Privacy notice - Coventry Independent Advice Service

Who we are

Coventry Independent Advice Service (CIAS) is a charity providing free, confidential advice on benefits and debt.

Coventry Independent Advice Service (CIAS) is the Data Controller responsible for the personal information described in this Privacy notice.

What information we collect

To help with your enquiry, we collect personal information such as:

Name, address, contact details
Date of birth
Financial and housing information

We may also collect sensitive (special category) information, such as:

Health information
Ethnicity
Other personal circumstances

How we use your information

We use your information to:

Provide advice and support
Manage your case and keep records
Contact third parties on your behalf
Refer you to other organisations
Monitor, evaluate and improve our services, including conducting client satisfaction surveys and seeking feedback.
Meet legal and safeguarding obligations

Our legal basis

We process your information because:

It is necessary to provide advice and support.
It is in our legitimate interests to manage, monitor, evaluate and improve our services.
We must comply with legal and regulatory obligations.

Where we process special category information (such as health information or ethnicity), we do so because it is necessary for the provision of advice and support, safeguarding, or other reasons permitted by data protection law.

When we use consent

We will only rely on your consent where you have a genuine choice, for example:

Sending information about services or activities where consent is required
Taking part in specific research projects where consent is appropriate.

Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

How we store your information

Your case is stored securely in our case management system (AdvicePro), hosted in the UK and compliant with recognised security standards. We limit access to staff and volunteers who need it.

How long we keep your data

Case records: 6 years
Serious complaints/claims: up to 16 years
Website chat/WhatsApp enquiries: retained on those platforms for up to 90 days before deletion. Information relevant to your case may be transferred to our case management system and retained in line with our case record retention period.

Sharing your information

We may share your information:

With organisations involved in your case
With quality assessors (e.g. AQS)
With funders (usually anonymised)

We only share what is necessary and never sell your data.

Referrals

If we refer you to another organisation, we will share relevant information to avoid you repeating your story.

WhatsApp and online contact

If you contact us via WhatsApp or online chat:

These are third-party platforms
Information may be temporarily stored there
We transfer relevant data securely to our systems

Website cookies and analytics

When you visit our website, some information may be collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help websites function properly and provide information about how visitors use a website.

We may use:

Necessary cookies required for the operation and security of the website
Analytics cookies to help us understand how visitors use our website and improve our services
Third-party cookies provided by external services that are integrated into our website

Where required by law, we will ask for your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device.

You can manage or withdraw your cookie preferences at any time through our website’s cookie settings or through your browser settings.

Website information collected by Third Parties

Some services available through our website are provided by third parties. These organisations may collect information directly from you or automatically when you use the service.

Examples may include:

Website hosting providers
Website analytics services (such as Google Analytics)
Online chat services
WhatsApp links or communication tools
Video platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo
Mapping services such as Google Maps

These third parties act under their own privacy policies and cookie policies. We recommend reviewing their privacy notices for further information about how they process your information.

We do not control the information collected by these third-party services.

Website usage information

We may receive information about how visitors use our website, including:

IP address
Browser type and device information
Pages visited
Date and time of visits
Referring website addresses

This information is generally used to improve website performance, monitor security, and understand how our services are being used. Where possible, this information is aggregated and anonymised.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors use our website and improve our services. Google Analytics may collect information including:

Pages visited
Time spent on the website
Device and browser information
Approximate location information based on IP address

Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies. We only use Google Analytics where the appropriate cookie consent has been given.

For more information about how Google processes personal information, please visit: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Your rights

You have the right to:

Access your personal information
Ask us to correct inaccurate information
Request deletion of information in certain circumstances
Object to or restrict how we use your information
Request a copy of information you have provided to us
Withdraw consent where we rely on consent

To make a request, contact: info@covadvice.org.uk

Complaints

If you are concerned about how we use your data, please contact us first:
📧 info@covadvice.org.uk
We will investigate and respond as soon as possible.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): https://www.ico.org.uk