THE FAVERSHAM SOCIETY
Updated October 2021

The Faversham Society, a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with registered number 7112241, registered office being 10 – 13 Preston Street Faversham Kent ME13 8NS England, and a registered charity with charity number 1135262 (hereafter referred to as “the Society”, “we”, “us” or “our”), is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

Any future changes we make to our privacy statement will be displayed here.

Data Controller

The Faversham Society 10-13 Preston Street, Faversham, Kent ME13 8NS. The Society is required to be registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – Registration Number: Z2444216

Keeping your records

The Society complies with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and this statement describes our procedures for ensuring that personal information about members is processed fairly and lawfully.

The personal data the Society holds

To provide you with information during your membership of the Society we need to hold personal information about you. The Society only holds data provided by the individual(s) to whom the data relates and members may request that the data be removed or updated at any time by contacting the Society’s Membership Secretary in writing at 10-13 Preston Street, Faversham, Kent, ME13 8NS or by email to membership@favershamsociety.info. It is your responsibility to inform us of any changes to your contact or other relevant details.

This personal data is that provided by you on completion of the Society’s joining and renewals forms and is as follows:

• Your name, postal address, telephone number(s) and email address

We also record:

• The month your annual renewal falls due;
• Your membership category (based on age and status);
• The amount and date you last paid, together with the method of payment;
• Letters, emails and notes of any communications we have had with you regarding your membership;
• Information (if applicable) in support of the Society’s gift aid scheme; and
• The format you prefer to receive the Society’s communications

Reasons for holding this information

We believe the lawful basis under which we process your data is “legitimate interest”. That is, we need to evaluate your membership application and keep accurate personal data in order to administer membership renewal notices, process renewals, maintain financial records and communicate with you. As we rely on legitimate interest as our lawful basis for processing your data, your consent to our storing and processing your data is implied by your becoming a member of the Society.

Retaining information

Your information will be held for the duration of your membership. As defined by the Society’s Articles of Association, you cease to be a member if your fees are more than three months overdue. However, to allow us time to contact you successfully and clarify the situation, additional time to settle arrears is often given in practice.

If you formally resign, your data will be removed from current records but will be stored on archived records for a reasonable period. Archived records are kept mainly for continuity (in case you wish to rejoin or you wish to query your membership) but also to help the Society understand membership trends so we can improve what we offer to our members.

In addition, for gift aid claim and accounting purposes, we need to hold certain information required by H M Revenue and Customs for a statutory period.

Security of information

Personal data about you is held in the Society’s computer system and/or in a manual filing system. The information is not accessible to the public; only authorised volunteer members have access to it. Our computer system has secure audit trails and we backup information routinely. Access to computers and files is password protected and the electronic records are further password protected and kept securely in the cloud. All manual records are kept in locked cabinets and drawers; with access to the room via an entry coded keypad.

Disclosure of information

The Society will not disclose or share personal information about you with third-party organisations except when required by law or court order.

In limited circumstances, the fact that you are a member may be disclosed to one of the Society’s volunteer team in order to deal effectively with an enquiry from you, for example, in the case where an enquiriy concerning Faversham Society records has been requested and members are charged at a reduced rate. In all other situations, disclosure that is not covered by this Privacy Statement will only occur when we have your specific consent. Where a volunteer or member wishes to email another member, and they do not have the member’s email address; this is done through the Membership Secretary to maintain data confidentiality.

Direct marketing by electronic means

As a member of the Society, you can receive our email messages containing links to the Society’s regular newsletter and members’ journal. From time to time we may also email you regarding events we are holding, new publications we have available to purchase from our visitor information centre and surveys to gather members’ views on issues affecting Faversham and its surrounding area. We will only ever email you regarding matters which promote the objects of the Society (as defined in our Articles of Association).

In accordance with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations we will only contact you electronically once we have obtained your expressed consent, that is, you have formally “opted in”.

Having previously consented, if you no longer wish to receive these emails, you have the option to “opt out” at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link found at the bottom of our emails

Right of Access

You have the right of access to the data that the Society holds about you and to receive a copy. Access may be obtained by making a request to the Society in writing. Usually, data will be provided free of charge. However, we reserve the right to make an administration charge if the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it is repetitive or is for further copies of the same information that has previously been provided.

We will provide a copy of the record within one month of receipt of the request and fee (where payable) together with an explanation of your record, should you require it.

If you have concerns about this data, you should contact the Society’s Chair in writing at the Faversham Society. Where it is necessary to rectify or erase your data held or to restrict or cease processing of your data, we resolve to do this within one month of your bringing this to our attention.

Right of Complaint

An individual member has the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if they think there is a problem with the way the Society is handling their data.

Data Breaches

The Society will notify the ICO of a breach where we deem it is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals – if, for example, it could result in discrimination, damage to reputation, financial loss, loss of confidentiality or any other significant economic or social disadvantage.

Where a breach is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, the Society will also notify those concerned directly in most cases.

The Society has reviewed the type of data which it stores and does not consider that a Data Protection Impact Assessment is required. For the same reason, we have not formally appointed a Data Protection Officer. If you have any concerns about the Society privacy and data protection practice they should be reported to the Chair in writing.

The Society does not operate in any other EU state.