The purpose of this policy is to set out the principles that must be observed by anyone who works for Car Lease Agent Limited and has access to person or firm identifiable information.
Tim Borthwick shall be responsible for:
All employees working within Car Lease Agent Limited owe a duty of confidentiality to protect all personal and firm information they come into contact with during the course of their work.
The Data Protection Bill (Bill) was announced in the Queen’s Speech on 21 June 2017. The Bill updates data protection laws in the UK, supplementing the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), implementing the EU Law Enforcement Directive, as well as extending data protection laws to areas which are not covered by the GDPR. It is intended to provide a comprehensive package to protect personal data. The Bill will replace the 1998 Act as the primary piece of data protection legislation in the UK and will come into force in May 2018.
The Data Protection Information Commissioner enforces and oversees the Data Protection Act. The Commissioner has a range of duties including the promotion of good information handling and the encouragement of Codes of Practice for the data controllers, that is, anyone who decides how and why personal data are processed.
The Commissioner is a UK independent supervisory authority reporting directly to the UK Parliament.
The information provided within this procedural manual is drawn from the requirements laid down by the Office of the Information Commissioner.
Further information is available from visiting the Information Commissioner’s website at https://ico.org.uk/
It is essential that those that collect and use personal data to maintain the confidence of those who are asked to provide it by complying with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.
All Data Controllers must comply with the six principles that are at the heart of the Act, including the requirement to obtain and process data fairly.
Under the Act any individual concerned has a right to see almost all personal information held about them, whether it is stored on computer or in manual form. Information held by the firm must not be amended/deleted following a request to use it. In the event of receiving a so‐called ‘subject access request’ please refer to ‘Subject Access Procedures’.
The Act places an obligation to ensure the accuracy of an individual’s personal data. Such information should not be misleading as to any matter of fact.
4.5.1 PERSONAL OBLIGATIONS OF ALL STAFF
The Act sets out 6 principles, which define the obligations of the firm as a registered data user of personal data. These principles are as follows: ‐
Personal data covers both facts and opinions about the individual. It also includes information regarding the intentions of the Data Controller towards the individual.
4.7.1 FIRST PRINCIPLE
‘processing must be lawful and fair’
The firm must ensure that the processing is fair and lawful. Where the data is obtained from the data subject the firm must ensure that the data subject is provided with, or have made readily available to them at the time of obtaining the data: the identity of the firm the purpose for processing other necessary information as circumstances require to ensure that the processing is fair
The firm’s application forms should take into account the following requirements:
Firms will only need to hold or process customer’s personal data for business needs for example the need to carry out a credit search in respect of an application for a loan. The customer would have been requested to sign our standard declaration in order for their consent to be provided.
4.7.2 SECOND PRINCIPLE
‘purposes of processing must be specified, explicit and legitimate’
Data can only be used for a specific processing purpose that the subject has been made aware of and no other, without further consent.
4.7.3 THIRD PRINCIPLE
‘personal data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive’
Personal data held for specific purposes must be more than sufficient for the purpose or purposes.
It would therefore not be sufficient to hold information on the basis that one day it may be useful, without a firm idea of how it will be used.
4.7.4 FOURTH PRINCIPLE
‘personal data must be accurate and kept up to date’
All reasonable steps must be taken to ensure the accuracy of data at all times.
Firms must have controls in place to ensure that in the event of inaccurate personal data being identified procedures will exist to allow for information to be rectified, blocked or destroyed.
4.7.5 FIFTH PRINCIPLE
‘personal data must be kept for no longer than is necessary’
4.7.6 SIXTH PRINCIPLE
‘personal data must be processed in a secure manner
When collecting personal data it is essential that people know:
This information can often be provided on an application form or similar document.
Data Protection wording is included within the firm’s application package, which when signed by the customer provides necessary comments for processing the customer’s data.
When handling, collecting, processing or storing personal data staff must ensure that:
The Data Protection Act is considered when setting up new systems or when considering use of the data for a new purpose. Any changes could affect the company’s existing registration with the Data
Protection Registrar and an amendment to the registration sought.
It is equally important not to:
4.10.1 MAKE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO INDIVIDUALS
The right to be informed covers some of the key transparency requirements of the GDPR. It is about providing people with clear and concise information about what we do with their personal data.
The controller is required to make available to the data subject a range of information, including:
4.10.2 RIGHT OF ACCESS
4.10.3 RIGHT TO RECTIFICATION
4.10.4 RIGHT TO ERASURE OR RESTRICTION OF PROCESSING
4.10.5 RIGHT TO RESTRICT PROCESSING
4.10.6 RIGHT TO DATA PORTABILITY
4.10.7 RIGHT TO OBJECT
Individuals have the right to object to:
4.10.8 RIGHT NOT TO BE SUBJECT TO AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING
You can only carry out this type of decision‐making where the decision is:
Clients have a right to:
When a subject access request is received, it is important to:
4.11.1 WHAT IS A SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST?
Often a customer will not have heard of the term ‘Subject Access Request’. Staff should be able to distinguish between a casual enquiry and a ‘Subject Access Request’.
A Subject Access Request is not, for example, where:‐
A Subject Access Request is where:
4.11.2 HANDLING SUBJECT ACCESS REQUESTS
It is important that subject access requests are recognised and dealt with quickly.
A subject access request may be as simple as a letter from one the firm’s customers asking what information we hold about them.
If a request is received the enquirer must be sent:
Before any request is auctioned the Data Controller should verify the identity of the person making the request.
Subject access requests must be dealt with within one month from the date of receipt. If further details are needed from the person making the request to assist with finding the data the one month period will begin when the extra information is received.
All information sent in response to a subject access request should be easy to understand and therefore the sending of computer printouts may not be acceptable without a covering explanation on codes used.
4.11.3 IDENTIFYING THE CUSTOMER
Subject Access Requests
Firms are not obliged to comply with a subject access request until sufficient information to clearly identify the individual requesting the file has been given. Before releasing data staff should satisfy themselves as to the identity of the customer. This is important to firms, as releasing information to the wrong person is likely to amount to a breach of security.
All documents must be original, not photocopies, and dated within the last three months. It must show the customer’s full name or first initial, surname and current address.
It is important that all documentation is returned to the customer once identity has been verified.
In the rare circumstances where the customer is unable to provide any of the above items, they must provide a letter confirming their identity. This must be an original, typed or headed paper, dated within the last three months and authenticated with an official stamp if applicable. This should be from an employer, solicitor or other professional body or person.
Telephone requests for information
It is important not to release any personal information to customers before you have established their identity. Requests should be treated with great care, particularly as the issues of proof of identity are difficult to manage.
The steps that need to be taken to verify the identity of the customer will depend upon the type of information, and possibly the customer.
Although wherever possible access to a data subject’s personal information should be provided ‘without excessive constraints or delay’. This needs to be balanced against the responsibilities of the data controller to safeguard personal information and to avoid giving personal data to another individual.
Therefore, depending on the circumstances, staff should be asking customers to confirm selective information to verify identity from the following:
If the customer requests a Subject Access report then the customer needs to be reminded that the request needs to be put in writing, and will be dealt with in accordance with the procedures as detailed in section 4.
There are three major credit reference agencies in the UK at present. They are Experian, Equifax and Call Credit. Their main purpose is to supply factual information to providers of financial services in order to establish peoples credit histories.
Customers have a legal right to have access to the data held by credit reference agencies. Customers also have a right to request that the agency remove/amend incorrect data. Customers can write to the agency to obtain a copy of their credit file.
Credit searches on an individual must not be conducted without the consent of that individual. The firm’s policy is to obtain this consent in writing. Staff should contact Compliance Department if they are unsure if adequate consents have been obtained.
To comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act all customers both new and existing have to positively opt in to receiving advertising and marketing material from the firm.
Likewise customers have to be informed if the firm intends to pass information to a third party for marketing purposes.
Customer’s personal data is collected on application forms and the election for customers not be receive marketing material is covered through the inclusion of an ‘opt‐in’ box.
There are a number of marketing preference services available to customers:
The Mail Preference Service (MPS)
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS)
The Fax Preference Service (FPS)
The E‐mail Preference Service (EPS)
The MPS is funded by the direct mail industry to enable customers to have their names and home
addresses in the UK removed from or added to lists used by the direct mail industry.
Firms must ensure that customers that have registered with the MPS do not receive any marketing material.
4.16.1 GENERAL GUIDELINES
In the event of a query reference should be made to senior management
4.17.1 DATA
Automated and manual data that is recorded as part of a relevant filing system
4.17.2 DATA CONTROLLER
The data controller is Compliance Officer/Nominated Officer
4.17.3 DATA PROTECTION COMMISSIONER
This is the name for the Data Protection Registrar
4.17.4 DATA SUBJECT
The individual who is the subject of the personal data
4.17.5 MANUAL DATA
Manual records are those which are structured by reference to individuals or criteria relating to individuals, and which allow easy access to the personal data they contain
4.17.6 NOTIFICATION
Notification by the firm of certain basic information about the data held; the purposes for which it is held; the persons to whom it may be disclosed; a general description of the technical and organisational steps a Data Controller takes to protect data held from unauthorised access, disclosure or loss; and the identity of the Data Controller i.e. Compliance is responsible for ensuring that notification / registration is completed as necessary.
4.17.7 PERSONAL DATA
This is data relating to an individual who can be identified from that data and/or other information which is the possession of or likely to come into possession of the firm
4.17.8 PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA
Obtaining or recording the information to be contained in the data or carrying out an operation, including disclosure by transmission / documentation, organisation, adaptation, alteration of the information or data, retrieval, blocking, erasure or destruction of the data.
4.17.9 RELEVANT FILING SYSTEMS / MANUAL DATA
Any set of information relating to individuals which is structured either by reference to individuals i.e. by name/employee code etc., or by reference to criteria i.e. age job type, credit history etc. relating to individuals so that specific information relating to an individual is readily accessible.
4.17.10 SENSITIVE DATA
Means data pertaining to: racial or ethnic origin; religions or similar beliefs; trade union membership; physical or mental health or sexual life; political options; criminal offices. This data may only be held in strictly defined situations or where explicit consent has been obtained.
4.17.11 SUBJECT ACCESS
The right of individuals to have access to the data about them and any other related information
4.17.12 THIRD PARTY
Any person other than the firm or its staff, data subject, or data processor
Firms have a responsibility under FCA Regulations to put in place systems and controls that keep the data of customers secure whilst also minimising the risks of data loss. The nature of the steps that firms will be expected to take will depend on the size, complexity and nature of the services that the firm provides. We recommend that firms seek expert advice about both assessing their data security risks and formulating appropriate policies, as these will be unique to individual firms.
Example of policies that firms could be expected to implement in order to comply with the above include but are not limited to requirements that:
A personal data breach means a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data. This includes breaches that are the result of both accidental and deliberate causes. It also means that a breach is more than just about losing personal data.
A personal data breach can be broadly defined as a security incident that has affected the confidentiality, integrity or availability of personal data. In short, there will be a personal data breach whenever any personal data is lost, destroyed, corrupted or disclosed; if someone accesses the data or passes it on without proper authorisation; or if the data is made unavailable and this unavailability has a significant negative effect on individuals.
When a personal data breach has occurred, we will need to establish the likelihood and severity of the resulting risk to people’s rights and freedoms. If it’s likely that there will be a risk then we must notify the ICO; if it’s unlikely then we don’t have to report it. However, if we decide we don’t need to report the breach, we need to be able to justify this decision and we must document it.
If we determine that we need to report the data breach to the ICO then we must do so within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach. If the breach is likely to result in a high risk of adversely affecting individuals’ rights and freedoms, then we must also inform those individuals without undue delay.