The RVC Animal Care Trust Privacy Policy

The aim of this Policy is to clarify to our supporters exactly how we use information you supply to us and why we do this. We will always act in good faith with your data and we will never sell it to third parties. Anything we do with your data is to aid our communication with you, keep you informed about our activities and generally manage our relationship with you. If at any time you are unsure about how or why we are using your data please do not hesitate to get in touch with us so we can answer your query and ensure you are receiving the communications you want from us via your preferred means of communication.

What is the RVC ACT?

We are a registered charity (281571) created by a Trust Deed in 1982. Initially our main aim was to raise the funds needed to establish a new veterinary referral hospital (the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals) but we now raise funds for a wide range of projects carried out at the Royal Veterinary College. You will find further formal information about us on the Charity Commission website.

What information do we collect and why? We collect your contact information ‘personal data’ when it is provided by you in order to administer your relationship with us. This would mainly comprise your name, address, e-mail address and telephone number. In addition we may also record the following information in order to help tailor our communications with you:

If you have been a client in one of our hospitals:

• Which species of animal you own
• Which team you visited

If you have studied at the RVC:

• Which course you studied
• When you graduated
• Where you work now (this information would come from you or from the RCVS Register)
• Whether you have specialised in a certain field of veterinary medicine

Where do we get information from and how do we use it?

We get the majority of our information from you and where permitted to do so from other RVC databases (for example the Hospitals databases). For our alumni and veterinary professionals we also use the RCVS register to ensure our information about you is up to date.

We occasionally ‘cleanse’ and improve our data and this involves sending all data held by us to a third party supplier who checks it against publically available information for example addresses, listed Directorships or typical earnings in a given area. This means we will be notified if supporters have moved house (and they will send us a new address if possible) or if they have died. It also helps us to build a profile of our supporters which enables us to tailor our communications and allows us to target our resources effectively. The reason we do this is to keep down our mailing costs as much as possible by reducing the number of returns and to try and maintain our relationship with you. It also helps us to make appropriate requests to supporters who may be able and willing to give more than they already do.  

We only use trusted and carefully-selected third party suppliers who will do nothing with the data other than what we have asked them to do for the benefit of the charity.

Essentially we use all information provided by you to service and improve our relationship with you. This would include:

• Administering donations and processing transactions
• Fulfilling requests from you for information
• Supporting you in your own fundraising
• Recording our contacts with you
• Fulfilling official process requirements eg Gift Aid claims

Storing information – how we keep it safe

All information held by the RVC Animal Care Trust is kept on a single database. This database can only be accessed by individuals who work for the RVC who have been specifically given an account and who have undertaken training on its use and RVC Data Protection policy. The database is password protected and each individual user will only have a level of access relevant to their individual role.

When information is transferred to third party suppliers (who may be based abroad) this is done via a secure process adhering to strict data protection laws and internal policies.

We may also have information stored in paper files. These are kept in lockable cupboards within the RVC Development Office offices which have limited access.

Your rights

The Data Protection Act gives you a number of rights in respect of the personal data that organisations hold about you. These are:

• a right of access to a copy of the information comprised in your personal data
• a right to object to processing that is likely to cause or is causing damage or distress
• a right to prevent processing for direct marketing
• a right to object to decisions being taken by automated means
• a right in certain circumstances to have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed
• a right to claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the Act.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights please contact the RVC’s Data Protection Officer in writing at RVC, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms AL9 7TA. It is our policy to charge a fee of £10 for a subject access request.

The RVC Animal Care Trust is not a ‘public authority’ as defined under the Freedom of Information Act and we will not therefore respond to requests for information made under this Act.

Contact us

E-mail: act@rvc.ac.uk

Tel: 01707 666237

Address: RVC Animal Care Trust, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Herts AL7 4RL

The ACT is very keen to fundraise in an appropriate way with our supporters and potential supporters and we are particularly conscious of our responsibilities to vulnerable people. Anyone fundraising on behalf of the ACT must ensure they communicate clearly and do not exploit the credulity, lack of knowledge, or vulnerable circumstances of any member of the public at any point in time – this information will be provided in the fundraising guides provided to all volunteer fundraisers.

Where any member of ACT staff or a volunteer is fundraising for the ACT and is concerned about an individual’s capacity to understand their actions and the consequence of those actions they must cease the fundraising activity immediately and report the situation to the Head of Fundraising. If a vulnerability is confirmed subsequent to a donation being made, and the donor or their representative requires a donation to be returned, this will be reported to the ACT Management Committee and affected as soon as is practicable. Any such incidents would be reported in our accounts.

The RVC Animal Care Trust will always aim to treat supporters with the highest level of care and respect. When a complaint is received it will be logged and investigated promptly in line with the process outlined below.

Complaints are an important opportunity for supporters to express their dissatisfaction with our activities or communications and they are valuable to us in our aim to constantly improve our work.

We are regulated by the Fundraising Regulator (FR), the independent regulator of charity fundraising. The FR sets and promotes the standards for all fundraising activity, known as the 'Code of Fundraising Practice'. We regularly review our activities and the Code to ensure we are fully compliant. For more information on the FR, please visit the Fundraising Regulator website.

If you have a complaint about our activities or communications you can communicate this to us by phone, e-mail or post using the following contact details:

The RVC Animal Care Trust
Hawkshead Lane
North Mymms
Hertfordshire
AL9 7TA
Tel: 01707 666237
Email: act@rvc.ac.uk

We take all complaints seriously and aim to resolve complaints quickly, fairly and effectively. We promise to deal with your complaint respectfully with discretion and sensitivity. We will acknowledge your complaint, no later than two working days after receipt and will aim to resolve you complaint immediately. In order to assist us with your enquiries, please provide your contact details and explain your concerns as clearly and fully as possible.

If we need to undertake further investigations in order to address your complaint, we will provide you with an expected timescale for our response as part of your acknowledgement and keep you updated throughout our investigations. You will receive a full response from us at the earliest possible opportunity and no later than 20 working days from the date we received your complaint. If you feel we have not resolved your complaint in an honest, open and satisfactory way you can request that your complaint be escalated to the Charity’s Senior Management Team who will review your concerns and the initial outcome before responding to you fully.

Following this, if you remain dissatisfied you can get in touch with the Fundraising Regulator or the Charity Commission.

We are required by the FR to maintain a log of all complaints raised, and report this to the FR once a year. This report will include information about you as the complainant. If you would like further information, or have any concerns, about the information we may hold about you in this regard, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

If your complaint relates to the RVC’s Clinical Services please visit here. If you are an RVC student or a parent or guardian of an RVC student and would like to make a complaint, please visit here.