Privacy Policy & GDPR | York Accountants

Privacy Policy and GDPR and Cookies

We are committed to ensuring the protection of the privacy and security of any personal data which we process. Your attention is drawn to clause [1.1.2] of the following terms which details how we treat personal data received by us in the provision of our services during our engagement with you and by you browsing our website. By browsing this website you confirm that you have read and understood the following document including clause [1.1.2] and any privacy notice referred to therein. C S Fenton and Co does not hold or manage any cookies and is not associated with any holding of information via Wix or Google or any other enterprise.

In this clause [1.1.2]:

‘client personal data’ means any personal data provided to us by you, or on your behalf, or from existing clients for the purpose of providing our services to them, pursuant to our engagement letter with them or browsing on our website;

‘data protection legislation’ means all applicable privacy and data protection legislation and regulations including PECR, the GDPR and any applicable national laws, regulations and secondary legislation in the UK relating to the processing of personal data and the privacy of electronic communications, as amended, replaced or updated from time to time;

‘controller’, ‘data subject’, ‘personal data’, ‘personal data breach’, ‘processor’, ‘process’ and ‘supervisory authority’ shall have the meanings given to them in the data protection legislation;

‘GDPR’ means the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679); and

‘PECR’ means the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (SI 2426/2003).

We shall both comply with all applicable requirements of the data protection legislation. This clause 7 is in addition to, and does not relieve, remove or replace, either of our obligations under the data protection legislation.
We both acknowledge that for the purposes of the data protection legislation, the clients/browsers are the data controller and we are the data processors. Schedule 1.1.5 sets out the scope, nature and purpose of processing by us, the duration of the processing and the types of personal data and categories of data subject.
In respect of the client personal data, unless otherwise required by applicable laws or other regulatory requirements, we shall:

process the client personal data only in accordance with our lawful written instructions, in order to provide them with the services pursuant to our engagement with clients and in accordance with applicable data protection legislation;

disclose and transfer the client personal data to HMRC, NEST, our software providers, our regulatory bodies or other third parties (for example, our professional advisors or service providers) as and to the extent necessary in order to provide clients with the services pursuant to our engagement with them in relation to those services;

disclose the client personal data to courts, government agencies and other third parties as and to the extent required by law;

maintain written records of our processing activities performed on clients behalf which shall include: (i) the categories of processing activities performed; (ii) details of any cross border data transfers outside of the European Economic Area (EEA); and (iii) a general description of security measures implemented in respect of the client personal data;

maintain commercially reasonable and appropriate security measures, including administrative, physical and technical safeguards, to protect against unauthorised or unlawful processing of any client personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, such client personal data.

return or delete all the client personal data upon the termination of the engagement with you pursuant to which we agreed to provide the services;

ensure that only those personnel who need to have access to the client personal data are granted access to it and that all of the personnel authorised to process the client personal data are bound by a duty of confidentiality;

notify you if we appoint a sub-processor (but only if you have given us your prior written consent, such consent not to be reasonably withheld or delayed) and ensure any agreement entered into with the relevant sub-processor includes similar terms as the terms set out in this clause [7];

where we transfer the client personal data to a country or territory outside the EEA to do so in accordance with data protection legislation;

notify clients promptly if:
we receive a request, complaint or any adverse correspondence from or on behalf of a relevant data subject, to exercise their data subject rights under the data protection legislation or in respect of the client personal data; or

we are served with an information or assessment notice, or receive any other material communication in respect of our processing of the client personal data from a supervisory body (for example, the Information Commissioner’s Office);

notify clients, without undue delay, in the event that we reasonably believe that there has been a personal data breach in respect of the client personal data;

at client cost and upon receipt of their prior written notice, allow them, on an annual basis and/or in the event that we notify them of personal data breach in respect of the client personal data, reasonable access to the relevant records, files, computer or other communication systems, for the purposes of reviewing our compliance with the data protection laws.

1.1.3 Without prejudice to the generality of clause 1.1.2, clients will ensure that they have all necessary appropriate consents and notices in place to enable the lawful transfer of the client personal data to us.

1.1.4 Should you require any further details regarding our treatment of personal data, please contact our data protection manager Luke Fenton.

Agreement of terms

In signing any contract or browsing you are also agreeing to allow C S Fenton & Co to hold and use your personal data. You hereby consent to C S Fenton & Co holding and using my personal information lawfully for the purposes of accounting, tax advice, communicating with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and any other body that has an appropriate and relevant need of information we hold in relation to the aforementioned services; for the duration; as long as I am a client/contractor/user and to the extent that information needs to be held by law after cessation of business/services. In the case of browser information we do not store this.

Our privacy policy is listed as follows but is subject to change, changes will be posted to our website csfenton,co.uk. C S Fenton & Co Ltd is a data controller within the meaning of the GDPR and we process personal data. The firms’ contact details are as follows: The Old Rectory, Kirby Underdale, York, YO41 1QY.

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.

Following the implementation of the GDPR we are obligated to explain that we intend to use your data lawfully in one or more of the following ways, this includes but is not exhaustive to:

The provision and preparation and submission of statutory and non-statutory accounts.
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 (eg 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 ACCA
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
Payroll services including RTI submissions and Pension submissions (including communication with pension providers such as NEST).
The provision and preparation of tax returns.
Communicating with HMRC using details such as UTR Numbers, NI Numbers and other personal information to identify you.
The updating and submission of relevant documents and information to Companies House.
Where appropriate using your details in local and cloud based computer programs for the completion of any of the above work.

Storing your information on physical files and hard drives for use in the above situations.

This information will be used by the staff of C S Fenton & Co in connection with the above services. We will store data for seven years as highlighted in our original engagement letter after which it will be destroyed/deleted. You have the right to withdraw your data at any time. You have the right to complain to the ICO

(Information Commissioner’s Office) if you think there is an issue in the way we are handling your data. We will never sell your data. We will never exchange your data to 3rd parties other than HMRC and CompaniesHouse without your consent, this extends to Banks, Insurance companies and Mortgage Brokers.

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

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 seven 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 seven years from the date the business relationship ceased.

Where we have an ongoing client relationship, data that is needed for more than one year’s tax compliance (eg capital gains base costs and claims and elections submitted to HMRC) is retained throughout the period of the relationship, but will be deleted seven years 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 seven 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 marked for the attention of Luke Fenton

To help us provide the information you want and deal with your request more quickly, you should include enough details to enable us to verify your identity and locate the relevant information. For example, you should tell us:

your date of birth
previous or other name(s) you have used
your previous addresses in the past five years
personal reference number(s) that we may have given you, for example your national insurance number, your tax reference number or your VAT registration number
what type of information you want to know.

If you do not have a national insurance number, you must send a copy of:

the back page of your passport or a copy of your driving licence and
a recent utility bill.

DPA 2018 requires that we comply with a SAR promptly and in any event within one month of receipt. There are, however, some circumstances in which the law allows us to refuse to provide access to personal data in response to a SAR (eg if you have previously made a similar request and there has been little or no change to the data since we complied with the original request).

We will not charge you for dealing with a SAR.

You can ask someone else to request information on your behalf – for example, a friend, relative or solicitor. We must have your authority to respond to a SAR made on your behalf. You can provide such authority by signing a letter that states that you authorise the person concerned to write to us for information about you and/or receive our reply.

Where you are a data controller and we act for you as a data processor (eg by processing payroll), we will assist you with SARs on the same basis as is set out above.

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 (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 (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, eg so that the data can easily be provided to a new professional adviser. Further information is available on the ICO website (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 (eg 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 The Old Rectory, Kirby Underdale, York, YO41 1QY

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