Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Harnett & Co is a firm of Chartered Accountants and business advisers serving businesses and individuals across West London and Surrey. We provide accountancy, tax, payroll, audit, advisory and related professional services.

For the purposes of data protection law, Harnett & Co is the “data controller” of the personal information you provide to us through this website, by email, by telephone, in meetings, or during the course of our professional engagement.

2. What Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

• Identity information such as your name, job title, business name and professional role.
• Contact information such as your email address, telephone number and correspondence address.
• Business and financial information you provide when enquiring about or using our services.
• Technical information such as IP address, browser type, device information and website usage data.
• Communication records including emails, telephone notes, contact form submissions and meeting notes.
• Compliance information where required for anti-money laundering, identity verification, regulatory or professional obligations.

3. How We Collect Your Information

We collect personal data in a number of ways, including when:

• you complete a contact form on our website;
• you call, email or write to us;
• you instruct us to provide services;
• you subscribe to updates or request information from us;
• you interact with our website through cookies and analytics tools;
• we receive information from third parties such as HMRC, Companies House, software providers, professional advisers or identity verification services, where permitted by law.

4. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data to:

• respond to enquiries and provide requested information;
• deliver accountancy, tax, payroll, audit, advisory and related services;
• manage client relationships and administer engagements;
• verify identity and comply with anti-money laundering, legal and regulatory obligations;
• issue proposals, engagement documents, invoices and service communications;
• improve our website, services and client experience;
• protect our business, website and systems from fraud, misuse or security threats;
• maintain professional records and comply with legal, regulatory and insurance requirements.

5. Lawful Bases for Processing

Under UK data protection law, we rely on one or more lawful bases when processing your personal data:

• Contract: where processing is necessary to provide services to you or to take steps before entering into an engagement.
• Legal obligation: where we must comply with laws, regulations, tax obligations, anti-money laundering rules or professional requirements.
• Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for the proper operation, administration and security of our business, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Consent: where required, for example in relation to certain marketing communications or non-essential cookies.

6. Disclosure of Your Information

We may share your information where appropriate with:

• HM Revenue & Customs, Companies House and other government or regulatory bodies;
• our professional advisers, insurers, software providers and IT support partners;
• identity verification and anti-money laundering service providers;
• banks, finance providers, pension providers or other third parties where you have instructed us to act;
• our professional body or external reviewers where required for compliance, monitoring or quality assurance purposes;
• courts, law enforcement bodies or regulators where disclosure is required by law or to protect legal rights.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

7. Data Retention

We will retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying legal, regulatory, tax, insurance, anti-money laundering and professional record-keeping requirements.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of service provided and the nature of the information concerned. When your information is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymise it.

8. Website Analytics and Cookies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to help the site function properly, understand visitor behaviour and improve performance.

Cookies may collect technical information such as IP address, browser type, pages visited, time spent on site and referral source. Where required, we will request your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device.

You can control cookies through your browser settings and, where applicable, through our cookie banner or preferences tool.

9. Your Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

• request access to the personal data we hold about you;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request erasure of your personal data in certain circumstances;
• request restriction of processing;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• request transfer of your data to another organisation in certain circumstances;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

10. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure. However, no transmission of data over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

11. Complaints

If you are concerned about how we use your personal data, we would appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns first. Please contact us directly.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK. Details can be found at https://ico.org.uk/.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, guidance, technology or our services. Any updated version will be posted on this page together with the revised effective date.