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Privacy policy

At Citizens Advice 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.

We only ask for the information we need. We always let you decide what you’re comfortable telling us, explain why we need it and treat it as confidential.

When we record and use your personal information we:

  • only access it when we have a good reason
  • only share what is necessary and relevant
  • don’t sell it to commercial organisations

At times we might use or share your information without your permission. If we do, we’ll always make sure there’s a legal basis for it. This could include situations where we have to use or share your information:

  • to comply with the law - for example, if a court orders us to share information (this is called ‘legal obligation’)
  • to protect someone’s life - for example, sharing information with a paramedic if a client was unwell at our office (this is called ‘vital interests’)
  • to carry out our legitimate aims and goals as a charity - for example, to create statistics for our national research (this is called ‘legitimate interests’)
  • for us to carry out a task where we’re meeting the aims of a public body in the public interest - for example, delivering a government or local authority service (this is called ‘public task’)
  • to carry out a contract we have with you - for example, if you’re an employee we might need to store your bank details so we can pay you (this is called ‘contract’)
  • to defend our legal rights - for example, sharing information with our legal advisors if there was a complaint that we gave the wrong advice

We handle and store your personal information in line with the law - including the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

You can check our main Citizens Advice privacy policy for how we handle most of your personal information.

This page covers how we, as your local charity, handle your information locally in our offices.

How Citizens Advice Waltham Forest collect your data

Same as the national policy PLUS:

We also collect your information if another professional is helping you for example a housing worker or a social worker and makes a referral to our services on your behalf and with your consent through our online referral portal @ https://adviseonline.co.uk/AWFP/WFAP2/WFAP2.html

We may also take a referral from you where we ask for personal information via dedicated telephone numbers for our SENDIASS, PENSIONWISE and Immigration service. We will ask you over the phone if you give consent to us to store your information.

What Citizens Advice Waltham Forest ask for

To find out what information we ask for, see our national Citizens Advice privacy policy.

How Citizens Advice Waltham Forest use your information

To find out how we use your information, see our national Citizens Advice privacy policy.

Working on your behalf

When you give us authority to act on your behalf, for example to help you with a Universal Credit claim, we’ll need to share information with that third party.

For example London and Quadrant and East Thames Housing, Money Advice Service, creditors, Waltham Forest council, head teachers, Waltham Forest Housing, DWP, Home Office (if we are helping you with and immigration problem), employers.

How Citizens Advice Waltham Forest store your information

We store your information on Google Drive and Casebook.

How Citizens Advice Waltham Forest share your information

We will share information with London and Quadrant and East Thames Housing, Money Advice Service, creditors, Waltham Forest council, head teachers, Waltham Forest Housing, DWP, Home Office (if we are helping you with and immigration problem), employers, Early Help Team.

Contact Citizens Advice Waltham Forest about your information

If you have any questions about how your information is collected or used, you can contact our office.

Telephone: 02085215414, open Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
Email: admin@citizensadvicewalthamforest.org.uk

You can contact us to:

  • find out what personal information we hold about you
  • correct your information if it’s wrong, out of date or incomplete
  • request we delete your information
  • ask us to limit what we do with your data - for example, ask us not to share it if you haven’t asked us already
  • ask us to give you a copy of the data we hold in a format you can use to transfer it to another service
  • ask us stop using your information

Who’s responsible for looking after your personal information

The national Citizens Advice charity and your local Citizens Advice operate a system called Casebook to keep your personal information safe. This means they’re a ‘joint data controller’ for your personal information that’s stored in the Casebook system.

Each local Citizens Advice is an independent charity, and a member of the national Citizens Advice charity. The Citizens Advice membership agreement also requires that the use of your information complies with data protection law.

You can find out more about your data rights on the Information Commissioner’s website.