Privacy Notice - Sundry Debt

Who we are, and what we do

For some services that Spelthorne Borough Council provides charges are required by legislation - for example: Council Tax and Business Rates.  Charges for other services are required under contract - for example: Provision of garden waste collection, Meals on wheels and Span.

Where services incur a charge we have a legal duty to recover these costs from you. These are known as 'sundry debts'.

Further information about how the council uses personal information to recover the costs can be found in this notice.

What and whose personal information we hold

We hold information about past and present customers who have received a chargeable service by the council.

The types of information we hold will typically include:

• Contact details, including name, address, telephone numbers and email address
• Financial details such as bank account number if you pay by direct debit
• Details of the service you have been provided with i.e. dates of service, location of service
  • transactional data including payments to and from you
  • information about medical or health conditions, including whether you have a disability
  • details of third parties authorised to act on your behalf
• financial details obtained from Credit Reference Agencies, such as Experian Ltd or Ascendant Solution, but only after the debt becomes overdue

In addition, in relation to housing benefit overpayments we collect the following information:

• employment status and information, including your national insurance number
• housing benefit records; We collect this information in a variety of ways. For example, data is collected through application forms and correspondence with you
• Household expenditure if you have arrears and have made special payment arrangements with the Council
• Details about your employer and earnings if you have arrears, in order that the debt can be recovered directly from your salary

Where does the service get my information from?

The personal information we collect about you can come from a variety of different sources as listed below:

• information provided directly by you, for example, when you register for a rechargeable service
• information generated by us when we raise the invoice and recover the money
• information from other council services - in order that the invoice can be raised and money recovered

Information provided by trusted third party organisations who we work closely with or provide services on our behalf e.g. Department of Work and Pensions, bailiff, courts.

What we will do with your personal information?

We will use this personal information to administer and collect sundry debts. This may include any of the following:

• raising the invoice
• sending you reminders and taking recovery action in the event of non-payment
• undertaking a means assessment if you are experiencing difficulty in paying
• recovering any monies owed in line with our legal powers, for example take you to court, refer the debt to the enforcement agents for collection
• deducting payments direct from your employer or social security benefit where we have a court order that enables us to do so
• dealing with complaints or concerns
• recovering money owed from other council services where you are due a payment

What is the legal basis for the use of this information?

Data Protection law says that we are allowed to use and share personal information only where we have a proper and lawful reason for doing so.

Our lawful basis for processing this information for the above purpose is:

we have a legal obligation under Local Government Act 1972 and Social Security and Administration Act 1992 to process your personal information for the purposes of collecting sundry debts and housing benefit overpayments

Does the service share my personal information with any other organisation?

From time to time, we will share your personal information with advisers and service providers so that they can help us carry out our duties, rights and discretions in relation to sundry debts. These may include:

• internal council services so that we can raise the invoice for the rechargeable service and recover the debt
• government agencies and organisations such as:
  • Her Majesties Court Services - to recover unpaid debts / invoices
  • The Department for Work and Pensions - to recover overpayment of housing benefits / direct deduction form social security benefits
  • The Cabinet Office - for the purposes of the National Fraud Initiative.
• payment processing providers:
  • Banking Automated Clearing Service (BACS) - to administer direct debit instructions and payments.
• trusted third party suppliers and organisations who provide services on our behalf:
  • enforcement agents - to enforce court orders in relation to unpaid debts
• others:
  • your employer - to recover monies owed directly from your employer where there is a Court Order

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 and data protection laws.

They are also obliged to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the security of data.

How long will my information be kept?

We keep your personal information for 7 years from the last action relating to sundry debt.

Your rights 

You have the following rights: 

• you have the right to be informed via Privacy Notices such as this,
• you have the right to request access to and to receive a copy of any information we hold about you (including in an electronic format) - to request a copy of this information you must make a request in writing (known as a subject access request), 
• if you find that the information the council holds about you is no longer accurate, you have the right to ask to have this corrected,
• you have the right - under certain conditions - to ask us to erase your personal data,
• you may request that SBC stops processing your personal data in relation to any council service (this may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you, we will seek to comply with your request but may be required to hold or process information to comply with our legal duties).

To exercise any of these rights contact the Data Protection Officer.  The Data Protection Officer manages the Council's compliance with Data Protection legislation by providing advice, guidance and training on the handling and sharing of personal information. 

Spelthorne Borough Council's Data Protection Officer may be contacted by emailing Data.Protection@spelthorne.gov.uk or by writing to the Data Protection Officer at Spelthorne Borough Council, Council Offices, Knowle Green, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 1XB. 

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This is an independent body responsible for making sure that organisations comply with Data Protection legislation. 

The ICO will always expect you to have raised your concerns with us before submitting a complaint.