If you provide information about another person/s, you must have their consent and/or the right to provide this information, before doing so. Where this relates to a child, then you must either give consent as the parent or legal guardian, or ensure that the parent/legal guardian has given their consent before providing the information. 

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. 

If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.  

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law. 

We also collect, use, and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose.  Aggregated Data could be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy policy. 

 7. Special categories of data

There are some types of data which we may collect which are considered to be special categories of personal data. These data relate to: 

• Health and disability 
• Race or ethnicity 
• Religious or philosophical beliefs 
• Sexual orientation and sex life 
• Trade union memberships 
• Political opinions 
• Criminal convictions and offences 

We only collect this information if it is lawful and appropriate for us to do so. If we have to collect any information of this nature, we will ask for your permission to store it and let you know what we intend to use it for. We will not share it with anyone else unless you give us permission to do so. 

8. How we obtain your data

• We use different methods to collect data from and about you including: 
• When you apply for our products and services 
• When we communicate with you by email, phone, letter or online (e.g. webchat) 
• When you use our website and online services (including from analytics providers such as Google, based outside the EU) 
• During our financial review of your circumstances 
• When we communicate with your creditors 
• When we communicate with your bank or credit reference agencies 
• From public sources such as the Electoral Register or Insolvency Register 
• Third parties that introduce us to you 
• Where you give us feedback or contact us. 
• From social media sources, such as Facebook, Instagram, twitter and LinkedIn 

9. Cookies

Cookies are small text files which are placed on your device (e.g. computer, smartphone or other electronic device) when you use our website. We use cookies to enhance our online debt advice tools; user experience; offer web chat services; personalise content and advertisements; provide social media features; and to analyse traffic to our site. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you have provided to them or that they have collected from your use of their services. For further information about cookies visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org. You can set your browser not to accept cookies and the above websites tell you how to remove cookies from your browser. However, in a few cases some of our website features may not function if you remove cookies from your browser. 

Where stated, we will ask for your permission (“Consent”) to place cookies or other similar technologies on your device, except where they are essential for us to provide you with a service that you have requested. You can withdraw any Consent to the use of cookies or manage any other cookie preferences in accordance with the above paragraph.

The types of cookies we use are listed in the table below.   

10. Who we share your data with 

We may have to share data with the following third parties.  

We share data with third party data processors which help us to supply our services e.g. IT services, software, payment services or outsourced administrative services. They only process your data in the way that we permit them to  

We may share data with firms who refer you to us for debt advice.  In these cases, we will notify the referrer if you enter a debt solution with us, but we don’t provide any further information to them. If we refer you on to another provider that is better placed to help you, we will pass your information to them, but we will seek your consent before we do this.  

We may also share data with third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy policy.  

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions. We will usually ask you for permission before we share your data with any third parties however, there are some circumstances whereby we do not need to ask your permission, for example, if it is required by our regulator. 

 11. Automated decision making 

There will be some automatic processing of your data. We will use the information you provide to us in order to:  

• Verify your identity  
• Create a budget for you and calculate what you can afford to pay towards your debts  
• Make a recommendation about how to deal with your debts  

However, we will not make a decision based solely on automated processing, and the final decision about entering into any debt solution will always be made by you. Should you be unhappy with any decision made by us, then please let us know and we will carry out a review of that decision.

12. How long do we keep your personal data? 

If you apply for, or enter into a solution with Birchwood Capital Management, we will keep your personal data for 6 years after you stop being a customer of ours. This is to enable us to:  

• Investigate and respond to any future enquiries or complaints  
• For our internal research and statistical purposes  
• To comply with our legal obligations.  

If you do not apply for, or enter into a solution with Birchwood Capital Management, we will delete any personal information no later than 18 months after your last interaction with us. We will retain only anonymised data which will be used for analysis and profiling purposes. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you. 

13. Accessing your information 

You can obtain a copy of the information we hold about you, and details of how it is processed, by calling us on 01925 599400, by email at info@birchwoodcpm.com, or by writing to us at:  

Data Protection Officer Birchwood Capital Management St Andrews House, The Links, Kelvin Close Birchwood Warrington WA3 7PB  

If you need the information digitally, so you can share it with other companies, please specify this when making your request.  

14. Objecting to processing 

You can object to us processing your data unless we can demonstrate that we have legitimate grounds for processing your data, or that our processing is in defence of a legal claim. You can object to the use of your data for direct marketing purposes. 

15. Withdrawing your consent 

If you decide that you no longer want us to process your information, you can withdraw your consent. You can do this at any time by calling us on 01925 599400. If you do, we will not be able to continue offering you our services. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of our processing prior to the date you withdraw your consent. 

16. Marketing 

We may contact you about products or services that we believe will be of interest to you from ourselves and third parties. We will get your express opt-in consent before we share your personal data with any third party for marketing purposes and you can opt out of such communications at any time.

17. Social media 

We use social media platforms to promote our services and to share updates. These platforms are public therefore, you should not share any of your personal information in areas where it can be accessed by the public. If you wish to contact us via social media, you should do so via private message. If you choose to use social media to communicate with us, you will need to read their own privacy policies to ensure you understand how they will process your information.  

18. Security 

We take the protection of personal information very seriously and we adopt measures to ensure that your data is safeguarded. We have appropriate procedures in place to prevent the loss, alteration, or unauthorised access or use of your data. Our staff receive training on how to protect your data, and your data will only be accessed by people that need to see it. Third parties with whom we share your data will only process your data in ways in which we have agreed with them, and they will implement appropriate safeguards. We will process your data within the UK wherever possible. If we need to transfer it outside of the UK, we will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data. Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal data out of the UK.