Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Oakdale Accountancy Services ("we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, and discloses your personal information when you use our website or services. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring you are fully informed about how we handle your data.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of personal information:

1.1 Information you provide to us:

• Contact information (such as name, email address, phone number, postal address)
• Business information (such as company name, job title, business address)
• Financial information necessary for our accounting services (such as bank account details, tax information, financial statements)
• Identity verification information (such as copies of government-issued ID, when required for legal compliance)
• Information you provide when you communicate with us (such as inquiries, feedback, or support requests)

1.2 Information we collect automatically:

• Usage data (such as IP address, browser type, pages visited on our website, time and date of visit)
• Device information (such as device type, operating system)
• Cookies and similar technologies (as described in our Cookie Policy)

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• To provide and improve our accounting services
• To process transactions and manage your account
• To communicate with you about our services, including sending invoices, service updates, and marketing communications (where permitted)
• To respond to your inquiries and provide customer support
• To comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including tax laws and anti-money laundering regulations
• To detect and prevent fraud and other illegal activities
• To analyze and improve our website and services
• To protect our legal rights and interests

3. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information based on one or more of the following legal grounds:

• Performance of a contract when we provide you with our services
• Our legitimate interests in operating and improving our business
• Your consent, where we have requested it
• Compliance with our legal obligations

4. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We may share your personal information with:

• Service providers who assist us in operating our business (such as cloud storage providers, email service providers, and payment processors)
• Legal and regulatory authorities when required by law
• Professional advisors, such as lawyers, bankers, auditors, and insurers
• A successor entity in the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or part of our business

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

5. International Data Transfers

We may transfer your personal information to countries outside the United Kingdom (UK) and European Economic Area (EEA). Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the UK or EEA, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by implementing appropriate safeguards, such as:

• Transferring data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data by the UK or European Commission
• Using specific contracts approved by the UK or European Commission which give personal data the same protection it has in the UK and Europe

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures include:

• Encryption of sensitive data
• Regular security assessments and penetration testing
• Access controls and authentication procedures
• Employee training on data protection and security
• Physical security measures for our offices and IT infrastructure

While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection laws, you have rights in relation to your personal data that include the right to:

• Request access to your personal data
• Request correction of your personal data
• Request erasure of your personal data
• Object to processing of your personal data
• Request restriction of processing your personal data
• Request transfer of your personal data
• Withdraw consent

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in the "Contact Us" section below. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it.

8. Retention of Information

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. The criteria used to determine our retention periods include:

• The length of time we have an ongoing relationship with you and provide services to you
• Whether there is a legal obligation to which we are subject (for example, certain laws require us to keep records of your transactions for a certain period of time before we can delete them)
• Whether retention is advisable in light of our legal position (such as in regard to applicable statutes of limitations, litigation or regulatory investigations)

9. Children's Privacy

Our services are not intended for use by children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under age 16 without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or if you would like to exercise any of your data protection rights, please contact us at:

Oakdale Accountancy Services, Office 1 Oaks Business Park, Oaks Lane, Barnsley S71 1HT, United Kingdom

Email: info@oakdaleaccountancy.co.uk

Phone: 01226 899128

If you have unresolved concerns, you have the right to complain to a data protection authority. In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which can be contacted at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/.