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Privacy Policy

Cotswold Vehicle Hire understands that our website visitors are concerned about what information is collected about them and how it is used.  Therefore, we have committed ourselves to protect your privacy when you use our website and ensure that any information that comes to us is kept secure and confidential and is used only for the purposes for which it was provided, so you won't need to play hide and seek from anyone following a visit to our website or submitting your details on it.
 
1: Personal Information
 
Cotswold Vehicle Hire does not automatically collect or store personal information about you when you access our website.  If, however, you complete our contact form or send us an email enquiry, we may collect information from you in order to deal with that enquiry.  This information may include your name, postal address, email address and telephone number. 
 
We have made every effort to ensure that your enquiry can be sent directly to the person that can assist you.  If for any reason that person is unable to assist, he or she may need to pass certain information to another member of staff or department within the company to help in closing your enquiry. 
 
2: What may be done with the personal information we collect from you?
 
Cotswold Vehicle Hire will only hold your personal information for the purpose of dealing with your enquiry and we will only hold it for as long as is necessary to complete the enquiry. 


We will keep your personal information as safe and secure as reasonably possible and will endeavour to protect it from loss and unauthorised access or disclosure.

Cotswold Vehicle Hire will not pass on your personal information to any third party.
 
3: What happens if we change our Privacy Policy?
 
If we require to make changes to our Privacy Policy, the changes can be found here.  If for any reason we need to use your personal information in a different way to how we have described in our Privacy Policy, we will ask for your consent before doing so.

 

 

Data Protection Policy

 

Introduction

Cotswold Vehicle Hire and all group undertakings (“the company”) gathers and uses certain information about individuals, businesses as part of its day to day business. These include customers, suppliers, business contacts, employees and other people the organisation has a relationship with or may need to contact. This policy describes how this personal data must be collected, handled and stored to meet the company’s data protection standards – and to comply with the law.

 

Why this policy exists:

This data protection policy ensures Red Lemon;

• Complies with data protection law and follows good practice;

• Protects the rights of staff, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders;

• Is open to how it stores and processes individuals’ data; 

• Protects itself from the risks of a data breach.

 

Data Protection Law:

The Data Protection Act 1998 describes how organisations must collect, handle and store personal information. These rules apply regardless of whether data is stored electronically, on paper or on other materials. To comply with the law, personal information must be collected and used fairly, stored safely and not disclosed unlawfully. The Data Protection Act is underpinned by eight important principles. These say that personal data must:

• Be processed fairly and lawfully;

• Be obtained only for specific, lawful purposes;

• Be adequate, relevant and not excessive;

• Be accurate and kept up to date;

• Not be held for any longer than necessary;

• Processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects;

• Be protected in appropriate ways;

• Not be transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA), unless that country or territory also ensures an adequate level of protection.

 

People, Risks & Responsibilities

Policy Scope:

This policy applies to:

• The head office of Cotswold Vehicle Hire;

• All depots of Cotswold Vehicle Hire;

• All employees of Cotswold Vehicle Hire;

• All contractors, suppliers and other people working on behalf of Cotswold Vehicle Hire.

 

It applies to all data that the company holds relating to identifiable individuals, even if that information technically falls outside of the Data Protection Act 1998. This can include, but is not limited to: 

• Names of individuals;

• Postal addresses;

• Email addresses;

• Telephone numbers;

• Bank account and credit card details.

 

Data Protection Risks:

This policy helps to protect Red Lemon from some data security risks, including:

• Breaches of confidentiality – i.e. Information being given out inappropriately;

• Failing to offer choice – i.e. All individuals should be free to choose how the company uses data relating to them;

• Reputational damage – i.e. The company could suffer if hackers successfully gained access to sensitive data.

 

Responsibilities:

Everyone who works for or with Red Lemon has some responsibility for ensuring data is collected, stored and handled appropriately. Each team that handles personal data must ensure that it is handled and processed in line with this policy and data protection principles. However, the following people have key areas of responsibility: 

• The board of directors is ultimately responsible for ensuring that Cotswold Vehicle Hire meets its legal obligations;

• The Data Protection Officer(s) are responsible for: Keeping the board updated about data protection responsibilities, risks, and issues. Reviewing all data protection procedures and related policies, in line with an agreed schedule. Arranging data protection training and advice for the people covered by this policy. Handling data protection questions from staff and anyone else covered by this policy. Dealing with requests from individuals to see the data Red Lemon holds about them (also called ‘subject access requests’). Checking and approving any contracts or agreements with third parties that may handle the company’s sensitive data.

 

The IT Officer is responsible for: 

Ensuring all systems, services, and equipment used for storing data meet acceptable security standards.

Performing regular checks and scans to ensure security hardware and software is functioning properly. 

Evaluating any third-party services used to store or process data. For instance, cloud computing services.

 

The Marketing Manager is responsible for: 

Approving any data protection statements attached to communications such as emails and letters. Addressing any data protection queries from journalist or media outlets like newspapers. Where necessary, working with other staff to ensure marketing initiatives abide by data protection principles

 

General Staff Guidelines

The only people able to access data covered by this policy should be those who need it for their role;

• Data should not be shared informally. When access to confidential information is required, employees can request it from their line manager;

• Red Lemon will provide training to all employees to help them understand their responsibilities when handling data;

• Employees should keep all data secure, by taking sensible precautions and following the guidelines below;

• In particular, strong passwords must be used and they should NEVER be shared;

• Personal data should not be disclosed to unauthorised people, either within the company or externally;

• Data should be regularly reviewed and updated if it is found to be out of date. If no longer required, it should be deleted and disposed of;

• Employees should request help from their line manager or the Data Protection Officer, if they are unsure about any aspect of data protection.

 

Data Storage

These rules describe how and where data should be safely stored. Questions about storing data safely can be directed to the IT Officer, or Data Protection Officer(s). When data is stored on paper, it should be kept in a secure place where unauthorised people cannot see or access it. These guidelines also apply to data that is usually stored electronically but has been printed out for any reason:

• When not required, the paper file should be kept in a locked drawer or filing cabinet;

• Employees should make sure paper and printouts are not left where unauthorised people could see them;

• Data printouts should be shredded and disposed of securely when no longer required.  When data is stored electronically, it must be protected from unauthorised access, accidental deletion, and malicious hacking attempts:

• Data should be protected by strong passwords that are changed regularly and never shared between employees;

• If data is stored on removable media (like a CD or DVD), these should be kept locked away securely when not being used;

• Data should only be stored on designated drives and servers, and should only be uploaded to approved cloud computing services;

• Servers containing personal data should be sited in a secure location, away from general office space;

• Data should be backed up frequently. Those backups should be tested regularly, in line with the company’s standard backup procedures;

• Data should never be saved locally to laptops or other mobile devices like tablets or smartphones;

• All servers and computers containing data should be protected by approved security software and a firewall.

 

Data Use

It is when personal data is accessed and used that it can be at the greatest risk of loss, corruption or theft:

• When working with personal data, employees should ensure the screens of their computers and laptops are always locked when left unattended;

• Personal data should not be shared informally. In particular, it should never be sent by email, as this form of communication is not secure;

• Data must be encrypted before being transferred electronically. The IT Officer can explain how to send data to authorised external contacts;

• Personal data should never be transferred outside of the European Economic Area;

• Employees should not save copies of personal data to their own computers. Always access and update the central copy of any data.

 

Data Accuracy

The law requires Cotswold Vehicle Hire to take reasonable steps to ensure data is kept accurate and up to date. It is the responsibility of all employees who work with data to take reasonable steps to ensure it is kept as accurate and up to date as possible;

• Data will be held in as few places as necessary. Staff should not create any unnecessary additional data sets;

• Staff should take every opportunity to ensure data is updated. For instance, by confirming a customer’s details when they call;

• Data should be updated as inaccuracies are discovered. For instance, if a customer can no longer be reached on their stored telephone number or email address, it should be removed from the database;

• It is the Marketing Managers responsibility to ensure marketing databases are checked against industry suppression files every six months.

 

Subject Access Requests

All individuals who are the subject of personal data held by Cotswold Vehicle Hire are entitled to:

• Ask what information the company holds about them and why;

• Ask how to gain access to it;

• Be informed how to keep it up to date;

• Be informed of how the company is meeting it's data protection obligations.  When an individual contacts the company requesting this information, this is called a ‘subject access request’.  Subject access requests from individuals should be made by email, addressed to the Data Protection Officer(s). The Data Protection Officer(s) can supply a standard request form, although individuals do not have to use this. The Data Protection Officer(s), will aim to provide the relevant data within 14 days. The Data Protection Officer(s) will always verify the identity of anyone making a ‘subject access request’. 

 

Disclosing Data for other Reasons

In certain circumstances, the Data Protection Act allows personal data to be disclosed to law enforcement agencies without the consent of the data subject. Under these circumstances, Red Lemon will disclose requested data. However, the Data Protection Officer(s), will ensure the request is legitimate, seeking assistance from the board and from the company’s legal advisers where necessary.

 

Providing Information

Cotswold Vehicle Hire aims to ensure that individuals are aware that their data is being processed, and that they understand:

• How the data is being used;

• How to exercise their rights.

To these ends, the company has a privacy statement, setting out how data relating to individuals is used by the company.

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