Privacy notice

This notice tells you how Pillar Client Services Ltd handles personal data it collects as a controller through this website and its business development activity. It is written to meet the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Pillar also processes personal data on behalf of the financial advice firms it works with, acting as a processor under contract. That client data is governed by the agreement between Pillar and each firm and is not covered by this notice, which deals only with the data Pillar controls in its own right.

Who we are

Pillar Client Services Ltd, registered in Scotland, company number SC881118. Registered office: 3/1, 21 Blythswood Square, Glasgow G2 4BL. ICO data protection register: ZC174766. Pillar is the controller for the personal data described in this notice. If you have any question about how we use your data, contact us at hello@pillarcs.co.uk.

The personal data we collect

We collect only the data we need to respond to you and to run our business. Depending on how you interact with us, this includes:

• Contact and enquiry details: your name, business name, email address, telephone number, role, and the content of any enquiry or correspondence you send us.
• Business relationship information: records of our dealings with you as a client, prospect, supplier, or professional contact, including meeting notes and the services discussed.
• Website and technical data: standard information your browser sends when you visit the site, such as IP address, device and browser type, pages viewed, and referring pages. If we enable analytics in future, we will collect that data only with your consent and update this notice and our cookie policy.

We do not seek to collect special category data through the website. Please do not send us sensitive personal information unless we have asked for it and explained why.

How we use your data and our lawful basis

We use your personal data, and rely on the following lawful bases, to:

• respond to your enquiries and correspondence, and manage our client, prospect, supplier, and professional relationships and business development. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests in running and developing the business, or performance of a contract where one is in place;
• operate, secure, and improve the website. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests in keeping the site working and safe;
• set any non-essential or analytics cookies. Our lawful basis is your consent, which you can give or withdraw at any time. See our cookie policy for detail; and
• meet our legal, regulatory, and record-keeping obligations. Our lawful basis is compliance with a legal obligation.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have considered your rights and interests and will not use your data in a way that overrides them. You can object to that use at any time.

Who we share your data with

We do not sell your personal data and we do not share it for anyone else’s marketing. We share it only with:

• service providers who help us run our business and website, such as hosting and email providers, each acting under a written contract that requires them to protect your data and use it only on our instructions;
• our professional advisers, such as our accountants and lawyers, where needed; and
• regulators, law enforcement, or other authorities where we are required by law to do so.

Where your data is held

Our systems and data are hosted in the United Kingdom. Where a service provider processes personal data outside the UK or the European Economic Area, we put in place an approved safeguard, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the European Commission standard contractual clauses, so that your data keeps an equivalent level of protection.

How long we keep your data

We keep personal data only for as long as we need it for the purposes set out above, and then delete or anonymise it. Our retention periods follow Pillar’s record retention policy and any legal or regulatory requirement that applies. If you ask us to stop contacting you, we keep the minimum record needed to honour that request.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
• ask us to correct data that is wrong or incomplete;
• ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances;
• ask us to restrict or object to how we use your data;
• ask us to transfer certain data to you or another provider; and
• withdraw any consent you have given, at any time, without affecting use before you withdrew it.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@pillarcs.co.uk. We will respond within one month. There is normally no charge.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please tell us first so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for data protection, at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, on 0303 123 1113, or at ico.org.uk.

Changes to this notice

We review this notice at least once a year and update it when our practices change. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.