Version 3.0: This policy was last updated on 5th February 2008. It may be updated in the future and we'll post the new version here on our website. We will never deviate from our overall philosophy, though.
You Own and Control Your Data
You retain ownership of all data you enter or upload into FreeAgent, and have ultimate control over who has access to it. You control that access via user accounts that only you can create, which allows you to give your accountant access, for example. It is your responsibility to safeguard the password information and only give it to people you trust.
What Data We at FreeAgent Central Can See
We have no access to user passwords or accounts, so we can't login to your FreeAgent site without your permission (you might choose to add a temporary user account to help us to resolve a question you have, for example).
We monitor patterns of usage, such as login dates and volumes of data, so we can understand how people are using the system and to ensure our servers are up to the job.
For this purpose, we may also log your IP address (this is your computer's individual identification number that is assigned to your computer when connected to the Internet).
What Personal Information We Collect, and Why
When you sign up for an account, you provide your name, contact details (including email address) and some information about your company. We need this to:
- allow you to produce legally acceptable invoices and accurate accounts using the service,
- maintain our own accounts, and for billing,
- enable us to answer your queries,
- verify your identity for security purposes,
- send you our newsletter, if you have asked us to.
About Cookies
Cookies are small strings of data stored in your device's temporary memory when you navigate around our website. For your login to allow you access to FreeAgent, we need to store a temporary 'cookie' in your internet browser. This automatically expires after 20 minutes of inactivity, or you can delete it by logging out.
You can also choose to store a permanent cookie that allows you to access your account without logging in each time ('Remember Me on This Computer'). When you explicitly log out, this cookie is removed.
These cookies contain no personal information about you, but clearly you shouldn't use 'Remember Me' if you are on a publicly-accessible computing device or terminal.
For more information about cookies (including how to set browsers to reject cookies) please visit the website set up by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (Europe) at www.allaboutcookies.org .
Bank Account and Transaction Information
In order to get the most from FreeAgent, you need to enter information about your bank account(s) such as the sort-code and account number. You also upload electronic statements, previously downloaded from your online bank, or manually enter transaction data. This data is used to calculate your business accounts and tax liabilities. Although it is unlikely this data of itself could be used for fraudulent purposes, we are very aware that this information is sensitive and we are very careful about how we store it.
Credit Card Information
Once your 30-day free trial is over, you need to provide payment details to start your subscription and continue using the service. This information is passed directly to our payment service provider (PayPal Europe - www.paypal.co.uk/uk) over an encrypted link and is never stored on our system. Ongoing billing is handled using an encrypted key to refer to your account.
Exporting your Data
You can export a complete copy of your data, as a Microsoft Excel file, whenever you like.
If You Decide to Cancel Your Account
If you cancel, we maintain your data on our system for a further seven days, to give you time to export your data (or maybe change your mind!) After this time your data is irrevocably removed from our database. We retain historical billing information for accounting purposes, because we are required to do so by law, but once you have terminated your account, we no longer have the ability to bill your payment card.
Sharing your data with others
We may share the information we hold about you with any person, business or other organisation (and their advisers) who might take over our rights or responsibilities under our agreement with you to allow them to prepare for taking these over (after that, we may also allow that person or business to use and share your information on the same basis as us).
We also reserve the right to cooperate with law enforcement officials in the investigation of alleged unlawful activities of our website users or relating to our website users. We will have no legal liability for such disclosures of your information.
Your rights
- You have the right to request a copy of personal information we hold about you. To do this, simply write to us or send us an email - you'll find our contact details here. We may charge you £10 for providing this information to cover our administration costs.
- You may unsubscribe from our email newsletter at any time by emailing or writing to us.
- To provide the highest level of customer service we need accurate customer information. You can help by informing us whenever your circumstances change. You can ask us to correct incorrect personal information about you by writing to or emailing us.
- You can find detailed information about your rights under UK Data Protection legislation on the UK Information Commissioner's website at www.ico.gov.uk.