Law Hound Limited – PRIVACY POLICY – YOUR INFORMATION AND DATA PROTECTION
Last updated on 19 June 2024
What’s this policy about and when does it apply?
Your privacy is important to us. In this policy we want to explain to you how we
- use your personal data
- comply with the data protection legal obligations which apply to us and this website
so that you understand and have a choice about what is done with your personal data and how it is processed.
This policy applies when you use our Website. You can find our Website terms and conditions here. Separate terms and conditions which you can find here will apply when you buy something or access free products and/or services from us.
Changes to this policy
We may make changes to the policy (for example to keep up with changes in the law) so we advise you to check the policy as you use the Website, although we will let you know about material changes.
Who are we and how to contact us?
We (the data controller) are: Law Hound Limited, a company registered in England and Wales Company Registration number 06839202
Registered Number: 06839202
Data Protection Register Number: Z2144305
VAT Number: 306 4992 89
Our email address is support@lawhound.co.uk and our website is: www.lawhound.co.uk and other landing page sites which link back to www.lawhound.co.uk
Who do I contact about personal data or change my mind about how you can use it?
Our data protection representative is Emma Thorpe – please email her at dpo@lawhound.co.uk if you need any help or information about this policy or about how we collect and use personal data. This includes if you have consented to us using your information and want to change your mind. You can also write to us if you prefer – see Who are we and how to contact us? Above.
What personal data and information do we collect?
Personal data is any information which could identify you, including your name, address and email address and IP address. Special category data is more sensitive, such as information about your ethnic origin.
Depending on how you use the website and what we provide to you, we collect a range of personal data from you, including:
- Identity (your name and title) contact information (your address, telephone number, and email) which you choose to give us as you use the website and our services. So, for example, if you buy a product or service from us we will also collect transaction and financial data (about what you buy and what payments you make), and data that you give us to open an account (such as if you choose services that mean you choose a username).
- Financial data – payment card and bank details when you buy something.
- Accounting and transaction data – such as details of purchases, free downloads.
- Marketing data – your marketing communication preferences.
- Member profile data – username, password and your preference information about when you choose a membership.
- Website use data – how you use our website, products and services.
- Technical data – IP address, browser information, location and time-zone settings, operating system and platform.
We may also collect any special category information which we need and you choose to give us (give us your explicit consent) so that we can provide services to you as you required.
If you choose not to provide us with personal data we may be unable to provide some services to you. For example, without your email address we will not be able to email you.
How do we collect personal data?
We may collect your personal data from you in the following ways:
- Forms you complete on the Website, such as when you register or create an account with us
- Information you provide to us when you buy from us or ask us to provide services to you (this may include free information and downloads from our website)
- The information you provide when you communicate with us such as by email, telephone or post
- Any surveys or feedback requests which you choose to complete or competitions or promotions which you choose to enter
- Information about your visits to our Website which will include (but are not limited to) your IP address, online tracking such as location, browser and type of device you use.
- automated technology that collects technical information about your equipment and internet use (please see our Cookie Policy here) including Google Analytics.
- information from third parties, including when you visit our website from another website.
When you provide us with any data, you confirm that you are over 13 years of age. We also want to be sure that your data is up-to-date and accurate so, if your personal information changes, please email us at support@lawhound.co.uk
How do we use Personal information?
We use personal data so that we can:
- Supply you with services you have asked us for, including any free services or downloads,
- Send you any information you have asked for or which may interest you, where you have consented to this happening, or information we need to tell you about
- Deal with any request for help or answer your queries and customer support generally
- Give you the best user experience and to enable you to participate in interactive features of our Website,
- To analyse and monitor how our Website is used and to help us to administer it (including security and fraud detection), and to run our business generally.
The lawful basis for our use will usually be one or more of the following:
- to fulfil our contractual obligations to you or because you’ve asked us to do something before entering into a contract.
- to comply with our legal obligations.
- where you have consented to the processing of your personal data, such as when we process special categories of data (we usually need your explicit consent) or for marketing purposes. (Remember you can change your mind at any time by contacting us – see Who do I contact about personal data or change my mind about how you can use it?)
- when processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, and those interests don’t override your interests, rights or freedoms.
For more information about the lawful basis by which we use personal data see below.
| Activity | Lawful Basis for processing data | What data we use |
| When you ask for a quote | Fulfilling our contract | Identity and contact data |
| When you become a client | Fulfilling our contract | Identity and contact data |
| Supplying a free download or other information | Fulfilling our contract | Identity and contact data |
| Delivering an order, collecting payment | Fulfilling our contract | Identity, contact, financial, accounting and transaction, member profile and marketing data |
| Recovering payment | Legitimate interests to recover debt | Identity, contact, financial, accounting and transaction, member profile |
| Company accounting | Legal obligation | Identity, contact, financial, accounting and transaction, data |
| Provide relevant advertising and content and to measure their effectiveness | Legitimate interests | Identity, contact, technical, website use, member profile and marketing data |
| Contacting you about things (products, services, and information) that may interest you | Legitimate interests | Identity, contact, technical, website use, member profile |
| Improving our website and what we can offer you | Legitimate interests to grow our business and improve client/user experience | Technical and website use data |
| Protect and run our website more efficiently | Legitimate interests to grow our business and improve client/user experience Legal obligation | Identity, contact, technical data |
| Asking you to take part in a survey | Legitimate interests to grow our business and improve client/user experience | Identity, contact, website use, member profile, and marketing data |
| Notifying you of updates to our policies | Fulfilling our contract Legal obligation | Identity, contact, member profile data |
Marketing
We will only send you marketing communications if:
- you have asked us to and
- you haven’t changed your mind/opted out.
However, you can change your mind at any time by contacting us – see Who do I contact about personal data or change my mind about how you can use it?
Who do we share personal data with?
Before we share your personal data with any third party for marketing purposes, we’ll always get your agreement (express opt-in consent) to do so.
Otherwise, there may be times when we must share your personal data with others, for example, where the law requires us to enforce our rights or protect others, such as for fraud prevention. In addition, we may also:
- Disclose your personal data to those who are providing services to us. For example, IT Service Providers (including organisations who host our websites, so they stay online and are secure and organisations who provide us with email services so we can send and receive email), Social media providers, Advertising Organisations, Organisations who provide us with email campaigns and newsletters, Organisations who provide us with analytics’ data, Payment Providers, Credit Reference and Fraud Prevention Agencies and those who help us comply with Money Laundering obligations, Professional Service and other business and individuals who perform functions on our behalf. You can contact Emma by email at dpo@lawhound.co.uk for more information about the third parties which we currently use.
- Meet our legal and regulatory obligations such as to HMRC for taxation purposes.
Aside from the third parties who may receive anonymised data (see the section Collecting and processing non-personal information can be found below.
Recruitment – people who apply for jobs, employees and former employees
As part of any recruitment process we will explain how we collect, use and store personal data. If you become an employee you will receive the employee’s data protection policy which will explain how we collect, use and store personal data both whilst you are an employee and after you have left our employment.
What are your personal data rights?
The law gives you certain rights in relation to your personal data and to exercise these rights contact Emma Thorpe at DPO@lawhound.co.uk. The following rights apply to personal data we collect and process so that you can:
- See/access what personal data we hold about you
- Rectify your personal data if it is inaccurate or incomplete
- Ask us to erase your personal data and prevent processing in specific circumstances
- Restrict processing of your personal data in certain circumstances
- Obtain and reuse your personal data for your own purposes across different services (data portability)
- Object to processing your personal data in certain circumstances
For more information about your rights you can visit the Information Commissioner’s website visit where you can find detailed information about each of those rights https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/
Who to contact you have a query or complaint?
If you have any queries or complaints about your personal data please contact Emma Thorpe at DPO@lawhound.co.uk
You also have the right to lodge any data protection complaints with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is the UK’s supervisory authority. Visit www.ico.org.ukfor more information including how to access their helpline.
What about storing and transferring personal data?
Storing – Retention
We keep your personal data only for as long as it is reasonably required (for example we keep sales records for 7 years to comply with HM Revenue and Customs requirements) and then it will be deleted or destroyed or anonymised. Our data retention is as follows:
| Data Subject | How long personal information/data is kept
|
| Potential Clients | We will retain personal information for 6 months from the date of our last contact. |
| Clients | We will retain personal information for 7 years from the date that you ceased to be a client. |
| Potential Suppliers | We will retain personal information for 6 months from the date of the last time you contacted us. |
| Suppliers | We will retain personal information for 7 years from the date that you ceased to be a supplier. |
| Employees | We will retain personal information for 7 years from the date that you ceased to be an employee. |
| Potential employees | We will retain personal information for 6 months from the date of the last time you contacted us. |
Transferring of personal data to and from the UK
(1) Receiving Personal Data from the EEA
The UK left the EU on the 31st December 2020. Anyone in the EEA who sends personal data outside the EEA must comply with the relevant GDPR rules. As a UK receiver we aim to assist this process to help protect the privacy of that personal data.
(2) Transferring Data from the UK
We may transfer some data outside the EEA (which may not have the same data protection), but, if we do this, we ensure that we have procedural and technical safeguards to protect the privacy of your data and to comply with the law and our own obligations, including under UK Data Protection law.
Your data may be transferred or stored outside the EU to countries who may not have the same data protection as the EU but, if we do this, we will have an agreement with the third party who will be using an approved mechanism to keep personal data secure. This means transferring data to providers who:
- the European Commission deems to have an adequate level of protection for personal data.
- adhere to certain agreed codes of conduct or certification approved by the European Commission.
- are based in the USA and part of the EU-US Privacy Shield.
If one of these safeguards isn’t in place, we’ll ask for your explicit consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
Collecting and processing non-personal Information
When you use the Website (we may also collect non-personal information or aggregated information– that is any information about more than one individual where the individual’s identity is unknown and can’t be inferred from that information. This helps us run our Website and business effectively. For example, we use Google Analytics to get information about our website visitors but the information is processed so that an individual can not be identified from it because we work in accordance with Google’s guidelines so personal data should not be used or shared with them. Website searches may be powered by third parties but are anonymised.
We use cookies – please read our Cookie Policy which can be found here
What about Links to other websites, third parties and social media icons?
Our Privacy Policy will only apply to our Website. You may visit or leave our Website by clicking a link to or from another website or platform operated by a third party – for example, you may use a link on our social media icons (such as X). If you do this please also take the time to read the relevant privacy information provided by other websites/platforms because they may be different. Your information will only be shared where you have agreed to allow this to happen.