Privacy Policy

IFA Advice Ltd – Privacy Notice

At IFA Advice Ltd, we value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This notice explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our services or website, and outlines your rights under UK data protection laws. We only collect data necessary to provide our services, such as connecting you with independent financial advisers (IFAs), improving our website, or meeting legal obligations. You can contact us at any time to exercise your rights or ask questions.

1. Introduction
   IFA Advice Ltd (“we”, “our”, “us”, “the Company”) is committed to protecting your privacy and processing your personal data transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. As a data controller, we determine how and why your personal data is collected, used, and protected. This privacy notice explains our practices, your rights, and how to contact us.

We are registered in England and Wales (Company Number: 16022759) with our registered office at Advice House, Lake Road, Hamworthy, Poole, Dorset, BH15 4LL. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under registration number ZB922347.

This notice applies to all products, services, and websites offered by IFA Advice Ltd or its subsidiaries. If you have questions, please contact us at enquiries@IFAadvice.co.uk, call 0800 316 1811, or write to The Data Controller, Advice House, Lake Road, Hamworthy, Poole, Dorset, BH15 4LL.

2. Our Commitment to Data Protection Principles
   We comply with UK data protection laws, ensuring your personal data is:

• Processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently;
• Collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and not used in ways incompatible with those purposes;
• Adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary;
• Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date;
• Retained only for as long as necessary for the stated purposes; and
• Protected with appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure security.

3. What Personal Data We Collect
   We may collect and process the following categories of personal data, depending on the services you use:

• Identity and Contact Data: Name, address, telephone number, email address, and other contact details.
• Financial Data: Information about your financial circumstances or requirements for IFA services, which may be special category data under UK GDPR, requiring additional safeguards.
• Technical Data: Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, browser language, date and time of your request, and interactions with our website or services.
• Usage Data: Details of your engagement with our services, such as web requests or preferences.
• Location Data: Information from location-based services or mapping applications, where relevant.

We only collect data necessary for the purposes outlined in this notice and ensure special category data (e.g., financial details) is processed with explicit consent or other lawful grounds.

4. How We Collect Your Personal Data
   We collect your personal data through:

• Direct Interactions: When you provide information by signing up for an account, completing forms, or contacting us.
• Automated Technologies: Through cookies and similar technologies that collect technical and usage data (see section 6 for details).
• Third-Party Sources: From trusted partners, such as analytics providers or location-based services, where you have consented or where permitted by law.

All collection methods comply with UK GDPR and PECR.

5. Why We Process Your Personal Data
   We process your personal data for the following purposes, based on the legal grounds permitted by UK GDPR:

• To Fulfil Our Contract with You: To register you as a client, process enquiries, provide IFA referral services, and manage our relationship (e.g., notifying you of service changes or requesting feedback).
• To Comply with Legal Obligations: To meet regulatory requirements, such as financial record-keeping or reporting.
• To Pursue Legitimate Interests: To improve our services, administer and protect our website, conduct surveys to assess IFA referrals, and personalise your website experience, provided your rights do not override these interests.
• With Your Consent: To send promotional emails about new products, special offers, or market research. You may withdraw consent at any time via the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting us.

If you fail to provide required data, we may be unable to provide our services, and we will notify you if this occurs. We will only use your data for the purposes stated unless we notify you of a compatible purpose or obtain your consent for a new purpose.

6. How We Use Cookies
   Cookies are small text files placed on your device to enhance your website experience. We use:

• Essential Cookies: To enable core functionality, such as processing transactions. These do not require consent under PECR

7. How We Share Your Personal Data
   We only share your personal data in the following circumstances:

• With Your Consent: For example, when sharing your data with an IFA to facilitate a requested referral.
• With Trusted Partners: To subsidiaries, affiliates, or service providers (e.g., IT or analytics providers) acting as data processors under strict contractual terms, ensuring compliance with UK GDPR.
• For Legal Reasons: To comply with legal obligations, enforce our Terms of Service, address fraud or security issues, or protect the rights, property, or safety of the Company, our users, or the public.
• In Business Transfers: If we undergo a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, we will ensure confidentiality and notify you before transferring your data to a new privacy policy.

All third parties are required to process your data securely and only for the specified purposes. Special category data (e.g., financial details) is only shared with your explicit consent.

Any third parties will be bound by contractual provisions with us and only have access to personal data to perform the described purposes and may not use it for other purposes. Further, they must process the personal data in accordance with this Privacy Policy and as permitted by the GDPR, the Data Protection Act 1998 and subsequently the Data Protection Act 2018 (subject to royal assent), the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 and the E-Privacy Regulations when it comes into effect.

8. Security of Your Personal Data
   We implement robust technical and organisational measures, including encryption, access controls, and regular security assessments, to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure. In the event of a suspected data breach, we will notify you and the ICO within 72 hours, where required by law. Our website may contain links to third-party sites, which are not governed by this notice. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, so please review their policies.

9. How Long We Keep Your Personal Data
   We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this notice, including meeting legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods vary based on the data’s nature, sensitivity, and purpose. For example, client financial data may be retained for up to 6 years to comply with financial regulations. You can request our full retention policy by contacting us at enquiries@IFAadvice.co.uk.

10. Your Rights Over Your Personal Data Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data.
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure: Request deletion of your data where there is no lawful reason to retain it.
• Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
• Restriction: Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances.
• Data Portability: Request transfer of your data to another party.
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for specific processing (e.g., marketing) at any time.

To exercise these rights, contact us at enquiries@IFAadvice.co.uk or write to The Data Controller, Advice House, Lake Road, Hamworthy, Poole, Dorset, BH15 4LL. We may verify your identity to ensure security. No fee is usually required, but we may charge a reasonable fee for unfounded or excessive requests or refuse to comply in such cases. You may also complain to the ICO (see section 11).

11. Contact Us and Complaints
    For questions, to exercise your rights, or to raise concerns, contact us at enquiries@IFAadvice.co.uk, call 0800 316 1811, or write to The Data Controller, Advice House, Lake Road, Hamworthy, Poole, Dorset, BH15 4LL. We take complaints seriously and will respond promptly. You may also lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, by calling 0303 123 1113, or via www.ico.org.uk.

12. Changes to This Privacy Notice

We may update this notice to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of significant changes via our website or by email. This notice is effective from 17th June 2025. Please check our privacy statement periodically for updates.