We collect and process information to issue accurate bills, manage payments, and take appropriate action in cases of non-payment. Personal data is processed in line with legal obligations and to carry out public functions effectively.
Information that we hold
The specific details recorded will vary depending on what the payment relates to, however it will usually include:
- Details of the payee, such as name, address and contact details.
- Details of the order, such as reference number and sum of monies.
- Details of the payment, such as the sum paid, banking details, credit or debit card.
How the information is obtained
The personal information we process in relation to payments is provided to us directly by you, the bank account or cardholder. If a third party is using a card to make a payment transaction, permission will be sought from the cardholder before the information is processed.
Generally, we collect and use personal information where:
- You have requested a service from us.
- You have entered into a contract with us.
What we do with the information
We use the information that you have given us to process payment information via various payment methods. This could be via our online payment system, over the telephone automated or with a member of staff, or face to face with our staff.
We do not handle any of your payment card details ourselves but use authorised payment processing partners to do this securely on our behalf.
We may share some or all of this information with other council departments or third parties to recover debt, allocate payments to accounts or to provide a service.
The council has various card payment providers all of which adhere to the Payment Card Industry Security Standard.
We may also share information with our auditors, central government or the police to protect public funds.
How long we keep your information for and how we securely dispose of it after use
We keep your personal information in relation to card payments for a maximum of 7 years (i.e. for six years plus the current financial year).
How we store your information
Your information is securely stored on the council’s electronic systems, full card details/numbers are not retained by the council. Full card details and payment information is stored by our card payment processing suppliers for only as long as it is necessary.
What rights you have
You have various rights around the data we hold about you.
- Right of access (to receive a copy of your personal data)
- Right to rectification (to request data is corrected if inaccurate)
- Right to erasure (to request that data is deleted)
- Right to restrict processing (to request we don’t use your data in a certain way)
- Right to data portability (in some cases, you can ask to receive a copy of your data in a commonly-used electronic format so that it can be given to someone else)
- Right to object (generally to make a complaint about any aspect of our use of your data)
- Right to have explained if there will be any automated decision-making, including profiling, based on your data and for the logic behind this to be explained to you.
Any such request can be submitted to the Cambridgeshire County Council Data Protection Officer. Whether we can agree to your request will depend on the specific circumstances and if we cannot then we will explain the reasons why.
If you are unhappy with any aspect of how your information has been collected and/or used, you can make a complaint to the Data Protection Officer.
You can also report your concerns to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
