This privacy notice explains how we use recordings of phone calls. During a telephone conversation with us, you will be informed if your conversation is to be recorded and the reasons for recording. When a call is recorded we collect:
- A recording of the conversation;
- Your phone number.
If you make a payment over the telephone the recording function is turned off, and therefore no payment information is recorded in line with Payment Card Industry Security Standards (PCI DSS).
You can read our Call Recording and Monitoring Policy here.
Why we collect your personal information
Barnet Homes currently records phone calls in the following areas:
- Main Customer Contact Team (020 8080 6587)
- Housing Options (020 8610 3539)
Only incoming calls to the contact centres are recorded.
Our lawful bases for processing your personal information are:
UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f) – for the purpose of our legitimate interest.
We can use ‘legitimate interests’ if we can demonstrate that the processing is for purposes other than for performing our tasks as a public authority. In this context, our objectives include:
- quality manage the performance of call handlers, and help identify officer training needs and support training new and existing officers;
- assure the quality of service information provided, and assist The Barnet Group’s quality control to identify any issues in its processes, with a view to improving them.
- clarify the content of a particular conversation;
- establish the facts in the event of a complaint either by a customer or a member of staff, and so assist in resolving it;
- help protect officers from abusive or nuisance calls and/or provide evidence to seek
- injunctions against abusive customers;
- provide evidence in assessing the seriousness of threats;
- investigate fraudulent activity;
- provide evidence for crime prevention purposes.
Recording of calls is necessary to protect the interests of you, our staff, or both. It is also in our legitimate interests, unless those interests are overridden by you asking for your call not to be recorded.
You may request that your call is not recorded, and can do this either through our telephone system when you first call the Housing Options contact centre, or at any point during a call to another contact centre where call recording is in place.
Who we may share your personal information with
Your information will be shared with the relevant service department within Barnet Homes and The Barnet Group.
Sometimes we need to share personal information we hold about you with other organisations or agencies we work with or who help us deliver our services to you. This may include with a complaints Ombudsman where you have complained to the Ombudsman and we are asked to investigate your complaint, or with elected councillors and/or Members of Parliament where you have asked them to represent you.
We may also share your personal information where we have a legal obligation to do so. As an example, we may share your information to find and stop crime and fraud.
If we are sharing your information for any purpose we will take appropriate security measures to protect it, and we will make sure we have a clear legal basis for sharing, including any exemptions under the Data Protection Act 2018.
How long we keep your personal information
We keep your personal information for the minimum period necessary. All telephone recordings will be held securely, and recordings will be retained for up to two months, when it will be overwritten.
A recording may be held for longer if it forms part of evidence in an ongoing investigation, in which case it will be retained until it is no longer needed for this purpose.
Further information on how we process your information can be found on our privacy policy page.