Data protection, privacy and communications policy

www.otfordsociety.org.uk is a website operated by the Otford Society. We are a registered charity and our registration number is 272974.

We at the Otford Society take the privacy of our members, supporters and volunteers very seriously. We are strongly committed to protecting your privacy and every reasonable effort is taken to ensure that your information is kept secure and intact. This policy describes how the Otford Society collects and uses personal information about the people who visit our website and social media platforms and give us their data electronically, over the phone, face-to-face, and in writing. This policy also states how and why we use data, how we store it and how individual personal preferences can be amended.

By using our website, you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy. If you have any queries about this policy please contact chairman@otfordsociety.org.uk.

Otford Society Privacy Statement

The Data Protection Act 2018 (the Act) provides the legal framework that defines how personal information can be used. The Otford Society is fully committed to complying with the principles set out in the Act and has a legal duty to protect any information we collect from you. Please read this privacy policy to understand how we use your data. In summary:

  • Only information that we need is collected.
  • Your personal information is only used for the purpose for which we collect it.
  • Your personal information is only seen by those who need it to do their jobs.
  • We will only disclose data when we have your consent, or where we are obliged to disclose personal data by law, or as expressly permitted under the Act.
  • We will keep your information up to date. Inaccurate or misleading data will be corrected as soon as possible.
  • Personal information is retained only for as long as it is required for the purpose collected; normally, this will be for a maximum of 7 years if we do not hear from you during this time. Unless there is a legal requirement to do otherwise, at the six year point, we will take steps to remove your information from our records.
  • Your information will be protected from unauthorised or accidental disclosure and processed in an appropriate manner to maintain its integrity and confidentiality.
  • We will provide you with a copy of your personal information on request (please see below for information on access rights and requests).

These principles apply whether we hold your information on paper or in electronic form.

How do we collect information?

We may collect technical information relating to your use of our website, including your browser type or the Internet Protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the internet. We also gather general information about the use of our website, such as which pages users visit most often and which services, events or facilities are of most interest. We may also track which pages users visit when they click on links in emails.

We obtain personal information from you when you enquire about our activities, register with us, send or receive an email, make a donation to us, ask a question or otherwise provide us with personal information.

We will only ever collect the information that we need, including data that will be useful to help improve our work. The information is either needed to fulfil your request or to enable us to provide you with a more personalised service. You don’t have to disclose any of this information to browse our sites.

What information do we collect?

The personal information we collect might include name, email address, postal address, telephone number and credit/debit card details.

We also gather general non-personal information about the use of our website, such as which pages users visit most often, and which are of most interest. We may also track which pages users visit when they click on links in our emails. Wherever possible we use aggregated or anonymous information which does not identify individual visitors to our website. Please see the section below on Cookies.

Why do we collect this information?

We collect this information for the purpose of promoting the aims of the Otford Society and communicating effectively and appropriately with members. The lawful basis for which we process your information is:

  • your consent
  • processing is necessary for the performance of any contract to which you are a party
  • processing is necessary for compliance with our legal obligations
  • processing is necessary to protect your interests or that of another person
  • processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest
  • processing is necessary for the purpose of the legitimate interest pursued by us or a third party, except where your rights as a data subject override our legitimate interest

How do we use this information?

We will use the information you provide in the ways set out below:

  • to promote the aims of the Otford Society
  • to communicate with our members, dealing with your enquiries and requests, recording any contact with you
  • to provide you with information that you have indicated an interest in, for example information about our projects, campaigns, volunteering and fundraising activities and how you can donate to us
  • to personalise the way our website is presented when users visit it, to make improvements to our website and to ensure we provide the best service for users
  • to claim Gift Aid on your donations
  • to conduct market research
  • to offer supporters information relevant to them
  • for administrative purposes

If you enter your contact details via one of our online registration forms, we may use this information to contact you even if you don’t “send” or “submit” the form. We will only do this to see if we can help with any problems you might be experiencing with the form or with our website.

Do we share your information with anybody else?

We do not share your personal information with other charities or other third parties.

Our website includes links to websites run by other organisations. The Otford Society is not responsible for the privacy practices of these other websites so you should read their privacy policies carefully before sharing any personal or financial data.

Storing and protecting your information

We recognise the concerns that many people have about giving personal information online.

We place great importance on the security of all personally identifiable information associated with our members and volunteers. We have security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration or destruction of personal data under our control. Information is stored by us on computers located in the UK. We may also store information on paper files. All of our online forms are protected by encryption. We also use a secure server when you make a donation or payment via our website.

However, no data transmission over the internet is 100% secure. As a result, whilst we cannot absolutely guarantee that loss, misuse or alteration of data will not occur while it is under our control, we use our best efforts to prevent this and protect your personal information.

We will keep your information only for as long as we need it to provide you with the goods, services or information you have required, to administer your relationship with us, to inform our research or the preferences of our supporters, to comply with the law, or to ensure that we do not communicate with people who have asked us not to.

Payment Card Information

The Otford Society does not store any sensitive payment card data in our systems.

Children and young people

The Otford Society is concerned to protect the privacy of children aged under 13. We will seek consent from a parent or guardian before collecting personal information about a child aged under 13. We will not knowingly request or collect from a child any information online that can be traced to the child, such as an email address, name, or information about the child’s family. Unless a parent or guardian consents to such use in advance, we will not knowingly use information that a child provides to us for any fundraising or promotional purpose.

Cookie Usage

The Otford Society website uses cookies, tracking pixels and related technologies. Cookies are small data files that are served by our platform and stored on your device. Our site uses cookies for a variety of purposes including to operate and personalise the website and to ensure you see content that is relevant to you. Cookies help us to provide you with a better experience by allowing us to understand what areas of the website are of interest to our visitors (e.g. via Google Analytics).

Most browsers will allow you to turn off cookies. Please note however that turning off cookies will restrict your use of our website. To learn more about cookies and how to manage them, visit AboutCookies.org.

When you first visit our site, you are given the option to opt-out of cookies but please be aware that this may negatively impact on your ability to view and use content on our website.

Your Rights

Under the law you have a right to object to the Otford Society processing your personal information (‘right to object’) at any time.

You have a right to ask us to confirm whether we are processing information about you, and to request access to this information (‘right to access’).

You may ask us, or we may ask you, to rectify information you or we think is inaccurate, and you may also ask us to remove information which is inaccurate or complete information which is incomplete (‘right to rectification’). If your personal details change, please help us to keep your information up to date by notifying us at membership@otfordsociety.org.uk

You have a right to obtain your personal data from us and reuse it for your own purposes, perhaps for another service, without hindering the usability of the data (‘right to portability’).

You have a right to seek the erasure of your data (“right to erasure”). You may wish to exercise this right for any reason, for example where it is no longer necessary for us to continue holding or processing your personal data you may withdraw your consent. You should note that we are entitled to and reserve the right to retain your data for statistical purposes.

You have a right to ask us to restrict our processing of your information (‘right to restriction’) if you contest its accuracy, if the processing is unlawful, or if we no longer need the information.

If you would like to exercise any of your rights above, please use the form on our ‘Contact Us’ page. We will act in accordance with your instructions as soon as reasonably possible.

You have a right to report any of your concerns about our use of your data to the Information Commissioner’s Office. You may do so by calling their helpline at 0303 123 1113.

Trademarks and copyright

The Otford Society website contains material which is protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property rights. All copyright and intellectual property rights including the names, images and logos are owned by the Otford Society unless otherwise stated. All rights are reserved.

You are responsible for complying with all applicable copyright laws. We permit you to make copies of information on the Otford Society website and you may make print copies for your personal use of so much of the site as is reasonable for private purposes. All other uses are prohibited.

Changes

We may change the terms of this privacy statement on occasion, but will not reduce your rights under this Privacy Policy without your explicit consent. If we do so, we will post the changes here, so please check from time to time. We will also keep prior versions of this Privacy Policy in an archive. By continuing to use our website you will be deemed to have accepted such changes.

If you have any questions about this policy or how we use your data, please contact chairman@otfordsociety.org.uk

Data Protection Regulator

Further information and advice about data protection is available from the Office of the Information Commissioner, www.ico.org.uk

Updated: May 2021