We are Costs Lawyer UK, which is a trading name of Diane Johnson Costs Lawyer Limited. We provide legal costs services to our clients.

Your privacy is important to us. This policy explains when and why we collect personal information from you, how we use it and how we keep it secure.

The company will not personally notify you of any amendments to this policy so please review this page occasionally to ensure that you are happy with any changes made. By using our website you agree to be bound by this Policy.

How do we collect information from you?

We may collect personal information if you enquire by telephone, email or letter.
We may also collect information from you when you use our website, for example when you contact us about our services.

What sort of information do we collect from you and hold?

We may collect the following personal information from you:

• Name
• Telephone number
• Address/email address
• IP address/ information regarding which pages are accessed and when
• Information relevant to your enquiry/case
• Information created in the course of legal work that we do for you

We will only collect information from you which is relevant to the matter we are dealing with.

How do we use your information?

The information we collect from you may be used in the following ways:

• to respond via supplied contact details regarding your enquiry (email, telephone or post)
• to maintain accounts/records
• in providing legal services including advising and acting on behalf of clients
• to send periodic emails about our company for promotional purposes

Sharing your information

We may share your information with other people who will assist with your case including Barristers and Courts. In the event of our invoices not being paid, we may share your information with debt recovery agencies.

Storing your information

We usually keep your information for the period of time that we do work for you and thereafter for a period of six years, as required by law. We will hold all information that you provide securely, taking appropriate organisational and technical security measures. In the event of a personal data breach, we have procedures in place to ensure that the effects of such a breach are minimised and we shall liaise with the ICO and also with you as appropriate.

Keeping your information secure

• We will ensure that all information that you provide to us is held securely using appropriate safeguards, including technical and organisational methods.
• In the event of a personal data breach we have protocols in place to ensure that the effects of such a breach are minimised and we shall liaise with the ICO and with you as appropriate.

What are your rights under the GDPR?

The GDPR provides the following rights for individuals:

1. The right to be informed
2. The right of access
3. The right to rectification
4. The right to erasure
5. The right to restrict processing
6. The right to data portability
7. The right to object
8. Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.

May I see the information the Company collects about me?

You are entitled to see the information we hold about you. In order to access this information you need to provide a request in writing to the data protection officer, along with proof of ID.

We will normally process your request within 30 days. We do not raise any charge in providing you with details of the information we hold about you, but we may raise a charge where such requests are manifestly unfounded or excessive, in particular because of their repetitive character, we may either charge a reasonable fee taking into account the administrative costs of providing the information or communication or taking the action requested or refuse to act on the request.

Right to erasure

Under Article 17 of the GDPR you have the right to ask us to erase your personal data in certain circumstances.

We have processes in place to ensure that we respond to a request for erasure without undue delay and within one month of receipt, however, we reserve the right to refuse to erase information which we are required to retain by law or regulation, or that is required to exercise or defend legal claims.

To exercise your right to erasure please contact our data protection officer.

Who can you make a complaint to?

If you are not content with how we are using your information or how we have responded to your request, you should contact the data protection officer in the first instance. If your complaint remains unresolved you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office, details of which can be found at www.ico.org.uk

We are registered with the Information Comissioner's Office (ICO). Our Registration Number is: ZA520019. For more information, visit the ICO website  For the purposes of the Data protection Act 1998, the Data Controller/Officer is Diane Johnson Costs Lawyer Limited of Costs Lawyer UK, Rutherford House, Warrington Road, Birchwood, Warrington, WA3 6ZH (enquiries@costslawyeruk.com).

What is the effective date of this privacy policy?

This Privacy Policy was last updated, and became effective, on 13/05/2019.