Privacy — Utilita Giving

Privacy Information Notice

Effective from 1 March 2023

The aim of Utilita Giving is to aid people in fuel and food poverty.

The charitable objects of Utilita Giving are "the prevention or relief of need for the public benefit throughout England, Scotland and Wales for those who are suffering hardship or distress as a result of poverty, age, disability or ill-health, including in particular hardship or distress arising due to fuel poverty and food poverty, through the provision of financial or material aid and the raising of awareness of such need with the public. In this clause, "fuel poverty" means the inability of individuals and households to afford or access adequate energy services, and "food poverty" means the inability of individuals and households to obtain an adequate and nutritious diet in socially acceptable ways, or the uncertainty that they will be able to do so".

To support these aims it is necessary for Utilita Giving to collect and process personal data as a controller. We are committed to the operation of fair processes in relation to the collection and use of personal information and will always follow the principles set out in Data Protection Law. This Privacy Information Notice explains how we will collect and use your personal information and is in addition to any applicable terms, which can be found at utilitagiving.org.

If you have any questions or concerns in relation to this Privacy Information Notice you can contact our Data Protection Officer at UtilitaGivingDPO@utilitagiving.org or write to us at:

FAO: Data Protection Officer,
Utilita Giving,
Hutwood Court,
Bournemouth Road,
Eastleigh,
SO53 3QB

1. What Types of Information We May Collect

1.1. To ensure that we can provide you with our services, we currently collect the following information:

1.1.1. Personal Identifiers such as your name, address, email address, phone number, date of birth, and legal identification documents;

1.1.2. Lifestyle information such as relationship status, employment status, property size and composition, occupancy, appliance information, information on your habits, and other information regarding your property that you provide us for the specific services;

1.1.3. Meter and property information such as meter serial numbers, property size and type, meter point administration numbers, and identification numbers associated with the supply of energy to your property;

1.1.4. Energy efficiency measure information such as the location of the measure, the usage of the measure, the age of the measure, who installed the measure and, any other information that may be relevant in assessing your suitability for a new measure;

1.1.5. Financial data such as banking details, payment card data, credit score, payment histories, information regarding any relevant benefits, and monthly income or expenditure;

1.1.6. Vulnerability information such as details of financial hardship, physical or mental vulnerabilities, carer details, information regarding any disabilities you may have, and temporary vulnerabilities that are relevant; and

1.1.7. Any other relevant information you make available to us via email or letter in relation to correspondence about your grants or services.

1.2. In some cases we may collect additional information from you that is not listed above. In these cases, we will inform you at the point of collection and where appropriate seek your consent to collect the information or inform you why we require this additional information.

2. How We Collect Your Information

2.1. We collect information about you from a number of different sources including from you directly and from third parties. In particular:

2.1.1. we will ask for personal information as part of your application;

2.1.2. we may collect information from third parties including credit reference agencies or debt chasing agencies, data validation providers, the owner of the property (or their representatives), the local authority, and other third parties that we use to confirm identity or address;

2.1.3. we will collect information from you when you contact us; and

2.1.4. we may collect information about you from industry partners.

3. Who Do We Share Your Information With

3.1. We may share your information with:

3.1.1. our third-party subcontractors to provide our services to you;

3.1.2. third parties to trace your identity or location;

3.1.3. third party agencies to manage any support or welfare concerns that we may have (including gas or electricity network operators, Citizens Advice Bureau, local councils, charities, and health agencies);

3.1.4. a third party you nominate to represent you (where you have told us that a third party is dealing on your behalf);

3.1.5. third parties you have asked us to communicate with in relation to any services you apply for;

3.1.6. emergency services such as the police and ambulance services; and

3.1.7. trusted third parties and partners that help us to deliver our services to you.

4. Why Do We Collect Your Information

4.1. We collect and process your information for several reasons but mainly to provide you with the services that you have requested from us. We process your data because:

4.1.1. you are receiving a grant or service or are in the process of requesting to receive a grant or service (Contract);

4.1.2. you have explicitly agreed to us processing your data (Consent);

4.1.3. we are required to do so by law or enactment (Legal requirement);

4.1.4. we have a legitimate interest in improving our services that does not conflict with your own interests (Legitimate interest);

4.1.5. we believe processing your data in specific ways is in the best interests of the public (Public interest);

4.1.6. in some cases, we believe it is in your vital interests (Vital interest); and

4.1.7. as a charity we have a moral obligation to research and archive information relating to our objectives (Archiving for scientific research in the public interest).

4.2. We will only process your information where we have a legal basis to do so and we will notify you if it is different to the listed reasons above.

4.3. We will always use the information you have trusted us with in an expected and secure way.

5. How Long Will We Hold Your Information

5.1. Depending on the information we hold we will remove your information over time in line with our data minimisation obligations. For example, we will hold information on a successful grant applicant for as long as the grant is payable and then in accordance with our legal requirements.

6. How We Keep Your Information Safe

6.1. Information we hold about you is stored on secure servers that are protected from external access using best practice in information technology. Staff access our systems by individual password protected schemes, which limit access to your data to those who need to use it to provide our services

6.2. We will not transfer your personal data outside of the EEA (European Economic Area), except to a country offering the same level of protection for your personal data.

7. Your Data Rights

7.1. As an individual you have several rights under the relevant data protection laws, including:

7.1.1. that we provide you access to your information;

7.1.2. that any inaccurate information we hold about you is corrected;

7.1.3. that we delete information about you in certain situations;

7.1.4. that we stop using your personal information for certain purposes;

7.1.5. us to revisit decisions made about you by completely automated means;

7.1.6. that personal data you have given us be provided to you in a common machine-readable format or sent to a third party where this is technically feasible.

7.2. The rights set out above may apply in limited circumstances, and we may not always be able to comply with your request to exercise these rights. We will try to respond to a request to exercise your rights within one month. In some cases we may need to extend this timeframe by a maximum of two months, where this is required we will notify you without delay.

8. Staying Connected with You

8.1. Where you have asked us to, we may use your information to let you know about new and existing initiatives that we believe you may be interested in. We may also communicate with you about fundraising opportunities.

8.2. If you have opted in to receive news from us, you can opt out at any time by ticking the boxes on the relevant data collection forms or contacting our Data Protection Officer.

8.3. Please note that if you have opted out, we will still send you service updates and communications that are relevant to the services you receive from us.

9. I Have a Concern, Who Can I Contact?

9.1. We take every effort to ensure that your data is processed in a fair, transparent, and secure way. If you have a concern about how we have handled your data, please contact our Data Protection Officer.

9.2. We will always take all appropriate steps to investigate and resolve your concerns. If we have been unable to resolve your concerns to your satisfaction you have the right to contact the Information Commissioners Office who are the relevant regulatory body.

9.3. To contact our Data Protection Officer please email UtilitaGivingDPO@utilitagiving.org or write to us at: