In order to provide the services to its membership the Circle has elected a Committee of volunteers to manage the running of the Circle. To achieve this the Committee needs to hold certain details about the members. We care about your privacy and the information you share with us and want you to understand how we are using and protecting the information we collect about you. GSC is respectful of data privacy and adopts best practice in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).
This privacy policy describes:
- What information we collect and how we collect it
- The Legal Basis we have for collecting this data
- How we safeguard your personal data
- What we do with the personal data we collect
- When and how we share your personal data with others
- How long we keep your personal data
- Your rights and preferences
- How can we help? Getting in touch.
What information we collect and how we collect it
The GSC collects the following data about its members:
- Name
- Address
- E-mail address
- Telephone number
- Nationality
- Date of birth (if under 18)
- Profession or Occupation
- Fee to pay
- Collecting interests
- Participation in Packet
- Date of application.
This data is collected via the Membership Application Form. Members may update their data as necessary by email, letter, telephone or in person. The GSC does not collect or use any data via the GSC website. The only cookies used are anonymous usage analytical cookies, we do not store any data in these.
The Legal Basis we have for collecting this data
The legal basis for collecting the data we hold falls under “Legitimate Interest”. There are specific tests to determine this in law which we have applied to establish this:
- Purpose test: are you pursuing a legitimate interest?
- Necessity test: is the processing necessary for that purpose?
- Balancing test: do the individual’s interests override the legitimate interest?
The results of these tests show that the keeping and processing of your data is of legitimate interest to both the GSC and its members, without which GSC could not provide the services the members pay for and expect from it.
How we safeguard your personal data
GSC maintains safeguards which include technical and organisational security measures to protect your personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised use, access, inadvertent disclosure, alteration, and destruction. The data is stored in two formats:
- Paper – the original applications and any paper-based updates
- Electronic – transcribed details held in spreadsheets.
Both formats are stored in access-controlled premises. Paper-based records are stored in a locked steel cabinet, whilst the electronic records are stored on secured, password protected computers behind secure firewalls, all with appropriately updated virus and malware protection software. We do not share or store your data with any third party or any external systems, or in the “cloud”, with the exception of emails you may send us. We update and test security on an ongoing basis and restrict access to your personal data to only those who need to know in order to provide the GSC’s services to you.
We will from time to time update this Privacy Policy to ensure we maintain the highest levels in protecting your privacy as well as on-going compliance with legal requirements.
What we do with the personal data we collect
The personal data we collect is used exclusively to communicate with you in order to provide the services you as a member expect from the GSC, either individually or as a group to all members, including distribution of GSC:
- subscription reminders
- auction lists, results, associated invoices and purchases
- “approvals” philatelic packets
- quarterly magazines, “The Rock”
- miscellaneous communications (Private Treaty Lists; Commercial Auction House Flyers; Study Papers etc.)
In addition your details are used for processing:
- auctions, using bid forms, seller or buyer detail
- membership records and accounts as necessary.
When and how we share your personal data with others
The GSC does not share your data with anyone outside of the Circle. The data is only accessible by the committee members, with one exception. We share the name, address and telephone number of those members who have signed up for the GSC packet with other members on the circulation to
facilitate members passing the packet on to others on the circuit. Your personal data may also be shared when required by law or necessary to comply with a valid legal process.
How long we keep your personal data
We keep your data only for as long as necessary. For some of this data, such as name, address and any payments you make to the GSC, this needs to be for five years, even after you stop being a member. This is because of legal requirements relating to tax and accountancy auditing. This data is archived and stored securely each year. Any remaining data about you will be deleted:
- six months after a failure to pay your membership fees
- with immediate effect if you resign your membership.
Your rights and preferences
Under the GDPR, you have the right to the right to be informed about what data we hold about you – this is the purpose of this document. You also have the right to request:
- to see all the personal data we hold on you
- us to amend that data if you believe it to be in error
- the deletion of all personal data we hold about you
- that we restrict the level of processing we do using your data.
Finally, if we fail in our obligations to you, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you inform us that you want your personal data erased, or that you no longer wish for us to
communicate with you for any reason, or to otherwise restrict GSC’s processing of your personal data, we may need to retain some basic information in order to avoid sending you unwanted materials in the future, and to keep a record of your request and our response under the terms of GDPR.
Please note that given the way the GSC uses your data, asking us to delete your data from our records will have the same effect as resigning your membership of the GSC.
How can we help? Getting in touch
If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about GSC’s personal data practices or this Privacy Policy, we encourage you to get in touch with our Membership Secretary via the Contact Us Page.
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