Read our full privacy policy here.

If you would like to receive a copy in a different format, please contact us.

What information we need and our legal reason for processing your data

The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland is a public body with the legal duty to safeguard and promote the interests of Northern Ireland consumers. If you contact us with a complaint about a service provider or just to seek information, we are acting in our statutory role when we process the personal data that you give us. 

The Consumer Council is the ‘Controller’ of the personal data that you provide to us which means we are responsible to make sure it is used correctly, stored securely and is accurate. We collect basic personal data such as your name, address, email and contact telephone number so that we can act on your behalf. 

Why we need certain information

We need to know your personal data in order to provide you with the services offered by the Consumer Council, such as dealing with complaints or enquiries on your behalf. We will not collect any personal data from you that we do not need in order to provide our services to you.

What we do with the information

The way we use your data will depend on the reason why it has been collected. For example, if you have contacted us regarding a complaint or enquiry about a service provider, we may share your information with the service provider or other relevant third parties, such as an industry regulator, when seeking to resolve your complaint. This could include your name, address and contact information. If you are contacting us about a complaint that relates to ‘special category data’ (such as a disability) then we may also share this information. We will only do so if it is relevant to the complaint you have raised. 

If you have signed up to our mailing service or to attend one of our events we will use your information so we can stay in touch with you.

All personal data that we process is processed by our staff in the UK, however for the purposes of IT hosting and maintenance this information is located on servers with third parties. We have a Data Protection regime in place to oversee the effective and secure processing of your personal data. 

How long we keep it

We are required to keep your personal data (name, address, contact details etc.) for five years in line with our retention and disposal schedule which has been agreed with the Public Records Office for Northern Ireland (PRONI).  After this time it will be destroyed. 

Your rights

You may request to see the information we hold about you and have it corrected or deleted if necessary free of charge. You can also ask us to stop using it. If you wish to exercise any of your rights or to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer, who will investigate the matter. Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dpo@consumercouncil.org.uk.

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are not processing your personal data in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).