Arch Covert Investigations

PRIVACY & DATA

Privacy Policy.

How Arch Covert Investigations collects, uses, stores and protects personal information.

1. About this Privacy Notice

Arch Covert Investigations is the trading name of Arch Consultancy Ltd (“we”, “us” or “our”).

We provide private investigation, surveillance and related investigative services to individuals, solicitors, insurers, businesses and other organisations.

This Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information when you contact us, use our services, provide information to us, or when we obtain information about you as part of an investigation.

We take the privacy and security of personal information seriously and process personal information in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation.

This notice is intended to provide clear information about how we handle personal data. In some circumstances, particularly where an investigation could be prejudiced by disclosure, we may be legally entitled to delay or limit certain information that would otherwise normally be provided to an individual.

2. Who is responsible for your personal information?

The organisation responsible for your personal information is:

Arch Consultancy Ltd

Trading as Arch Covert Investigations

Company number: 15584056

Registered office: 28 Alexandra Terrace, Exmouth, Devon EX8 1BD

Email: info@archcovert.co.uk

Website: www.archcovert.co.uk

For general enquiries about how we use personal information, please contact us using the details above.

We are responsible for deciding how and why personal information is processed in connection with our business and investigative services.

3. What personal information do we collect?

Depending on the circumstances, we may collect and process information including:

Information you provide to us

This may include:

  • your name;
  • address;
  • telephone number;
  • email address;
  • details of your enquiry;
  • information about the circumstances giving rise to an investigation;
  • information about other individuals relevant to the investigation;
  • photographs, documents or other material you provide;
  • information concerning dates, locations, vehicles, addresses or other relevant circumstances;
  • information relating to a legal dispute, insurance claim or other matter;
  • payment and invoicing information; and
  • any other information you voluntarily provide to us.

Information obtained during an investigation

Where appropriate and lawful, we may collect information from sources other than the person concerned.

This may include information obtained from:

  • our client;
  • publicly available sources;
  • social media and websites;
  • public records and databases;
  • witnesses or other individuals;
  • businesses and organisations;
  • photographs or video recordings;
  • information observed during surveillance;
  • documents or other evidence;
  • third-party service providers; and
  • other lawful sources relevant to the investigation.

We will only collect and use information that is relevant and proportionate to the purpose for which it is being processed.

4. Why do we use personal information?

We may use personal information for purposes including:

  • responding to enquiries;
  • assessing whether we are able to undertake an investigation;
  • establishing the requirements and objectives of an investigation;
  • providing private investigation and surveillance services;
  • conducting investigations and gathering evidence;
  • preparing investigation reports;
  • communicating with clients and relevant professional representatives;
  • communicating with solicitors, insurers, businesses or other organisations where appropriate;
  • administering contracts and providing services;
  • issuing invoices and processing payments;
  • complying with legal and regulatory obligations;
  • establishing, exercising or defending legal claims;
  • protecting our business, clients and others against fraud or unlawful activity;
  • maintaining appropriate business records; and
  • dealing with complaints or disputes.

We may also process information where necessary to protect our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by an individual’s rights and freedoms.

The ICO recognises legitimate interests as one of the lawful bases available to organisations under UK data protection law, subject to an appropriate balancing assessment.

5. Our lawful bases for processing

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases under UK data protection law:

Contract

We may process personal information where this is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you.

For example, we may need to process your contact details and investigation instructions in order to provide services to you.

Legitimate interests

We may process personal information where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, or those of a client or another relevant party, and those interests are not overridden by the individual’s rights and freedoms.

This may apply when conducting investigations, assessing enquiries, communicating with clients, protecting our business or establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

Legal obligation

We may process personal information where necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.

Consent

In circumstances where consent is the appropriate lawful basis, we will seek consent where required.

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that took place before consent was withdrawn.

Legal claims and other lawful purposes

We may also process personal information where this is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or otherwise permitted or required by applicable law.

The lawful basis used will depend upon the circumstances and the nature of the information being processed.

6. Investigations and surveillance

Our services may involve discreet enquiries, surveillance, photography, video recording, information gathering and other investigative activities.

Where we conduct an investigation, we will seek to ensure that the collection and use of personal information is relevant, necessary and proportionate to the investigative purpose.

Where information is obtained about an individual who is not our client, that information may nevertheless be processed where there is a lawful basis for doing so.

We do not undertake investigations simply because information is available. We consider the purpose of the investigation, the relevance of the information being sought and the proportionality of the investigative activity.

In certain circumstances, providing information to an individual about the processing of their personal data, or responding to a request for information, could reveal or prejudice an ongoing investigation. Where an applicable legal exemption applies, we may therefore withhold, restrict or delay information to the extent permitted by law.

This does not mean that investigations are automatically exempt from data protection law. We will consider the circumstances of each case individually.

7. Special category and criminal offence information

Some investigations may involve information that is considered particularly sensitive under data protection law.

This can include information concerning:

  • health;
  • sex life or sexual orientation;
  • racial or ethnic origin;
  • religious or philosophical beliefs;
  • political opinions;
  • trade union membership; and
  • biometric or genetic information where applicable.

Investigations may also involve information relating to criminal offences, alleged offences or criminal convictions.

We will only process this type of information where we have an appropriate lawful basis and any additional condition required under applicable data protection legislation.

Where required, we maintain appropriate internal policies and safeguards concerning the processing, security, retention and deletion of such information.

8. Where does information come from?

We may obtain personal information directly from you, for example when you:

  • contact us by telephone or email;
  • complete our online enquiry form;
  • instruct us to undertake an investigation;
  • provide documents or other evidence; or
  • communicate with us during an investigation.

We may also obtain information from other sources where appropriate and lawful.

These sources may include publicly available information, clients, witnesses, professional advisers, organisations, databases, websites, social media and other sources relevant to an investigation.

Where we obtain information from another source, we will comply with applicable data protection requirements concerning transparency and the provision of privacy information.

In some investigative circumstances, an applicable legal exemption may mean that information normally provided to an individual does not have to be provided immediately, particularly where doing so could prejudice the investigation.

9. Who may we share personal information with?

We treat information relating to our clients and investigations as confidential.

Depending on the nature of the work, personal information may be shared where necessary and lawful with:

  • our client;
  • solicitors and legal representatives;
  • insurers and claims handlers;
  • businesses or organisations instructing us;
  • courts and tribunals;
  • law enforcement agencies;
  • regulatory or governmental authorities;
  • professional advisers;
  • expert witnesses or other specialists;
  • insurers or other relevant parties;
  • service providers who assist us with the operation of our business; and
  • other persons where disclosure is necessary, lawful and proportionate.

We will not sell personal information to third parties.

We will not disclose information simply because somebody asks for it. Where disclosure is made, we will consider whether there is an appropriate lawful basis and whether the disclosure is necessary and proportionate.

10. Confidentiality

Confidentiality is an important part of our service.

Information provided to us by a client will normally be treated as confidential and will only be disclosed where appropriate and lawful.

However, confidentiality does not create an absolute prohibition on disclosure.

Information may need to be disclosed where:

  • the client authorises disclosure;
  • disclosure is necessary to provide the contracted service;
  • disclosure is required by law;
  • disclosure is required by a court or other competent authority;
  • disclosure is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal rights;
  • disclosure is necessary to prevent or detect unlawful activity; or
  • disclosure is otherwise permitted by applicable law.

11. Photography and video recording

Investigative work may involve the collection of photographs or video recordings.

Where such material is collected, it will normally form part of the investigative record and may be retained as evidence supporting an investigation.

Photographs and recordings will be handled securely and will only be used or disclosed for purposes connected with the investigation, the provision of our services, legal or regulatory requirements, or other lawful purposes.

12. Online enquiry forms

We may use an online form provider, including Jotform, to collect initial enquiry information.

Information submitted through an online enquiry form is used to assess and respond to the enquiry and, where appropriate, to establish whether investigative services can be provided.

The information submitted through the form may contain personal information and should therefore be completed only where you are comfortable providing the information necessary for us to assess your enquiry.

We use appropriate security measures and rely on our service providers to maintain appropriate safeguards for information processed through their systems.

Where a third-party service provider processes information on our behalf, we require appropriate contractual and data protection safeguards where applicable.

13. Third-party service providers

We may use trusted third-party providers to operate aspects of our business.

These may include providers of:

  • website hosting;
  • online enquiry forms;
  • email and communications;
  • cloud storage and document management;
  • accounting and bookkeeping;
  • payment processing;
  • IT and security services; and
  • other business administration services.

These providers may process personal information on our behalf where necessary to provide their services.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that third-party providers handling personal information provide appropriate security and comply with applicable data protection requirements.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that the transfer is made in accordance with applicable UK data protection law and that appropriate safeguards are in place where required.

14. How do we protect personal information?

We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

  • unauthorised access;
  • accidental loss;
  • destruction;
  • alteration;
  • disclosure; and
  • other unauthorised or unlawful processing.

The measures we use will depend on the nature and sensitivity of the information and may include access controls, passwords, secure devices, secure storage, appropriate software protections and controlled access to investigative material.

No method of electronic transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure. However, we take reasonable steps to reduce the risks associated with the handling of personal information.

15. How long do we keep personal information?

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including where necessary to:

  • provide our services;
  • maintain appropriate business and financial records;
  • establish, exercise or defend legal claims;
  • comply with legal or regulatory requirements;
  • deal with complaints or disputes; or
  • demonstrate compliance with our legal obligations.

The appropriate retention period will depend on the nature of the information and the circumstances of the matter.

Investigation records may need to be retained for longer than routine enquiry information where this is reasonably necessary because of the nature of the investigation, potential legal proceedings, contractual requirements or other legitimate purposes.

When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, destroyed or otherwise disposed of.

16. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and subject to applicable legal exemptions, you may have rights under UK data protection law including:

  • the right to be informed about how your personal information is used;
  • the right to request access to personal information we hold about you;
  • the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
  • the right to request deletion of personal information in certain circumstances;
  • the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;
  • the right to object to certain processing, including processing based on legitimate interests; and
  • the right to data portability in circumstances where that right applies.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal conditions and exemptions.

For example, in certain circumstances an organisation may be entitled to restrict or refuse a request where complying with it would prejudice the prevention or detection of crime, legal proceedings or another legally protected purpose.

If you wish to exercise a data protection right, please contact us using the contact details in section 2.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.

17. Subject access requests

You may ask us to provide a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

This is known as a Subject Access Request (SAR).

We will deal with requests in accordance with applicable data protection law.

In certain circumstances, information may be withheld where a legal exemption applies.

Where information forms part of an ongoing investigation, we will consider whether disclosure would be lawful and whether any applicable exemption permits us to restrict or withhold the information.

18. Complaints

If you have concerns about the way we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to investigate and resolve your concerns.

You also have the right to complain directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

The ICO is the UK’s independent supervisory authority for data protection.

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Website: https://ico.org.uk/

19. Automated decision-making and profiling

We do not currently use personal information to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on individuals.

We do not currently carry out automated profiling for investigative decision-making.

If this changes, we will update this Privacy Notice where required.

20. Cookies and website information

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies for purposes such as ensuring that the website operates correctly, understanding website usage and improving our services.

The use of cookies will depend on the configuration of our website and the services used on it.

Where consent is required for non-essential cookies or similar technologies, we will seek that consent in accordance with applicable law.

21. Changes to this Privacy Notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes to our services, the way we process personal information, our service providers, or changes in applicable data protection law.

The latest version will be made available on our website.

We recommend checking this page periodically for any updates.