Citizens Advice Sefton Privacy Policy 2025
At Citizens Advice Sefton, 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.
This privacy policy explains how we use your information and what your rights are. We handle and store your personal information in line with data protection law and our confidentiality policy. The following pages tell you more about how we use your information in more detail.
Our network
Citizens Advice is a membership organisation made up of the national Citizens Advice charity and many local offices across England and Wales, including Citizens Advice Sefton. Citizens Advice Sefton is an independent charity and a member of the national Citizens Advice charity.
All members of the Citizens Advice network are responsible for keeping your personal information safe and making sure data protection law is followed.
Members of the network also run some jointly designed services and use some of the same systems to process your personal data. In these instances we are joint data controllers for these activities.
Jointly controlled data
All offices in the Citizens Advice network use some joint systems to carry out our activities. These include joint case management systems, telephony platforms and more.
Staff from a different local Citizens Advice can only access your personal information in a joint system if they have a good reason. For example when:
- you go to a different office to seek advice
- more than one office is working together in partnership
- they need to investigate a complaint or incident
We have rules and controls in place to stop people accessing or using your information when they shouldn’t.
Tell an adviser if you’re worried about your details being on a national system. We’ll work with you to take extra steps to protect your information – for example by recording your problem without using your name.
National Citizens Advice has a privacy notice available on their website that covers general advice and nationally managed systems, including our case management systems. This policy covers the processing we carry out in our office.
How we use your data for advice
This section covers how we use your data to provide you with advice.
For general advice and nationally funded advice programmes please see the national Citizens Advice privacy notice.
What information Citizens Advice Sefton will collect
We will only ask for information that is relevant to your problem and to inform our campaigns. Depending on what you want help with, this might include:
- Your name and contact details – so we can keep in touch with you about your case.
- Personal information – for example about family, work, or financial circumstances.
- Details about services you get that are causing you problems – like energy or post.
- Details of items or services you have bought, and traders you have dealt with.
- Special Category Data like your ethnicity, health conditions, trade union membership, religion, or sexual orientation.
- If you do not want to give us certain information, you do not have to. For example, if you want to stay anonymous, we will only record information about your problem and make sure you are not identified.
- You can opt out of us collecting your equality & diversity data
Generally the lawful basis for the processing of your data will be ‘legitimate interest’. for example the purpose for collecting the information is necessary to the provision of advice.
Whatsapp is a secure communication channel and your details are encrypted. When you contact us via our Whatsapp number for debt advice, we will use the details you send to us to try and contact you. If we are unable to contact you after 3 attempts we will delete the Whatsapp message.
How we collect your information
Using our local debt phoneline
When you telephone our local debt number there is a recorded message that will explain about data privacy and consent to store your details. Once we have made contact with you, we will delete all voicemail messages relating to you. We have a ‘legitimate interest’ to do this under data protection law.
Using our local advice phoneline
When you telephone our local advice number you will speak to one of our trained and experienced volunteers or member of staff. They will take information from you to help you with your problem, this is then stored in our national database ‘Casebook’. No paper records are kept.
Our SMS appointment reminder system
We use SMS message platform within our CRM database Casebook to send appointment reminders. When using this our policy is to minimise all data collected and we aim to transfer all personal information to our national computer system during the course of your case. We always ensure we have your consent before contacting you via Casebook
Our confidentiality policy
At Citizens Advice we have a confidentiality policy which states that anything you tell us as part of advice will not be shared outside of the Citizens Advice network unless you provide your permission for us to do so.
There are some exceptions to this such as needing to share:
- to prevent an immediate risk of harm to an individual
- In select circumstances if it is in the best interests of the client
- where we are compelled to do so by law (e.g. a court order or meeting statutory disclosures)
- where there is an overriding public interest such as to prevent harm against someone or to investigate a crime
- to defend against a complaint or legal claim
- to protect our name and reputation for example to provide our side of a story reported in the press
Who we share your information with
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, for example;
- Sefton Council
- His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS)
- One Vision Housing
- Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
- His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
- United Utilities
- Gas and electric suppliers
We also share information about you withorganisations we refer people to, or organisations we send client data to as part of our advice service. We will ask for your consent before we refer you or send your data. If you see us face to face you sign a client consent form, if you contact us by telephone after listening to or reading our Privacy Notice your continued use of these services indicate your consent for us to collect and store your information.
Data is also shared with funders as part of research and advocacy work or for audit purposes
Our lawful basis for using your information
Article 6(1)(f) – Legitimate interests
Where processing is not based on any public function. We have carried out a Legitimate Interests Assessment for this processing.
Article 9(2)(f) – establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims
Where the processing relates to the establishment or defence of legal claims including legal rights including but not limited to those such as those in relation to benefits, debt, energy and housing. For criminal offence data the same provision is outlined in Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 1, Part 3 (33).
How we use your data for research, feedback and statistics
This section covers how we use your data to carry out our research, feedback and statistical work. National Citizens Advice covers their use of data for this purpose in their privacy notice.
How we collect your information
We may use local feedback forms or questionnaires with you either in person, by telephone or through our website.
What information we collect
We will ask about your experiences in relation to the problem we helped you with. We may also ask members of the public who are not our clients if they have heard of our service.
What we use your information for
We will use this information to show how issues affect people and to improve services for the future.
Who we share your information with
Any information we share will be anonymised.
Our lawful basis for using your information
Article 6(1)(f) – Legitimate interests
We have a legitimate interest to carry out statistical analysis and research using our client data. We have carried out a legitimate interest assessment for statistical processing, research and policy formation. We may also keep pseudonymised data for archival purposes.
How we use your data when applying to work or volunteer
How we collect your information
When you complete an application for a job vacancy or to be a volunteer the information being processed and stored is for the purpose of recruitment and selection at Citizens Advice Sefton. We store this information in our secure cloud-based storage and paper files in a secure filing cabinet. We keep this information for 12months and after that date it is securely destroyed.
What information we collect
· Your name and contact details
- Your employment history
- Any training and learning you have completed
- Your experience
What we use your information for
The purpose of recruitment and selection at Citizens Advice Sefton.
Who we share your information with
We will share the information of a successful candidate for DBS checks and reference requests
Our lawful basis for using your information
We rely on candidates consent.
How we use your data when using our website
What information we collect
Google Analytics collect information about:
· which links you click on
· where you move the mouse or cursor across the page
· how much you scroll up and down on the page
· your browser, device and operating system
· the language you’re using
· your screen’s resolution
· the length of time you’re on our website
· your ISP and approximate ISP Location (City, Region, Country)
· how you got to our website
The data collected through cookies is all anonymous – you can’t be identified by it. We store the information for 6 months and then delete it.
Read more about how Google Analytics uses cookies.
What we use your information for
We use a tool called Google Analytics to help us understand how you’re using our website.
They collect information by putting cookies on your device. They share that data with us and we use it to improve our website – for example, making popular pages easier to find.
Our lawful basis for using your information
User consent
How we use cookies on our website
What are cookies? This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are and how we use them, the types of cookies we use i.e, the information we collect using cookies and how that information is used, and how to manage the cookie settings.
Cookies are small text files that are used to store small pieces of information. They are stored on your device when the website is loaded on your browser. These cookies help us make the website function properly, make it more secure, provide better user experience, and understand how the website performs and to analyze what works and where it needs improvement.
How do we use cookies? As most of the online services, our website uses first-party and third-party cookies for several purposes. First-party cookies are mostly necessary for the website to function the right way, and they do not collect any of your personally identifiable data.
The third-party cookies used on our website are mainly for understanding how the website performs, how you interact with our website, keeping our services secure, providing advertisements that are relevant to you, and all in all providing you with a better and improved user experience and help speed up your future interactions with our website.
Types of Cookies we use & Manage cookie preferences Cookie Settings You can change your cookie preferences any time by clicking the above button. This will let you revisit the cookie consent banner and change your preferences or withdraw your consent right away.
In addition to this, different browsers provide different methods to block and delete cookies used by websites. You can change the settings of your browser to block/delete the cookies. Listed below are the links to the support documents on how to manage and delete cookies from the major web browsers.
Chrome: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/32050
Safari: https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/safari/sfri11471/mac
Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/clear-cookies-and-site-data-firefox?redirectslug=delete-cookies-remove-info-websites-stored&redirectlocale=en-US
Internet Explorer: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-delete-cookie-files-in-internet-explorer-bca9446f-d873-78de-77ba-d42645fa52fc
If you are using any other web browser, please visit your browser’s official support documents.
How long we keep your data for
National Citizens Advice is responsible for managing any data in joint client case records. For more information please see their privacy notice.
| Data | Purpose | Retention |
| Name, address | Volunteer application | 12 months |
| Name, address | Job application | 12 months |
Your data protection rights
You have rights in relation to your personal data that we hold. Your rights include being able to request:
- Access to copies of your data
- Corrections are made to inaccurate data
- Deletion of your personal data
- Object to how we use your personal data
These rights are not absolute and may not apply in every circumstance. For more information about your rights you can visit the ICO website.
To make a data protection rights request you can do so by emailing mail@seftoncab.org.uk
Raising a concern about how we use your information
If you are concerned about how we have handled your personal information please contact us at mail@seftoncab.org.uk
You can also contact the national charity if you are unhappy with how we have used your personal data or wish to raise a concern about how a local office has handled your personal data. To do so you can email us at DPO@citizensadvice.org.uk
Contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
You can also raise your concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office which regulates data protection law in the UK. if you are unhappy with how we have used your personal information. They will normally expect you to have made a complaint to us directly in the first instance.
- Visit the ICO website.
- Address: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
- Helpline number: 0303 123 1113