Privacy policy

Mental Health & Money Advice takes great care to preserve your privacy and safeguard any personal details you provide to us on this website. This Policy outlines how personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be held and processed.

Please read the following privacy policy to understand what information we collect, and the circumstances we will use that information. We also explain your data protection rights, including your right to object to the information we hold about you.

When dealing with your personal information we will always comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, its replacement from May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulations, and any other applicable legislation.

By using our website or providing us with your personal information you are agreeing to this Policy. We may update this Policy at any time without notice to you, so please check it regularly.

Information we may collect about you

What information can I submit to you?

You do not need to provide any personal data to use the website unless you give us explicit consent through our "Tell us your story" or "Share a tip" online forms within our site.

The information you provide us may include:

• your name
• date of birth 
• email address
• phone number
• your mental health condition
• location

If you provide us with any sensitive personal information, like your mental health condition, it will be treated as confidential in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

If you are happy to share your personal details with us or if you would like us to share your story with the media or other parties as part of our work highlighting mental health and money problems (for example, on our blog), you can choose to remain anonymous. This means we can tell your story but we won’t use your name. 

If you choose to provide feedback we will ask what your link is to mental health. For example, we might ask if you have a mental illness or if you are a carer, friend or relative of someone who does, or if you have another connection to mental illness. This is so we can understand who is using the site and how we can add or change any of our content so that it is more relevant to you.

Who has my information?

Your information is held by Mental Health UK which runs Mental Health & Money Advice.

Mental Health UK is a charitable incorporated organisation (number 1170815). You can contact Mental Health UK in relation to your data using the following details:

Email: info@mentalhealth-uk.org

Mental Health UK works across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to improve the lives of people with mental illness, and to support carers. Together our four founding member charities; Rethink Mental Illness, Change Mental Health, Adferiad, and MindWise have worked for over 40 years to provide services, information, and advice to support anyone affected by mental illness.

All information submitted by you is stored securely in a database which is managed by one of the founding charities, Rethink Mental Illness.

What information do you collect about me automatically?

Your IP address is classed as personal data (as it can be used to identify your device and its location), however, we do not store this information or attribute it to an individual at any point.

We automatically collect technical information when you use our website which may include, but is not limited to, IP address, browser type, operating system, and platform.

We collect this data so that we can evaluate the website's performance and optimise our content to better meet the needs of people with mental health and money problems.

If you submit a story or tip through our website forms we will ask you to enter which UK nation you are based in so that we can give you advice and information relevant to that region, but this alone is not personal data.

What about cookies?

We do use website cookies to remember which nation you selected when you entered this site. This means that any information you see on the site will be accurate in relation to the laws of the nation you selected.

You can opt-out of all our cookies (except the necessary ones). Find out how to delete cookies in your browser. Please note, if you choose to refuse all cookies, our website may not function as we intend it to.

How we use the information we collect

If you contact us through the "Tell us your story" or "Share a tip" online form you may choose to provide details of a sensitive nature. We will only use this information:

• For the purposes of understanding your submission, we will follow up with you using the contact details you provide.
• We will not pass on your details to anyone else without your express permission except in exceptional circumstances. Examples of this might include anyone reporting serious self-harm, a risk to life or posing a threat to others.
• Where you have given us your express consent or clearly indicated to us that you are happy for us to share your story, we will use it to promote the service more widely across the website, media outlets and through existing Mental Health UK communication channels. This may include Mental Health UK's founding member charities which include Adferiad, MindWise, Rethink Mental Illness, and Change Mental Health.
• We will not contact you with any communication after you have used the site unless you have given us explicit consent to do so via the "Tell us your story" or "Share a tip" online form. Nor will we pass your details to any of our partners or any other third party.

How do you store my information?

We do not store any personally identifiable information within our website or elsewhere unless you give us explicit consent through our "Tell us your story" or "Share a hint" website submission forms.

Your information is kept in the UK. We will not transfer your data outside of the UK. The record of your case will be stored securely in an electronic case management system accessed by relevant staff only.

We make no representations about any other websites, and when you access any other website through a link on our website (including social media sites) you should understand that it is independent of us and that we have no control over that website or the way your personal information is collected through those websites.

Those websites may have their own privacy policies and we encourage you to look at those policies or contact the website operators directly to understand how your personal information is used.

How long will you keep my information?

Once you have submitted your personal information through our "Tell us your story" or "Share a tip" website forms, we will store this information securely within our database, and keep this for five years. Please contact our data controller for more information, to amend or delete any personally identifiable information we may hold of you.

Email: info@mentalhealth-uk.org

What rights do I have regarding my personal data?

1. You have the right to access any personal data which we may hold. Please email your request to info@mentalhealth-uk.org. We have one month in which to respond. There is no fee payable, although there are some circumstances where we may charge you a reasonable administrative fee.
2. If you have given us your consent to use personal information (for example, you have shared your story with us), you can withdraw your consent at any time.
3. You have the right to be forgotten. You can ask us to delete your information. Please be aware that we cannot be held accountable for the deletion of your personal data by a third party e.g. media outlets including newspapers or television networks.
4. If you believe the information we have about you is not accurate, you have the right to ask us to correct or update the information.
5. In certain situations, you have the right to ask for the use of the information you have given us to be restricted if there is disagreement about whether it is correct, or how it is being used.
6. Where we are using your information with your permission, the law allows you to request that we move your information to another service provider.
7. Automated decision-making takes place when an electronic system uses personal information to make a decision without human intervention. You have the right not to be subject to automated decisions. You also have the right to challenge decisions made about you. We do not currently conduct any automated decision-making.

What can I do if I am unhappy about anything in relation to my personal data?

You can email us at info@mentalhealth-uk.org. If we are not able to resolve your issue around how we have handled your data then you can make a formal complaint. Please ask for a copy of our complaints policy.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner. Their website is www.ico.org.uk. If you don’t have internet access you can call the helpline on: 0303 123 1113.

Are your real-life stories real?

Yes, all of our stories are real cases. If an individual has requested to remain anonymous we use a different name and image to support their story.