This Privacy Policy sets out how Hine Downing Solicitors uses and protects any information that you give us when you use our services.

Hine Downing Solicitors is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy policy, the principles of the Data Protection Act 2018 (as amended) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The bases for processing your personal data are to fulfil our contractual obligation to you, for our legitimate interests or those of another person and to fulfil our own legal obligations.

What personal data do we collect?

We may collect the following types of personal data:

• name and address
• contact information including telephone number(s) and email address
• proof of identity as required by law

Depending on the nature of the services we may provide to you, we may also collect and process certain types of sensitive data.

Much of this personal data will be provided by you when you engage our services but we may also collect your personal data from other service providers, through communications with you and via our website. 

How do we use your personal data?

We require this information to understand your needs and to enable us to:

• Provide our services to you
• Create and maintain our client records
• Manage our practice
• Fulfil our own legal and regulatory obligations

We may also use this information to:

• Improve our products and services
• Periodically send you information about products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting
• Contact you for client feedback and market research purposes
• Customise our website according to your interests

How do we protect your personal data?

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. We will maintain appropriate physical, electronic and managerial procedures to prevent unlawful processing, unlawful disclosure and accidental loss, destruction or damage to your personal data.

Your rights

Under the GDPR, your rights are:

• To request access to your personal data
• To request that your personal data is rectified
• To request that your personal data is deleted
• To restrict the collection or use of your personal data
• To withdraw your consent where we are relying on your consent to process your personal data

Any questions you may have concerning this policy or the information we hold about you should be directed to William Richards, who is the Firm’s Partner with responsibility for data protection.

You have the right to make a complaint about the way your personal data is processed by writing to Hine Downing Solicitors, 8-14 Berkeley Vale, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 3PH. If your complaint cannot be resolved then you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioners Office at www.ico.org.uk.

Sharing your personal data

We will only share your personal data with third party service providers to assist us to provide our services to you or where we are legally permitted or obliged to.

How we use cookies on our website

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about webpage traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy policy. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy policy applicable to the website in question.

This privacy policy may be updated from time to time. The current version of our privacy policy is available to view on our website at www.hinedowning.com.

May 2022