Privacy Policy

The Purpose This Privacy Policy applies to any personal data collected through market research.

Who am I and how to contact?

Opinions Count carries out market research and by extension their clients and organisations that are carrying out their own market research. I am a professional recruiter accredited and registered with the Market Research Society (membership number: 2262633) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for the purpose of processing data. I comply fully with the Market Research’s Code of Conduct and processes your personal data for our legitimate business interest in conducting market research studies in accordance with Data Protection laws. ICO website: www.ico.org.uk/for-the-public/ has information for consumers. Our company registration number is ZA797002.

You can contact Danielle Prendergast in the following ways: By phone – 07701387611 By email –danielle@opinionscount.co.uk. By post – Danielle Prendergast, 9 Fountain Lane, ME16 9AR

 

Primary Purpose

My primary purpose is to collect personal data for legitimate business interest in sourcing participants to take part in market research studies, both qualitative and quantitative. Where your eligibility makes you a possible Respondent for a study, as a Recruiter, I will pass relevant data to the Research Company to process. By agreeing to participate in the study, you are consenting for this information to be shared with the research company – details of which will be given at time of recruitment. Every effort is made to ensure all Research companies I work with are GDPR and Market Research Society compliant. Your personal data will be processed in accordance with UK and EU Data Protection laws and have in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard your data.

 

How personal data is collected

Personal data is collected using the following methods: – Through paper forms you have completed – Through emails and text messages you send to me, or that I send to you – During our conversations with you, whether in person or on the phone. – Via messages you send directly through social media – Information collected independently by online advertising networks – Google for example) through which I place advertisements – Directly through my website: www.opinionscount.co.uk. (Google for example) through which I place advertisements.

The information you provide as a member will be only be used by us for the purposes of inviting you to apply for genuine market research projects. We will not share your data with parties other than researchers or organisations carrying out their own research.

 

What personal data is collected

When you apply for a market research project via one of our online forms, we will provide you with the information you will need to decide if you wish to take part i.e. the subject of the research, what you will be expected to do, the incentive offered, timing and location plus any additional relevant information. We will not pass on any personally identifying information unless we tell you in advance and obtain your express permission. We will only ask you for sufficient information for the purposes of assessing if you meet the more specific criteria set out for the project. You do not have to provide all the information requested; however, this may mean we are unable to include you in the research should the missing details be key to the criteria set.

The legal basis upon which we process your data is your consent, which you may withdraw at any time.

We may collect the following personal data: – Personal data e.g. your name, postcode, occupation, age and gender – ‘Sensitive’ personal data – due to the nature of some market research projects we may need to process ‘sensitive’ personal data about you. By this we mean personal data such as your racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs or beliefs of a similar nature, your physical or mental health, trade union membership or sexual life. You would always be told the reason for being asked these questions.  

We never knowingly invite children under the age of 16 to participate in research studies without taking measures to ensure appropriate consent from a parent or guardian.

How your personal data is used

 I use the personal data I collect about you for legitimate interests which include some or all of the following: – If you have taken part in market research I may retain your personal data to verify that any future attendance does not exceed the levels recommended by the Market Research Society – To make sure you get any incentives you’re promised – To reply to and deal with any questions, suggestions, issues, complaints or disputes you have contacted me about.

I may share your data with agreed research companies to respond to a dispute or complaint that you or they raise about how the market research was carried out – To respond to any social media posts or other public comments you might make, whether they are directly to me, my services or other activities; – To help maintain administrative and statutory records about my business so I can better understand who I’ve recruited and pay taxes.

Sharing your information

I recruit individuals to participate in market research on behalf of third parties (Research companies). Your information will only be shared by the Research companies that are conducting their studies and their client. Consent for this will be sought at time of recruitment, either by phone, email and/or social media. Where relevant, all documentation regarding the Research companies Privacy Procedure and GDPR will be included in any documentation sent to you, as a Respondent. All data collected will comply with the Market Research Code of Conduct and your details will not be passed on to any third party companies and anything you say or do will be strictly confidential and will not be related directly to you in any post-research reporting.

Social Media, Blogs and Reviews

Any social media posts or comments you send (on our Facebook page, for instance) will be shared under the terms of the relevant social media platform (e.g. Facebook or Twitter) on which they’re written and could be made public. Other people, not me, control these platforms. I am not responsible for this kind of sharing. So before you make any such remarks or observations, you should review the terms and conditions and privacy policies of the social media platforms you use. That way you’ll understand how they will use your information, what information relating to you they will place in the public domain and how you can stop them from doing so if you’re unhappy about it. It’s worth remembering too that any blog, review, or other posts or comments you make about me, and services on any of my blogs, reviews or user community services will be shared with all other members of that service and the public at large. You should take extra care to ensure that any comments you make on these services are not offensive, insulting or defamatory. Ultimately, you are responsible for ensuring that any comments you make comply with any relevant policy on acceptable use of those services.

International transfer of information

Although based in the UK I recruit participants on behalf of clients around the world. If you take part in market research for a client who is not located within the EU the relevant Research company will ask your consent before any personal data is transferred.

Your rights

You have various rights about the processing of your personal data: – The right to be informed. You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data. This will be achieved in conjunction with the privacy policy of the Market Research Company that runs the fieldwork. If there is a requirement for any additional data protection information I will advise you of this when I speak to you – The right of access. You have the right to access your data and any supplementary information. You can request details of the personal data I have about you by submitting a subject access request in writing to danielle@opinionscount.co.uk.  Certain exemptions and conditions apply to this right: – The right to rectification. If you think that any data we hold about you is incorrect you can request either verbally or in writing for it to be rectified – The right to be forgotten. You have the right to have your personal data erased if the personal data is no longer necessary for the purpose which it was originally collected or processed for. If you originally gave consent for your data to be held you can withdraw consent. I reserve the right not to comply with any enquiries or requests we receive about the information I collect, where I may lawfully do so. For example, if I have reason to believe that a request is malicious, technically impossible, involves disproportionate effort or could be harmful to others – The right to object. You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data. – The right to restrict processing. You can request the restriction or suppression of your personal data under certain circumstances. More information on your data protection rights can be found on the ICO website www.ico.org.uk/for-the-public/ If you have any worries or complaints about the way I use your information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. I’ll do my very best to set your mind at rest or if anything is wrong to put things right. And if, for whatever reason, you feel I’m not meeting the exceptionally high standards I expect of myself, you’re within your rights to tell the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Using my Web Page on Facebook (Opinions Count) every user who visits this site does so at their own risk. I offer no guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of the information on this site and assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions in the contents of the site.

Additionally I cannot be held responsible for the presence or absence of computer viruses or other bugs which third parties may embed in or attach to this Site without my knowledge or consent. No parties, who are involved in the creation, production or delivery of this site, or whose materials or information appear in this site assumes or accepts any liability for any costs, losses, damages arising out of the user’s access to the site or with the unavailability or failure of performance of this site for any reason. This website may contains links to other websites you may find useful. Once you leave this website we have no control over the content or security of other websites.

Updates

We will need to update this policy from time to time as our business changes. Please look out for the flags on my Facebook page and materials which indicate I have changed this policy. If you continue to provide me with information or use our services after I’ve changed my policy, I’ll take it that you accept the changes.

Data Security

 Any personal details collected by myself on paper will be destroyed within 3 months of the research project you have chosen to participate in has been completed. This will be done by myself using secure shredding or by the Research company, whereby they request to receive the relevant documentation. Any personal details that need to be emailed to the Research company will be password protected and appropriately encrypted to deter any breach of data. If you have given consent to be re-contacted for future research projects, your data will be stored on GDPR compliant systems. You have the right to withdraw your consent from this database at any time. If children are needed for specific research purposes, their data will not be captured unless written consent has been received by those with parental responsibility and never for children under the age of 13 years of age Privacy Policy.