Terms & Conditions - Privacy Policy

By accessing and using the TravelWatch NorthWest website you agree to our use of your personal information and to be bound by the following terms. If you do not agree to these terms, you should exit this website immediately.

Who we are

Our website address is: travelwatch-northwest.org.uk

TravelWatch NorthWest (TWNW) became registered as a Community Interest Company in 2007. The registered name is “North West Public Transport Users’ Forum Community Interest Company”, but we trade under the name “TravelWatch NorthWest”.

The Company Number is: 06181713, and the registered office is at 11 Harvelin Park , Todmorden, Lancs OL14 6HX. Any communication should be addressed to the Company Secretary, either by email admin@travelwatch-northwest.org.uk or by post. Our details can also be found on our website Contact page.

Information we collect from you

We collect personal information from you if you email us with consumer enquiries and complaints about the transport services as the independent, statutory watchdog for transport users across North West of England or with comments and complaints about the service we provide and the information provided on this website.

Information collected may include personal details such as names and addresses, email addresses and details of individual queries. In addition, we collect information on the usage of the site itself. This usage information will not identify you individually and is stored and processed in aggregate and will not allow the identification of individual users.

Please note that you are not required to provide your personal details to use the TravelWatch NorthWest website.

Lawful basis for processing your data

We are required to have and explain a valid lawful basis for holding and processing your data.

In respect of passenger enquiries and complaints this basis is provided in Article 6 (1) (e) of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018: processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

How we protect your privacy

Any personal information you provide will be held securely by TravelWatch NorthWest in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2018. These statutes protect your personal information and ensure that:

• we only hold and process your information for purposes that we make clear to you in advance
• we keep your information only for as long as we need to carry out these purposes but this will not be for longer than three years
• we will put in place appropriate measures that ensure your information is held and processed securely and confidentially.

If you provide us with ‘sensitive personal data’ as defined by the Data Protection Act 2018, we will never pass this information on to a third party without your explicit consent. If you withhold such consent, it may limit the extent to which we can deal effectively with your complaint or query.

Sensitive personal data is information relating to a data subject which identifies:

(a) racial or ethnic origin

(b) political opinions

(c) religious beliefs or other beliefs of a similar nature

(d) trade union membership

(e) physical or mental health or condition

(f) sexual life

(g) the commission or alleged commission of any offence, or

(h) any proceedings for any offence committed or alleged to have been committed, the disposal of such proceedings or the sentence of any court in such proceedings.

How we use your information

Consumer enquiries and complaints

If you email us with an enquiry or complaint, we will use the information you have provided to advise you on your rights as a consumer, on how to avoid problems and how to address any problems you may have encountered.

We may need to pass information you have provided to a service provider (often but not limited to a train operator) to address a problem you have encountered. Enquiries may be forwarded to other service providers.

Unless you advise us otherwise, but with the exception of the sensitive personal data described above, we will assume that you have already provided your personal details as they relate to your complaint or query to the third party to which your complaint or query is directed and that you consent to any further processing or routeing of your information as it is necessary, in our opinion, to help you resolve the problem you have asked us to look into. We will only hold details of your enquiry or complaint for as long as we need them but this will not be longer than three years.

We will not share your information with third parties without your prior consent and in the event of being given permission to do this we will always prohibit the onward sharing of any personal data.

If you are making a complaint or query on behalf of another adult or adults, we may ask for written confirmation that you are doing so with their authority. This applies to circumstances, for example, in which one adult contacts us on behalf of a group of travellers who have experienced a similar problem, or where an adult is physically or mentally unable to contact us in their own right. If you are making a complaint or query on behalf of a child under the age of 16, we may ask you to confirm that you are the child’s parent or legal guardian. Please note that we expect anyone over the age of 16 to contact us in their own right, unless there are clear grounds for an adult to contact us on their behalf.

What rights you have over your data

You can request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Cookies

When you visit our website, we may place a number of cookies files (small pieces of text) in your web browser. Cookies have various purposes, such as to allow us or a third party to recognise you and make your next visit easier; cookies may also provide analytics.

You can accept all cookies or customise and save your cookie preferences.