wider issues in society that affect people’s lives.
This privacy policy explains how we use your information and what your rights are. We handle and store your personal information in line with data protection law and our confidentiality policy. The following pages tell you more about how we use your information.
Our network
Citizens Advice is a membership organisation made up of the national Citizens Advice charity and many local offices across England and Wales, including Citizens Advice Ipswich.
Citizens Advice Ipswich is an independent charity and a member of the national Citizens Advice charity.
All members of the Citizens Advice network are responsible for keeping your personal information safe and making sure data protection law is followed.
Members of the network also run some jointly designed services and use some of the same systems to process your personal data. In these instances we are joint data controllers for these activities.
Jointly controlled data
All offices in the Citizens Advice network use some joint systems to carry out our activities. These include joint case management systems, telephony platforms and more.
Staff from a different local Citizens Advice can only access your personal information in our joint case management system if they have a good reason. For example when:
- you go to a different office to seek advice
- more than one office is working together in partnership
- they need to investigate a complaint or incident
We have rules and controls in place to stop people accessing or using your information when they shouldn’t.
Tell an adviser if you’re worried about your details being on a national system. We’ll work with you to take extra steps to protect your information – for example by recording your problem without using your name.
National Citizens Advice has a privacy notice available on their website that covers general advice and nationally managed systems, including our case management systems. This policy covers the processing we carry out in our office.
How we use your data for advice
This section covers how we use your data to provide you with advice.
For general advice and nationally funded advice programmes please see the national Citizens Advice privacy notice.
How we collect your information
We may ask you to complete a ‘Client Detail Form’ when you first visit us at our Ipswich office, or over the phone when you call Adviceline. We may ask you to complete a Query Form when you seek support through our Ipswich website.
If we need to refer you onto another organisation, to help resolve your issue, we may ask you to complete a Referral Form.
We may also receive information from third parties who refer you to us for support. For example, an Ipswich GP may send referrals through a secure system into our Connect for Health social prescribing service, or a local organisation may send your referral to us using the secure Suffolk Information Partnership Scheme.
Please note: these referrals will have been made with your permission by the referring organisation or service.
What information we collect
We’ll only ask for information that’s relevant to your problem. Depending on what you want help with, this might include:
- Your name and preferred contact details – so we can keep in touch with you about your case or enquiry.
- Information on your issue – for example is it related to family, work, or financial circumstances, or if you’re vulnerable or at risk of harm. If your query relates to an issue with a specific company or service provider, we may require information such as your customer reference number to assist with any communications we may undertake on your behalf.
We may occasionally need to ask for details about someone else, or there may be circumstances where we need to contact the third party (if we are to act on their behalf) or we need it to protect someone’s life.
If you don’t want to give us certain information, you don’t have to. For example, if you want to stay anonymous we’ll only record information about your problem and make sure you’re not identified.
What we use your information for
The information we gather from you is used to help solve your problem. We only access your information for other reasons if we really need to. Data Protection law lets us do this as long as we have what is called a ‘legitimate interest’.
As well as using your information to provide general advice on topics such as housing, employment, benefits, money, family, immigration, energy, consumer or health and wellbeing issues there are legitimate interest articles which cover accessing data:
- For training and quality purposes
- To investigate complaints
- To obtain feedback from you about our services
- To help improve our services.
All our staff and volunteers receive data protection training to ensure your information is handled securely, appropriately and sensitively.
Our confidentiality policy
At Citizens Advice we have a confidentiality policy which states that anything you tell us as part of advice will not be shared outside of the Citizens Advice network unless you provide your permission for us to do so.
There are some exceptions to this such as needing to share:
- to prevent an immediate risk of harm to an individual
- In select circumstances if it is in the best interests of the client
- where we are compelled to do so by law (e.g. a court order or meeting statutory disclosures)
- where there is an overriding public interest such as to prevent harm against someone or to investigate a crime
- to defend against a complaint or legal claim
- to protect our name and reputation for example to provide our side of a story reported in the press
In addition, for health and wellbeing referrals, some of our social prescribing advisers may need to provide information around the support given to the NHS service which made the referral to us. This is covered through a data sharing mechanism in place between Citizens Advice Ipswich and the Integrated Care Board.
Who we share your information with
With your permission, we might share your information with other organisations so we can:
- help solve your problem – for example, if you ask us to contact your creditors we might need to share your name, address and financial details with them
- refer you quickly to another organisation for more advice or support, if relevant
- help you access certain services – for example local food banks, the Fuel Bank Foundation, to make charitable support or welfare grant applications or for Trading Standards purposes
If your adviser applies to the ‘Breathing Space’ scheme
- We’ll share your information with the Insolvency Service if you decide to enter a Breathing Space. The Insolvency Service will store your contact details and information about your debts on their online Breathing Space system. Your creditors will be able to see your information on the system, but only for debts you owe to them.
If we’re concerned about your or someone else’s safety
- If something you’ve told us makes us think you or someone you know might be at serious risk of harm, we could tell the police or social services – for example if we think you might hurt yourself or someone else.
Organisations we share your data with must store and use your data in line with data protection law. They’ll have their own privacy policies for how they handle your information and keep it safe.
Our lawful basis for using your information
The following table summarises the lawful bases upon which we process client information.
| Purpose | Personal Data (UK GDPR Article 6 requirement) | Special Category and Criminal Offence Data (UK GDPR Article 9 or 10 requirement) |
| Advice, information and guidance provision | Article 6(f) – Legitimate Interests
Article 6(e) – Public Task |
Article 9(2)(f) – Establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
Article 9(2)(g) – Substantial public interest (statutory) Article (9(2)(g) – Substantial public interest (counselling) |
| EDI monitoring | Article 6(f) – Legitimate interests | Article 9(2)(g) – Substantial public interest |
| Statistical purposes and research (including feedback) | Article 6(f) – Legitimate interests | Article 9(2)(j) – Archiving, research and statistics |
| Direct marketing of Citizens Advice services | Article 6(f) – Legitimate interests
Article 6(a) – Consent (where direct electronic marketing is involved) |
|
| Publication of client stories | Article 6(a) – Consent | Article 8(a)(a) – Explicit Consent |
| Maintaining quality and standards | Article 6(f) – Legitimate interest | Article 9(2)(f) – Establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims
Article 9(2)(g) – Substantial public interest |
| Complaints | Article 6(f) – Legitimate interests | Article 9(2)(f) – Establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims
Article 9(2)(g) – Substantial public interest |
| Legal claims | Article 6(f) – Legitimate interests | Article 9(2)(f) – Establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims |
| Individual Rights Requests | Article 6 (c) – Legal obligation | Article 9(2)(f) – Establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims |
| Safeguarding | Article 6(e) – Public task | Article 9(2)(g) – Substantial public interest |
| Responding to a life threatening emergency | Article 6(d) – Vital interests | Article 9(2)(g) – Vital interests |
Understanding people’s problems (how we use your data for research, feedback and statistics)
We use some information to create statistics about who we’re helping and what problems are the most common. We might use the information you’ve told us and your answers to the Client Experience survey. This information is always anonymised – you can’t be identified.
We may use this information with funders, regulators, government departments or publicly within local reports, social media or press releases.
The statistics also inform our policy research, campaigns, or media work.
We will ask if you’re happy to provide information to support Equity, Diversity and Inclusion reporting – but you are able to decline if you do not wish to do so.
If you make a complaint about our service
If you make a complaint, we collect personal information from you so we can help deal with your complaint.
We will collect this information from you via phone, email, online form or letter – depending on how you send us your complaint.
If someone contacts us on your behalf about a complaint we’ll get your permission before we log any of your information.
What information we ask for – when handling your complaint
To help with your complaint, we need to know:
- your name
- how you prefer for us to get in touch with you – email, phone or address
- details of the complaint
You don’t have to tell us, but we will also ask for:
- your address
- phone number
If your complaint is about advice you received, we might need to look at the information we recorded about your problem.
When we share your information – to assist with a complaint
If your complaint is about another local Citizens Advice, or the national charity, we might refer your complaint to someone there who will look into it. We’ll only do this with your permission.
If you escalate your complaint to an external independent adjudicator, we’ll share your complaint information with them.
If your complaint involves an insurance claim, we might share details of your complaint with our insurance representative.
How we use your data when applying to work or volunteer
How we collect your information
Recruitment for paid and volunteer positions is usually conducted through online or paper based processes – where platforms such as LinkedIn or recruitment companies (such as Reed) may be used to collect information from applicants. Email will also be used to obtain information from (or to send information back to) candidates.
‘Expressions of Interest’ forms are used (in paper and digital form) to collect information from prospective volunteers, prior to any subsequent interview being arranged.
What information we collect
For recruitment purposes, we would seek information from the applicant around the individual’s relevant career history, qualifications or experience. Once an applicant is deemed appointable, we would request contact details for reference purposes.
What we use your information for
Information collected from applicants may be used to support the undertaking of DBS checks. We would contact referees to verify and confirm information provided to us by the applicant.
Who we share your information with
Your information may therefore be shared with the Data Barring Service or with third parties you have named as a contact for reference purposes.
Our lawful basis for using your information
We will only keep the information we collect from you for as long as we need to and as per our Data Retention Policy.
We will inform you if we wish to retain your information for another purpose, and will seek your permission to do this.
How we use your data when using our website
What information we collect
When you use our website we collect information from you such as location data or cookies.
If you use the ‘Send us a message’ form to contact us, we will request information from you on the advice or support you require, as well as your preferred way for us to contact you.
What we use your information for
We use your contact details to get in touch with you (using your preferred method to do this), and will use the details you provided to us about the enquiry you have to assess which team is the most appropriate to contact you.
Who we share your information with
If your query requires a referral onto another organisation (for example, to submit a charitable grant, food bank or fuel voucher application for you), we will talk to you about this to be sure you are happy with the information we need to send them.
How we use cookies on our website
We use data called ‘cookies’ to get information about how you’re using our website – for example, what pages you click on and what device you’re using. This helps us improve your experience of our website.
Find out more how we collect and use cookies when you browse our website.
How long we keep your data for
National Citizens Advice is responsible for managing any data in joint client case records. For more information please see their privacy notice.
We keep your data for 6 years. If your complaint is serious or involves an insurance claim or other dispute we keep the data for 16 years.
If you contact us online, by phone or face to face
Whether you get advice face to face, over the phone, by email or chat our adviser will log all your information, correspondence, and notes about your problem into our secure case management systems. Some of your information might also be kept within our secure email.
Occasionally when there are large amounts of paperwork that need to be stored these are stored securely (locked cabinet) on the premises. We’ll return any original documents to you when your case is closed, and any remaining documents are either destroyed or securely archived on the premises for 6 years and then destroyed.
If you contact us for chat or email advice
We’ll store your chat transcript or email advice request form in our case management systems – this is kept for 6 years.
Any emails between you and your adviser are only stored within the Citizens Advice Ipswich office email system.
All web chats are handled through the national Citizens Advice systems. Please refer to the national privacy policy on their website to see how your data is used.
If you get advice over the phone
If you call Suffolk Adviceline or the national Citizens Advice Adviceline, calls are handled through the national Citizens Advice telephone system. Please refer to the national privacy policy on their website to see how your data is used.
If you agree to get notifications and reminders by text message (SMS)
If you give us permission, we might send you text messages (SMS) to remind you when you’ve got an appointment or to follow-up your case with you.
If we send you an appointment notification message it will contain the date, time and location of your appointment. It might also include some personal details like your first name, so you know the message is from Citizens Advice.
We use systems including TextAnywhere and Twilio to send text messages.
If your adviser refers you to another Citizens Advice service
Some Citizens Advice services store and share your information in different ways. If your service isn’t listed here, there’s nothing extra we need to tell you.
- If you’ve been referred to the Citizens Advice Witness Service, find out more about how they use, store and share your personal information
Your data protection rights
You have rights in relation to your personal data that we hold. Your rights include being able to request:
- Access to copies of your data
- Corrections are made to inaccurate data
- Deletion of your personal data
- Object to how we use your personal data
These rights are not absolute and may not apply in every circumstance. For more information about your rights you can visit the ICO website.
To make a data protection rights request you can do so by emailing operations@ipswichcab.org.uk.
Raising a concern about how we use your information
If you are concerned about how we have handled your personal information please contact us at operations@ipswichcab.org.uk.
You can also contact the national charity if you are unhappy with how we have used your personal data or wish to raise a concern about how a local office has handled your personal data. To do so you can email us at DPO@citizensadvice.org.uk
Contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
You can also raise your concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office which regulates data protection law in the UK, if you are unhappy with how we have used your personal information. They will normally expect you to have made a complaint to us directly in the first instance.
- Visit the ICO website.
- Address: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
- Helpline number: 0303 123 1113