Trading Standards Privacy Notice

What we need and why

The council is the ‘Data Controller’ of the personal data you provide to us.  Trading Standards & Consumer Protection will only collect personal data about you which we need in order to provide advice and guidance, conduct investigations and ensure compliance with relevant laws.  This includes:

  • investigating consumer complaints
  • responding to service requests from businesses and individuals
  • ensuring compliance with legislation through a range of enforcement activities including visits, inspections and testing
  • investigations into criminal offences and civil law breaches
  • monitoring, researching, analysing and reporting intelligence requirements
  • operating the Angus Reputable Trader scheme for businesses
  • managing registration, certification and licensing

Unless otherwise agreed with you, we will routinely collect your name, address, date of birth, telephone number, email address and, where applicable, business details.  We may occasionally collect information about your health (in order to provide you with tailored advice/guidance and support).

What we do with your personal information

We use your personal information to allow us to provide you with advice/guidance and assess whether or not businesses are complying with consumer and business protection legislative requirements.  The information may also be used to take enforcement action where appropriate.  We also use your information to verify your identity where required and to contact you by post, email or telephone.

We are legally obliged to share certain data with public authorities such as Police Scotland, other trading standards or port health authorities, Scottish Fire & Rescue, food standards agencies, HMRC, Procurator Fiscal, Sheriff or other courts, intellectual property holders or expert witnesses, who have demonstrated that they have a lawful and legitimate interest in the information, for the purposes of investigations into criminal activity and will do so where the law requires this.  We will also generally comply with requests for specific information from other regulatory and law enforcement bodies where this is necessary and appropriate.  Occasionally we may share your contact details with other authorities if your enquiry falls under a different authority’s jurisdiction.

Information concerning any criminal convictions is afforded a similar special level of protection, and we may collect and use this information where it is relevant, subject to the same safeguards.

For ordinary personal data (any data which is not Special Category data) we have legal grounds to process this information because it is necessary for the fulfilment of our legal obligation/public task under the legislation listed at the end of this document.

For special category data, we have legal grounds to process this information where it is necessary for reasons in the substantial public interest.  This will include where it is necessary to carry out any of our statutory functions. The law includes safeguards to protect the use of your special category data and any information concerning criminal convictions.

We share information as it is reasonable and necessary to do so to fulfil our public tasks or it is otherwise in the substantial public interest to do so.  The law imposes safeguards to protect your privacy in these circumstances.

Additionally, subject to contractual and other legal safeguards, we will share your information with organisations commissioned to provide services to you and others.  Finally, we may also share your information across different departments of the council, where it is necessary for our public tasks or functions to do so.

How long we keep it

If we are providing you with a consumer protection service we will keep your information for the duration of the service provision.    If you have made a payment for a service or received a grant from us then we are required under UK tax law to keep your basic personal data (name, address, contact details) for a minimum of six years after which time it will be destroyed.  Petroleum records will be retained permanently for historic and safety purposes.

Please note that you should read this information in conjunction with the council’s Full Privacy Statement.