Cowling Swift & Kitchin Solicitors is the trading name of Cowling, Swift & Kitchin Limited which is a Limited Company registered at Companies House under Registration Number 7935708.

We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under Registration Number 598308. Solicitors Regulation Authority can be contacted at Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN.

Our VAT Number is 169107750.

Data Protection

When acting for you we will need to collect different types of personal data from you. This will be made up off basic identity information including your name, address, date of birth and contact details which may include email address. We may also request banking details from you where these are required to may payments to you. We will not collect any data from you in connection with your religious believes, sexual orientation, race ethnicity or in relation to any health issues unless deemed necessary in acting on your behalf in a specific case.

Use and Disclosure Of Data

Your personal data will be used to carry out anti money laundering checks in connection with our usual obligations. It will also be used to assist in providing advice and legal services to you.

The use of your data will be subject to your instructions and legislation and our general duty of confidentiality.

Your data will never be passed to a third party for marketing or similar purposes. We may however be required to share your data with other professional organisations such as accountants, our bank, and our professional indemnity insurers or for electronic identification verification purposes. Depending upon the nature of the case in which we are instructed it may also be necessary to share your data with other solicitors, courts, experts or barristers.

Your personal data will not be retained by us for longer than is reasonably necessary. Client’s files will generally be retained for at least 10 years.

Your Rights In Relation To Your Personal Data

You have a right to request access to the personal data that we are holding; to ask us to correct any inaccuracy in that personal data; to delete any personal data which is not retained for good reason and a right to ask us to transfer your personal data to a third party. Your authorisation to do so will in those circumstances be required in writing.

Complaints Procedure

If you are unhappy with any of our services then you may raise the matter with the person dealing with your work I the first instance. It may be that the issue can be resolved very quickly in those circumstances.

Our initial client care letter and terms of business letter will identify the person having day to day conduct of the work and also the solicitor with overall responsibility.

If you are not satisfied with the response received at this stage or if you believe that your complaint is of a more serious nature then it should be referred to Mr Alan Ware. If he is the subject of the complaint then it should be referred to Mr Richard Rusby.

You may be asked to put your complaint in writing and you may also be invited to a face to face meeting.

If further investigation is required then this may involve reading files and interviewing members of staff depending upon the complexity of the complaint and subject to holiday commitments or absences from the office by member of staff key to the investigation we would normally hope to conclude the investigation within 3- 4 weeks.

Once our investigation has been completed we will notify you of the outcome which will include reasons for our conclusions.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of our investigation then you may refer the compliant to the Legal Ombudsman Service. They can be contacted at:-

Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

Telephone 0300 555 0333

Email- enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Complaint About Conduct

If you have any complaint about our professional conduct these can be raised with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.