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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 Edenbridge & Westerham collect your data

When you see an adviser in our office at The Eden Centre, or at our outreach venue at The Westerham Hall, we will ask you to give permission to record information about you by completing and signing one of our Client permission and consent forms. These forms will be securely filed in our offices.

When you ring our telephone advice line, we will ask for your consent verbally and record that you have given it. Telephone calls are not recorded.

If you wish to remain anonymous, your case can be recorded without any personal information if you access our service by coming into our office or by telephone.

What Citizens Advice Edenbridge & Westerham ask for

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

How Citizens Advice Edenbridge & Westerham 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.

Other organisations with which we share your data, but only with your consent, include Sevenoaks District Council, West Kent Housing Association and other local housing associations, DWP, HMRC, your creditors, Edenbridge Parish Nurse, Westerham foodbank, PensionWise, certain limited solicitors, other charities that we may approach on your behalf.

How Citizens Advice Edenbridge & Westerham store your information

We store information about you in a secure, electronic case management system used jointly by all of the Citizens Advice service. We are responsible for keeping it safe.  As part of solving your problem, we might also make written notes, take copies of letters or other information you give us, download copies of your case record or send emails containing your information. We will make sure any information is stored securely and only accessed when there’s a good reason by staff and volunteers of the Citizens Advice service.

How Citizens Advice Edenbridge & Westerham share your information

We may share your information when referring you to a third party organisation to help you with your problem. Before we do this we will always obtain your consent to share the information by asking you to complete a Third Party Authorisation form.

With your consent, and in order to help you with your problem, we may share information with:

  • Sevenoaks District Council
  • West Kent housing association, or other housing associations
  • Creditors
  • DWP and HMRC
  • Edenbridge Parish Nurse
  • Westerham foodbank
  • PensionWise
  • Solicitors who offer pro bono advice
  • Other charities that we may approach on your behalf

We may also share anonymised information with our funders.

Contact Citizens Advice Edenbridge & Westerham about your information

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

Telephone: 03000 422 888, open Monday to Thursday 10.00am to 4.00pm (answerphone messages will be collected at other times)

Email: edenbridge@cabnet.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.