Introduction
We take protection of your personal data extremely seriously and strictly adhere to the rules laid out by the latest data protection laws. The following policy provides an overview of how we ensure this protection and what kind of data is collected for what purpose.
Collection of Personal Data
Below we provide information about the collection of your personal data when using the Tribunal Claim website (as trading name of Tom Street & Co. Solicitors). Personal data is any data that can personally reference you, such as your name, email addresses and/or user interaction with the website.
Data Security
We employ technical measures to ensure data security, in particular to protect your personal data from threats when transmitting data as well as from third party access. These measures are constantly scrutinised and revised.
Collection of Personal Data for use of the website
We use cookies to collect data for a third party tracking service (Google Analytics) where the data is made anonymous and processed only by the third party; it is not shared with anyone else. This data is purely used to improve our services and marketing moving forward.
Safeguarding and Legal Obligations
Confidentiality Commitment: We treat all information provided to us with the utmost confidentiality and discretion. Our commitment to safeguarding the privacy and integrity of our clients’ information is fundamental to the trust they place in us.
Exceptions for Legal and Ethical Obligations: There are exceptional circumstances where we may be required to disclose information provided to us if we believe that there is a real risk of harm to a person or if necessary to prevent a serious crime. These exceptions are strictly governed by legal and ethical standards.
Safeguarding Vulnerable Individuals: If, in the course of providing legal services, we become aware of information suggesting that a vulnerable adult or child is at risk of harm or abuse, we may have a legal duty to report such information to the appropriate authorities. This action will only be taken in accordance with legal requirements and after careful consideration of the impact on privacy and client confidentiality.
Consultation and Consent: Wherever possible and appropriate, we will seek to discuss any potential disclosure with the affected individual and, where feasible, obtain their consent before any action is taken. However, in situations where contacting the individual might increase the risk to their safety or to others, we may proceed without prior consent.
Legal Compliance and Ethical Practice: Our approach to handling these exceptional circumstances complies with UK law and is aligned with the ethical guidelines set forth by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We aim to ensure that our actions are justified by a legitimate need to protect individuals from harm while balancing the rights to confidentiality of all clients.
Regarding AI-Generated Outputs, Including LiveChat (Lexie)
Accuracy and Reliability of Information: All information provided through our live chat feature, including any AI-generated outputs, is for reference purposes only. While we strive to provide helpful and accurate information, the outputs from AI are inherently subject to limitations and may not be entirely accurate or applicable to all circumstances. As such, the information provided through our live chat should not be used as a definitive source for making legal decisions.
No Substitute for Professional Advice: Users are strongly encouraged to consult with a qualified solicitor to review any information or outputs provided before making any decisions based on such content. Our firm does not endorse, guarantee, or assume responsibility for the accuracy or reliability of any information provided by our AI systems.
Limitation of Liability: We expressly disclaim any and all liability for any claims or damages that may arise from the use of the AI-generated outputs or the live chat feature. Users agree that any use of such outputs is at their own risk. We will not be liable for any loss, damages, claims, or costs whatsoever, including any consequential, indirect, or incidental damages, any lost profits or lost savings, any damages resulting from business interruption, personal injury, or failure to meet any duty of care, or claims by a third party, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such losses, damages, or claims.
Legal Proceedings: The outputs provided by our AI systems are not to be relied upon in any legal proceedings. We will not be responsible for the content or the use of our outputs in such contexts unless a formal agreement has been signed with our firm that explicitly covers such use.
Data Retention Policy
We collect your information to assess, manage, handle or refer (internally or externally) your potential case. As part of this, we may refer your personal and case details to internal consultants, external consultants and law firms on our panel, and external barristers only. We also retain your personal data to send you our Tom Street & Co. Solicitors marketing material. Such data will not be transferred to any other third parties unless this is specifically requested by you.
We need to hold information about you for a number of reasons, for example, to allow us to contact you by email, telephone or letter. We may share contact details with other professionals who may need to be in contact with you (we can provide you with the details of solicitors/legal professionals who may deal with your case upon request).
Any documentation that you upload to our CRM database via our secure link (following your initial enquiry) will also be subject to this privacy policy.
We need your DOB in order that we can make checks to verify your ID – this data will be shared with our solicitors/legal professionals only.
In addition, we may need to obtain from you information about your bank details in order that any payments, if appropriate, can be made to you.
Where information is held
Information about you may be held in a number of locations within Tom Street & Co Solicitors:
Contact information will be held on our Google Apps database and our own Client Relationship Management (CRM) system and potentially our invoicing system, Freeagent. It is also stored on our websites databases (www.tribunalclaim.com and www.caseportal.co.uk) for a short period of time (3 days), in order to ensure your data is not lost whilst transferring to our CRM system, after which it is deleted. Such information may also be held within physical files stored at our offices.
We also use various external call centre services which may store some of your data (your name, contact details and brief details of your case), on their internal systems. We can provide a list of these services on request.
ID info
Information relating to bank details is held within the banking applications we use and on any electronic device to which that information was sent. Such information is automatically deleted after use.
Right to obtain information and revocation
You have the right to request information from us at any time about your stored data and the purpose of its storage. If you have given consent for the use of your data you can withdraw this consent at any time and you have the right to request/demand that your information is deleted from our systems. All requests and enquiries for information about, or objections to, the processing or retention of your data should be sent by email to the address specified below.
Deletion of information
Tom Street & Co. Solicitors automatically deletes information we no longer have use for.
Additional information
Your trust is important to us. That is why we will always be available to talk with you to answer any questions you have concerning the processing, retention or deletion of your data. If you have any questions that cannot be answered by this privacy policy, or if you wish to receive more detailed information about any topic within it, please contact the Data Protection Officer, Tom Street, at any time at mail@tomstreet.co.uk.
Policy Review and Questions: This policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure compliance with current legal standards and best practices. Should you have any questions about how we handle safeguarding issues or our confidentiality practices, please contact us at mail@tomstreet.co.uk.
Data protection officer
Our data protection officer’s contact details are:
Tom Street
mail@tomstreet.co.uk
Tom Street & Co Solicitors
Maidsgrove Farm
Frome
Somerset
BA11 2PY