PRIVACY NOTICE

This privacy notice tells you how and why we collect and use your Personal Data in line with UK Data Protection Laws in the context of the Claim or other claims we may contact you about.

As your Solicitors, Harcus Parker Limited and Asserson Law Offices collect and use Personal Data about you when you engage with us in relation to your Claim, including when you visit our Website. The protection of Personal Data is important to us. We want to comply with all our legal obligations under data protection laws. That is why we only process Personal Data that is strictly necessary, with care and taking account of best practice security needs.

This privacy notice includes a glossary which defines all capitalised terms. For your understanding, please refer to the glossary when reading this notice. We may make changes to this privacy notice to reflect changes in the law or within our organisations. We recommend that you review this page regularly to always know how we use your Personal Data.

  1. Who is responsible for the Processing of your Personal Data?

The Solicitors are responsible for Processing your Personal Data as you engage with us regarding the Claim, use our Website, subscribe to our newsletter or contact us directly. For clarity, the Solicitors are distinct independent Data Controllers for the relevant Processing activities under UK Data Protection Laws.

  1. What Personal Data do we Process, why and on what basis?

UK Data Protection Laws require that we provide information to you about the Personal Data that we Process, the reasons for using that Personal Data (the Purpose for Processing) and the grounds we rely on to do this (the Legal Basis for Processing).

We have summarised most of that information in the table below to make it easier to read and give you an overall view of the Processing operations we undertake. There may be other circumstances in which we will retain, disclose or Process your Personal Data, for instance, because of specific legal obligations applicable to us.

For each of the purposes listed below, we may process any of the corresponding Personal Data and rely on any of the corresponding Legal Basis. Some of the Personal Data we collect or Legal Basis we rely on may appear more than once in the summary table below, this is because they may be relevant to several of the purposes listed.

As we conduct a variety of claims, the Personal Data we may Process about you may vary depending on the claim(s) you are interested in. However, you will usually know what Personal Data we Process, either because we have disclosed that information to you in this privacy notice, or because we will ask you for additional information directly.

  1. How do we collect your Personal Data?

We collect Personal Data directly from you when you register for a Claim, subscribe to receive our newsletter, contact us or otherwise engage with us on our Website, on the phone or in another manner, to respond to our queries, ask questions, make suggestions or comments.

We may receive Personal Data concerning you from third parties, such as:

  • Credit rating agencies, the Land Registry and/or Companies House, when we verify your identity;
  • Marketing and communication partners and/or Social Platforms, when you engage with our questionnaires, Social Platform accounts, our Website or certain third-party websites;
  • Counsel, legal teams, experts and/or investigators involved in the Claim.

The table below sets out the Personal Data we collect, its Purpose(s) and the Legal Basis of the collection.

PurposesPersonal DataLegal Basis
To administer our business effectively, prevent and detect fraud.Identification information, such as your first name, last name, date of birth, form of identification (such as your passport).
Identity check information we may receive from credit rating agencies and/or  from  publicly  accessible
registers (such as Companies House or the Land Registry).
Verbatim or our summarised notes from written exchanges or conversations with you.
Our legitimate interest to manage our business affairs effectively (including to develop or improve our services and/or to manage our relationship with you).
Compliance with legal obligations applicable to us (such as our KYC obligations, or our obligations in the course of litigation or arbitration).
Our legitimate interest to protect our rights, and exercise or defend legal claims relevant to us.
To verify your identity (for instance, as
part of our client verification procedure or if you want to exercise your Individual Rights).
Identification information, such as your first name, last name, date of birth, form of identification (such as your passport).
Identity check information we may receive from credit rating agencies and/or from publicly accessible registers (such as Companies House or the Land Registry).
The performance or conclusion of a contract to which you are a party.
Our legitimate interest to manage our business affairs effectively (including to develop or improve our services and/or to manage our relationship with you).
Compliance with legal obligations applicable to us (such as our KYC obligations, or our obligations in the course of litigation or arbitration).
To support the general conduct of the Claim.Identification information, such as your first name, last name, date of birth, form of identification (such as your passport).
Contact information, such as your
electronic and postal address, and/or your telephone number.
Your responses to our Questionnaire and other answers to any further queries related to it.
Verbatim or our summarised notes from written exchanges and/or conversations with you.
The performance or conclusion of a contract to which you are a party.
Our legitimate interest to manage our business affairs effectively (including to develop or improve our services and/or to manage our relationship with you).
Compliance with legal obligations applicable to us (such as our KYC obligations, or our obligations in the course of litigation or arbitration).
To contact you about the Claim and to deliver updates and marketing material to you.Contact information, such as your electronic and postal address, and/or your telephone number.
Technical Personal Data such as IP addresses, log journals, browsing data and/or pseudonymous identifiers.
Your consent to receiving communications from us, including communications concerning other claims we may already conduct or wish to explore.
Our legitimate interest to manage our business affairs effectively (including to develop or improve our services and/or to manage our relationship with you).
To moderate and manage our Social
Platform accounts.
Your user-generated content such as
your username, verbatim posts,
pictures or videos.
Our legitimate interest to manage our
business affairs effectively (including
to develop or improve our services
and/or to manage our relationship
with you).
PurposesPersonal DataLegal Basis
To operate, manage and improve our IT systems, databases and/or Website.Technical Personal Data such as IP addresses, log journals, browsing data and/or pseudonymous identifiers.Any Personal Data concerning you hosted on our servers, or third-party servers used for our business purposes.Our legitimate interest to operate our IT systems, databases and/or Website effectively.
To process yourpayments.Payment information such as payment methods, payment card number, bank account references, records from third-party payment solutions.The performance or conclusion of a contract to which you are a party.Our legitimate interest to manage our business affairs effectively (including to develop or improve our services and/or to manage our relationship with you).
  1. With whom do we share your Personal Data?

We may share your Personal Data with third parties such as:

  • Counsel, other lawyers, legal or other experts instructed by us or otherwise involved in the Claim;
  • Courts, arbitrators and/or other litigation institutions involved in the Claim or any other relevant claim;
  • Our agents, advisers, accountants, auditors or other subcontractors;
  • Our selected website hosts and content managers;
  • Operators and support teams who manage our IT systems, including our case management software, disclosure platforms and datarooms we may use in the conduct of our business affairs and/or of the Claim;
  • Government bodies, law enforcement agencies and other public institutions.
  1. How long do we keep your Personal Data?

We keep your Personal Data for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes listed at 2 in this privacy notice, or any additional purposes otherwise notified to you, and for at least seven years after the conclusion of your Claim.

  1. What Individual Rights do you have under UK Data Protection Laws?

We want you to know the full extent of your Individual Rights under UK Data Protection Laws, so we have listed these rights in the table below. However, all rights do not necessarily apply to your relationship with us.

If you make a request to exercise your rights, we will let you know how we can help in your specific circumstances. Please note that we may ask you for proof of your identity to comply with any such request.

Your rightsWhat it means
AccessYou can ask for a copy of the Personal Data we hold about you or ask us why and how we Process your Personal Data. Most of this information is already in this privacy notice; however, we will complement that information where needed.
Your rightsWhat it means
DeleteYou can ask us to delete your Personal Data. However, we are not always able to comply with this type of request. For instance, we cannot delete Personal Data that is necessary to comply with our legal obligations.
Object to automated decision makingYou can ask us not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated Processing which produces legal effects or significantly impacts you in another way. We do not commonly use technology relevant to this right.
Object to a processing operationWhere we rely on our legitimate interests as a Legal Basis, you can object to a Processing operation of your Personal Data if you consider that that Processing is a violation of your fundamental rights.
PortabilityYou can ask us to provide your Personal Data to a third-party in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. This right is usually not relevant to the Processing operations we undertake.
RectifyYou can ask us to correct inaccurate records of your Personal Data (for instance, rectify your email address).
Restrict a processingIn certain circumstances, you may ask us to continue to hold, but limit the way we Process your Personal Data.
  1. How do we protect your Personal Data?

We always strive to keep all information you provide to us confidential and secure and rely on industry- wide best practice security measures, implemented by us or our service providers for this purpose. Our commitment is to protect your personal data against unauthorised or unlawful Processing, and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures.

Our security measures include:

  • Our deployed IT security plan which covers confidentiality, integrity and availability of our IT systems;
  • The use of encryption and pseudonymisation where reasonably necessary;
  • Regular evaluation and testing of our systems;
  • Dedicated support teams who step in on request.

Our employees and contractors are also subject to confidentiality obligations which contribute to the protection of your Personal Data.

  1. Do we Process your data outside of the UK?

We only share Personal Data outside of the UK where (i) the destination country benefits from an adequacy decision allowing it to receive that Personal Data; or (ii) where we have a transfer mechanism in place to ensure your Personal Data is protected in the country of destination.

In relation to the Claim, we may Process your Personal Data outside of the UK, in Israel to provide access to employees or partners of the Solicitors based in these countries, and for storage purposes.

  1. How can you contact us or raise a complaint?

If you have any question or request related to the way we Process your Personal Data, you can contact us at to info@studentgroupclaim.co.uk

You can also raise a formal complaint with your local data protection authority. In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), whose address is Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF3. The ICO’s telephone number is (+44) 0303 123 1113 and its website is https://ico.org.uk/.

If you have a complaint, please contact us first, and we will try to resolve it as best we can.

GLOSSARY

TermDefinition
ClaimYou may be visiting our Website or engaging with us in relation to a specific claim or potential claim you may have. Any reference to the Claim in this privacy notice concerns our management of claims for compensation from universities and other higher education providers in respect of the disruption to studies caused by industrial action and their response to Covid-19 since 2018.
Data ControllerAccording to UK Data Protection Laws, the data controller is responsible for deciding why and how Personal Data is processed.Harcus Parker Limited, a limited liability company incorporated in England and Wales and with its registered office at 7th Floor, Melbourne House, 44-46 Aldwych, London, England, WC2B 4LL (regulated by the SRA under ID 653501); and Asserson Law Offices, a partnership operating under the laws of England and Wales with its head office at 25 Southampton Buildings, Holborn, London, WC2A 1AL (regulated by the SRA under ID 549779 ), are the distinct independent data controllers responsible for the Processing of your Personal Data in relation to the Claim (including any related Processing undertaken on the Website or elsewhere).The firms are joint solicitors in the conduct and management of the Claim.
Individual RightsUK Data Protection Laws give you individual rights so that you keep control of your Personal Data. Any reference to individual rights in this privacy context concerns the rights listed at Clause 6.
SolicitorsHarcus Parker Limited and Asserson Law Offices, which are also the Data Controllers identified above. In this privacy notice, the terms “we”, “us” and “our” also refer to the Solicitors.
Legal BasisThe Solicitors are always required to rely on a legal basis to Process Personal Data.Reference to legal basis means any, some or all of the following six data protection legal bases: consent, contract to which you are a party, legal obligation, vital interest, public task, and/or legitimate interest.
Personal DataAny information which directly or indirectly identifies you. We have listed the main Personal Data we Process about you at Clause 2.
Process, Processing and ProcessedAny activity impacting Personal Data, including accessing, collecting, holding or anonymising, is considered processing Personal Data under UK Data Protection Laws.
Purpose for ProcessingWe are required to disclose the reason for Processing your Personal Data; that is what we call the purpose for Processing. We have detailed our key purposes at Clause 2.
QuestionnaireAny questionnaire concerning the Claim, made available to you in any manner and which you will or may have already filled in so that you can express your interest in, or formally join the Claim.
Social PlatformsAccording to UK Data Protection Laws, we are also responsible for the way we Process your Personal Data we obtained through our social accounts.
UK Data Protection LawsUK Data Protection Laws means the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Privacy of Electronic Communications Regulations, the Data Protection Act 2018 and any other local data protection laws applicable to the UK.Please note that European data protection laws are similar to UK Data Protection Laws and this privacy notice is intended also to provide you with all disclosures required under European data protection laws.
WebsiteOur website concerning the claim is located at the following URL https://studentgroupclaim.co.uk/.