Privacy Notice

Introduction

The Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA 2018”) and the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) impose certain legal obligations in connection with the processing of personal data.

V4th Limited is a data controller within the meaning of the GDPR and we process personal data. The firm’s contact details are as follows: V4th Limited, Albany House, 14 Shute End, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 1BJ.

We may amend this privacy notice from time to time. If we do so, we will supply you with and/or otherwise make available to you a copy of the amended privacy notice.

Where we act as a data processor on behalf of a data controller (for example, when processing payroll), we provide an additional schedule setting out required information as part of that agreement. That additional schedule should be read in conjunction with this privacy notice.

The purposes for which we intend to process personal data

We intend to process personal data for the following purposes:

• to enable us to supply professional services to you as our client
• to fulfil our obligations under relevant laws in force from time to time (e.g. the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (“MLR 2017”))
• to comply with professional obligations to which we are subject as a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
• to use in the investigation and/or defence of potential complaints, disciplinary proceedings and legal proceedings
• to enable us to invoice you for our services and investigate/address any attendant fee disputes that may have arisen

The legal bases for our intended processing of personal data

Our intended processing of personal data has the following legal bases:

• at the time you instructed us to act, you gave consent to our processing your personal data for the purposes listed above
• the processing is necessary for the performance of our contract with you
• the processing is necessary for compliance with legal obligations to which we are subject (e.g. MLR 2017)

It is a requirement of our contract with you that you provide us with the personal data that we request. If you do not provide the information that we request, we may not be able to provide professional services to you. If this is the case, we will not be able to commence acting or will need to cease to act.

Website

Personal data collected via the website is any information which identifies you personally whether directly (for example, your name) or indirectly (for example, information about your use of our products and services).

We may collect the following data about you:

• Contact details : your name, email address, and telephone number so that we can contact you in response to an enquiry you make via our Site or in relation to the products and services that we have from time to time agreed to provide to you.
• Correspondence : we collect any additional personal data you may provide to us from time to time if you contact us by email, letter or telephone, through our Site, by submitting a comment on our Site, or by any other means.
• Details of visits to the Sites : details of your visits to our Site, including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs and other communication data, whether this is required for our own billing purposes or otherwise and the resources that you access.
• Technical Data : may include login data, internet protocol addresses, browser type and version, browser plug-in types and versions, time zone setting and location, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access this site.
• Usage Data : may include information about how you use our website, products and services.

What are Cookies?

We collect information about your use of our Site through cookies. Cookies are information that files stored on your computer, tablet or smartphone that help websites remember who you are and information about your visit. Cookies can help to display the information on our Site in a way that matches your interests. Most major websites use cookies.

Common types of cookies are:

• First-party cookies : These are placed on the user’s device directly by the website.
• Third-party cookies : These are placed by a third-party, and they are commonly used for advertising and analytics.
• Session cookies : This type of cookies expires once the user’s session on a website expires.
• Persistent cookies : This type of cookies remain in the user’s system unless they delete it, or the site does. They usually have expiration dates coded in.
• Strictly necessary cookies :  They are often mandatory for a website to function smoothly. This type of cookies is essential for the users to use certain features of a website, such as remembering past activity in the site or holding items in the shopping cart.

What cookies are used on this Site?

The cookies we use on this website are session cookies to help with the running of the website and Third-party cookies to track anonymous usage data for analytical purposes.

How can I reject or opt out of receiving cookies?

You may refuse to accept cookies by activating the setting on your browser which allows you to refuse the setting of cookies. However, if you select this setting, you may be unable to access certain parts of our Site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you use our Site. The “Help” menu of the toolbar on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies altogether. For more information about cookies and how to stop cookies being installed or how to delete existing cookies from your hard drive visit the following website: http://www.allaboutcookies.org.

Persons/organisations to whom we may give personal data

We may share your personal data with:

• HMRC
• any third parties with whom you require or permit us to correspond
• subcontractors
• an alternate appointed by us in the event of incapacity or death
• tax insurance providers
• professional indemnity insurers
• our professional body (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and/or the Office of Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervisors (OPBAS) in relation to practice assurance and/or the requirements of MLR 2017 (or any similar legislation)

If the law allows or requires us to do so, we may share your personal data with:

• the police and law enforcement agencies
• courts and tribunals
• the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”).

We may need to share your personal data with the third parties identified above in order to comply with our legal obligations, including our legal obligations to you. If you ask us not to share your personal data with such third parties we may need to cease to act.

Transfers of personal data outside the EU

Your personal data will be processed in the UK only.

Retention of personal data

When acting as a data controller and in accordance with recognised good practice within the tax and accountancy sector we will retain all of our records relating to you as follows:

• where tax returns have been prepared it is our policy to retain information for 6 years from the end of the tax year to which the information relates
• where ad hoc advisory work has been undertaken it is our policy to retain information for 6 years from the date the business relationship ceased
• where we have an ongoing client relationship, data which is needed for more than one year’s tax compliance (e.g. capital gains base costs and claims and elections submitted to HMRC) is retained throughout the period of the relationship, but will be deleted 1 year after the end of the business relationship unless you as our client ask us to retain it for a longer period.

Our contractual terms provide for the destruction of documents after not more than 10 years and therefore agreement to the contractual terms is taken as agreement to the retention of records for this period, and to their destruction thereafter.

You are responsible for retaining information that we send to you (including details of capital gains base costs and claims and elections submitted) and this will be supplied in the form agreed between us. Documents and records relevant to your tax affairs are required by law to be retained by you as follows:

Individuals, trustees and partnerships

• with trading or rental income: five years and 10 months after the end of the tax year
• otherwise: 22 months after the end of the tax year.

Companies, LLPs and other corporate entities

• six years from the end of the accounting period.

Where we act as a data processor as defined in DPA 2018, we will delete or return all personal data to the data controller as agreed with the controller at the termination of the contract.

Requesting personal data we hold about you (subject access requests)

You have a right to request access to your personal data that we hold. Such requests are known as ‘subject access requests’ (“SARs”).

Please provide all SARs in writing.

Putting things right (the right to rectification)

You have a right to obtain the rectification of any inaccurate personal data concerning you that we hold. You also have a right to have any incomplete personal data that we hold about you completed. Should you become aware that any personal data that we hold about you is inaccurate and/or incomplete, please inform us immediately so we can correct and/or complete it.

Deleting your records (the right to erasure)

In certain circumstances you have a right to have the personal data that we hold about you erased. Further information is available on the ICO website (www.ico.org.uk).  If you would like your personal data to be erased, please inform us immediately and we will consider your request.  In certain circumstances we have the right to refuse to comply with a request for erasure. If applicable, we will supply you with the reasons for refusing your request.

The right to restrict processing and the right to object

In certain circumstances you have the right to ‘block’ or suppress the processing of personal data or to object to the processing of that information.  Further information is available on the ICO website (www.ico.org.uk).  Please inform us immediately if you want us to cease to process your information or you object to processing so that we can consider what action, if any, is appropriate.

Obtaining and reusing personal data (the right to data portability)

In certain circumstances you have the right to be provided with the personal data that we hold about you in a machine-readable format, e.g. so that the data can easily be provided to a new professional adviser. Further information is available on the ICO website (www.ico.org.uk).

The right to data portability only applies:

• to personal data an individual has provided to a controller
• where the processing is based on the individual’s consent or for the performance of a contract
• when processing is carried out by automated means

We will respond to any data portability requests made to us without undue delay and within one month. We may extend the period by a further two months where the request is complex or a number of requests are received but we will inform you within one month of the receipt of the request and explain why the extension is necessary.

Withdrawal of consent

Where you have consented to our processing of your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Please inform us immediately if you wish to withdraw your consent.

Please note:

• the withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of earlier processing
• if you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to continue to provide services to you
• even if you withdraw your consent, it may remain lawful for us to process your data on another legal basis (e.g. because we have a legal obligation to continue to process your data).

Automated decision-making

We do not intend to use automated decision-making in relation to your personal data.

Complaints

If you have requested details of the information we hold about you and you are not happy with our response, or you think we have not complied with the GDPR or DPA 2018 in some other way, you can complain to us. Please send any complaints to V4th Limited, Albany House, 14 Shute End, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 1BJ.

If you are not happy with our response, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the ICO (www.ico.org.uk).