Privacy Policy
VANS Privacy Policy
At Voluntary Action North Somerset (VANS), we’re committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.
This Policy explains when and why we collect personal information about people who visit our website; – www.vansweb.org.uk – how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure.
We may change this Policy from time to time so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you’re happy with any changes. By using our website, you’re agreeing to be bound by this Policy.
Any questions regarding this Policy and our privacy practices should be sent by email to info@vansmail.org.uk or by writing to VANS, Weston Court, Oldmixon Crescent, Weston-super-Mare, BS24 9AU. Alternatively, you can telephone 01934 416486.
Who are we?
VANS, is a company limited by guarantee (no 3466492) and a registered charity (no. 1065916) set up to represent, empower and develop the voluntary sector in North Somerset. The registered address is: Weston Court, Oldmixon Crescent, Weston-super-Mare, BS24 9AU. Our website is owned and operated by us.
Unless otherwise stated, we or our licensors own the intellectual property rights in the website and material on the website and all rights are reserved.
How do we collect information from you?
We obtain information about you when you use our website, for example, when you contact us about services or volunteer opportunities or if you register to receive one of our monthly newsletters.
What type of information is collected from you?
The personal information we collect might include your name, address, email address, IP address, and information regarding what pages are accessed and when.
Personal data is stored securely in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation [EU] 2016/679) (GDPR). Your data is processed lawfully, fairly and transparently without adversely affecting your rights.
How is your information used?
We may use your information to:
- carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into by you and us;
- seek your views or comments on the services we provide;
- notify you of changes to our services;
- send you communications which you have requested and that may be of
- interest to you;
- process a volunteer application.
We review our retention periods for personal information on a regular basis. We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you hold with us.
Who has access to your information?
We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.
Third-Party Service Providers working on our behalf:
We may pass your information to our third-party service providers, agents subcontractors and other associated organisations for the purposes of completing tasks and providing services to you on our behalf (for example to process volunteer opportunities and send you mailings).
However, when we use third-party service providers, we disclose only the personal information that is necessary to deliver the service and we have a contract in place that requires them to keep your information secure and not to use it for their own direct marketing purposes. Please be reassured that we will not release your information to third-parties beyond the VANS network for them to use for their own direct marketing purposes, unless you have requested us to do so, or we are required to do so by law, for example, by a court order or for the purposes of prevention of fraud or other crime.
Third-Party Product Providers we work in association with:
If we have to transfer your personal information to a third party as part of a business requirement, or if we’re under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation or to enforce or apply our terms of use or to protect the rights, property or safety of our supporters and customers, we will take steps with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected.
Your choices
You have a choice about whether or not you wish to receive information from us. If you do not want to receive direct marketing communications from us about the work we do, then you can select your choices by ticking the relevant boxes situated on the form on which we collect your information.
We will not contact you for marketing purposes by email, phone or text message unless you have given your prior consent or there is a legitimate interest. You can change your marketing preferences at any time by contacting us by email: info@vansmail.org.uk or telephone on 01934 416486.
How you can access and update your information
The accuracy of your information is important to us. We’re working on ways to make it easier for you to review and correct the information that we hold about you. In the meantime, if you change email address, or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please email us at: info@vansmail.org.uk or write to us at: Weston Court, Oldmixon Crescent, Weston-super-Mare, BS24 9AU. Alternatively, you can telephone 01934 416486.
You have the right to ask for a copy of the information VANS hold about you.
Security precautions in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of your information
When you give us personal information, we take steps to ensure that it’s treated securely.
Non-sensitive details (your email address etc.) are transmitted normally over the Internet, and this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your information, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems. Where we have given (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our websites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.
Profiling
We may analyse your personal information to create a profile of your interests and preferences so that we can contact you with information relevant to you. We may make use of additional information about you when it is available from external sources to help us do this effectively. We may also use your personal information to detect and reduce fraud and credit risk.
Use of ‘cookies’
Like many other websites, the VANS website uses cookies. ‘Cookies’ are small pieces of information sent by an organisation to your computer and stored on your hard drive to allow that website to recognise you when you visit. They collect statistical data about your browsing actions and patterns and do not identify you as an individual. This helps us to improve our website and deliver a better more personalised service.
It is possible to switch off cookies by setting your browser preferences. For more information on how to switch off cookies on your computer, visit our full cookies policy. Turning cookies of may result in a loss of functionality when using our website.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites run by other organisations. This privacy policy applies only to our website‚ so we encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit. We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of other sites even if you access them using links from our website.
In addition, if you linked to our website from a third-party site, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners and operators of that third-party site and recommend that you check the policy of that third-party site.
Acceptance of our Policy
Your acceptance of this Privacy Policy is deemed to occur upon your first use of our website. If you do not accept and agree with this Privacy Policy you should not use the website.
Review of this Policy
We keep this Policy under regular review. This Policy was last updated in January 2023.