Contacts Privacy Policy

Sharmans is a data controller for the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). This means we are responsible for deciding how and why your personal data is used.

We collect basic contact details such as your name, address, telephone number and email address. We may also keep notes of conversations we have with you, including call recordings where appropriate.

We use this information:

• to keep accurate records of our interactions
• to respond to your enquiry or request.

Lawful basis:

• Legitimate interests (to manage enquiries and maintain proper records)
• Where applicable, consent (for any optional communications)
• Sometimes a call may include sensitive personal information. Where that happens, we will only process that information where we have a valid lawful basis and, if required, a separate condition under Article 9 of the UK GDPR.

We use your information to:

• respond to your enquiry
• provide legal information or updates where appropriate
• contact you where we reasonably believe you may require our services

Your information is stored securely on our internal systems, including our case management system.

We do not send unsolicited electronic marketing. Where we send marketing by email, this will only be where permitted under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), for example where you have consented or where a soft opt-in applies, and you can opt out at any time.

Lawful basis:

• Legitimate interests (to respond to enquiries and manage relationships)
• Consent (where required for electronic marketing)

We do not sell your data.

We may share your information with:

• our IT and system providers (who process data on our behalf)
• professional advisers where necessary
• regulators or authorities where required by law

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK (for example if you were abroad for a period of time) we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

• adequacy regulations
• standard contractual clauses approved for UK use.

We keep your information for as long as necessary for our business and legal purposes.

• For general enquiries, we retain your details on our systems so that we have a record of previous contact and can respond to any follow-up queries or future instructions
• We keep call recordings only for as long as necessary. Usually, this means we delete the recording once we have made written notes and then keep those notes in line with our retention policy
• Marketing records are kept until you opt out or unsubscribe

We regularly review the data we hold and will securely delete or anonymise it where it is no longer needed.

Lawful basis:

Retention is based on our legitimate interests in maintaining accurate records and managing our business, as well as compliance with legal and regulatory obligations where applicable.

You have the following rights under UK GDPR:

the right to access your data
•    the right to correct inaccurate data
•    the right to have your data erased (in certain circumstances)
•    the right to restrict how your data is used
•    the right to object to processing
•    the right to data portability (where applicable)

To exercise your rights, please contact us.

If you require any further information about any of these rights, visit the website of the Information Commissioners Office.

If you have any complaints regarding your data security then please contact our Data Protection Supervisor, Philip Elliott. He is a partner in the firm and can be contacted at philip.elliott@sharmanlaw.co.uk or on 01234 220140. If, however, you believe your complaint remains unresolved then you can contact the Information Commissioners Office, whose details are available at www.ico.org.uk.