Breathing space privacy policy
This page explains how Mental Health & Money Advice will handle your personal information. It also advises what you can do if you are unhappy about how we deal with this information.
How did you get my information?
You either passed your details to us directly to us or were referred to us by a healthcare professional or carer. An Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) should have either:
Sought your consent to pass your details to us,
Sought the consent of someone who can consent on your behalf such as a deputy or attorney, or
Made a decision that you did not have the capacity to consent but made a decision that it was in your best interests to pass your details to us.
Who has my information?
Your information is being held by Rethink Mental Illness who run Mental Health & Money Advice in England.
Rethink Mental Illness is a charitable incorporated organisation (number 1227970). You can contact Rethink Mental Illness in relation to your data using the following details:
Data Controller
Rethink Mental Illness
15th Floor
89 Albert Embankment
London
SE1 7TP
What information do you have about me?
We hold information about you so we can provide appropriate advice to help you. Some of this is personal and can be used to identify you, for example your name, date of birth, address, email address and phone number.
Other information may be sensitive, such as your mental health diagnosis, other health conditions and ethnicity. This is known as special category data.
If you have sent us information to help with your case, we will have a record of this.
What is my information being used for?
Your information will be used to make an application for a breathing space. A breathing space gives you respite from your debts if you are in a mental health crisis for the duration of that crisis. If you want advice from us on how to manage your debts when the breathing space ends, we will also use your information to provide accurate advice. It enables us to decide how we can assist you, and what other options might be helpful in improving your mental and financial health.
If you have given us permission, we may use your information when we contact third parties who can help you achieve your goals.
We also use anonymised information (with no personal details) for statistical purposes. This helps us to understand the range of people we are helping, identify any communities we are not reaching and also understand the range of different issues people are facing and what can be done to tackle these problems.
If you have given permission, your information may also be used to assess how effective the service is, and how it could be improved.
How are you making sure your use of my information is lawful?
We must have your explicit consent to record your data, including any information you have given us about your mental health. This consent is obtained by an Approved Mental Health Professional as described above.
The law allows your information to be collected and used if it is required for a legitimate business interest of ours. Its use must be fair, balanced, and not disproportionately impact on your rights.
We may use your information to ensure we give you the best possible advice and support, to help us to develop the quality of our service, and to comply with any legal requirements.
Are you sharing my information with anyone?
We will not share information without your permission, unless required to do so by law.
When we call you or if you call us, your call will be routed through a telephone system run by Call Handling. We do this so we can run a professional telephone service and it allows us to record and monitor calls for training and quality purposes. Your telephone number will therefore be shared with Call Handling. You can read about how they deal with your personal information on their website.
We record your details in a database provided by ACM solutions and AdviceUK. This is a secure database that only we have access to. You can read about how ACM solutions handle your personal data on their website.
We may also share information with other advice organisations who might be able to help you.
If we are helping you with an issue, we share your information with the agencies specified on the Authority to Process and Disclose form which was sent to you. If you have chosen to sign that, we can contact them about your case.
If you have given us permission to share details with other advice organisations, they may contact you by phone, email or letter to find out if you were satisfied with the service you received.
If you have given us permission to share your case file with Advice Quality Standard (AQS) assessors for quality monitoring, the information on this may be reviewed and feedback given to your adviser.
If you have given us permission, we will share your information with an external organisation who are currently evaluating the Mental Health & Money Advice service.
Where is my information being kept?
Your information is kept in the UK. We will not transfer your data outside of the UK.
The record of your case will be stored securely in an electronic case management system accessed by our staff. Paper copies of your data may also be stored securely and accessed by staff within our service.
How long will you keep my information?
We only keep your information for as long as is necessary. When we have provided you with all the help we are able to give, we will close your case but keep the case information for a period of time (usually up to 6 years) to enable you or us to access it in the future.
We have a policy about how long we keep information. You can contact the Rethink Mental Illness data controller at the address above if you would like a copy of this.
What rights do I have?
You have a number of rights concerning your information.
- You have the right to be told how your personal information will be used. This leaflet and any information we give you by phone are our way of telling you this.
- You can ask us what information we hold about you and to request a copy of that information. We must reply to you within one month. It does not cost you anything to ask for this, although there are some circumstances where we may charge you a reasonable administrative fee.
- You have the right to be forgotten. You can ask us to delete your information.
- If you believe the information we have about you is not accurate, you have the right to ask us to correct or update the information.
- In certain situations, you have the right to ask for the use of the information you have given us to be restricted if there is disagreement about whether it is correct, or how it is being used.
- Where we are using your information with your permission, the law allows you to request that we move your information to another service provider.
You also have rights when your information is being used for marketing or being put through a computer model which makes decisions about you (e.g. if you make a mortgage application). We are not doing either of these things with your information.
What can I do if I am unhappy about anything in relation to my personal data?
You can contact us using the details above. If we are not able to resolve your issue and you remain unhappy you can make a formal complaint about how we have handled your data. Please ask for a copy of our complaints policy.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner. Their website is www.ico.org.uk. If you don’t have internet access you can call the helpline on: 0303 123 1113