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Privacy Policy 

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Effective Date: 1st July 2024

At Family Mediation Online ("we", "our", or "us"), we are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal data is handled securely and in compliance with applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you use our family mediation services within England and Wales.

1. Information We Collect

We collect and process the following types of personal data:

  • Personal Identification Information: Name, address, telephone number, email address, and other contact information.

  • Mediation Information: Details relevant to family mediation, including information about family members, legal disputes, and personal circumstances necessary for the mediation process.

  • Payment Information: Billing details, bank account numbers, and transaction data for processing payments.

  • Website Usage Information: Information about your interactions with our website, including IP address, browser type, and cookies.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information to:

  • Provide Mediation Services: Facilitate family mediation sessions and manage the mediation process, including communications between parties.

  • Legal Compliance: Fulfil our legal obligations under family law or as required by courts or other authorities.

  • Communication: Respond to your inquiries, provide updates about your case, and manage any requests or feedback.

  • Payments: Process payments for services rendered and send invoices.

  • Improvement of Services: Analyse usage of our website and services to improve functionality and customer experience.

3. Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data

We process your personal data under the following legal bases:

  • Consent: When you provide your personal data for mediation services, we obtain your explicit consent to process the data as required for mediation.

  • Contractual Necessity: We process data necessary for the performance of our contract with you.

  • Legal Obligations: In some cases, we are required to process your data to comply with legal or regulatory requirements, such as reporting to courts or legal authorities.

4. How We Share Your Information

We only share your personal information under specific circumstances:

  • With Mediation Professionals: Data may be shared with accredited family mediators involved in your case.

  • With Legal Authorities: We may share your personal data with legal professionals, courts, or other authorities if required by law or to comply with legal obligations.

  • Third-Party Service Providers: We may share data with service providers, such as IT support, hosting, or payment processors, to facilitate our services.

  • In Case of Business Transfers: If our business undergoes a merger, acquisition, or other transfer of assets, your personal data may be part of the transferred assets.

5. Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. We implement secure storage and transmission protocols, and access to your data is restricted to authorized personnel.

However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your data.

6. Your Data Rights

You have the following rights under the GDPR concerning your personal data:

  • Access: You can request access to your personal data and obtain a copy of the information we hold about you.

  • Correction: You may request corrections to inaccurate or incomplete data.

  • Erasure: You can ask for the deletion of your personal data, subject to legal obligations.

  • Data Portability: You may request the transfer of your data to another service provider.

  • Object/Restrict Processing: You may object to or request restrictions on the processing of your personal data.

  • Withdraw Consent: If we rely on your consent for processing, you can withdraw this consent at any time.

To exercise your rights, please contact us using the details provided below.

7. Data Retention

We will retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collected it, including satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies to improve your experience and track usage patterns. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. You can choose to disable cookies through your browser settings, but this may affect the functionality of our website.

9. Children's Privacy

Our services are designed for adults involved in family mediation. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected such data, we will take steps to delete it.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal obligations. Any changes will be posted on our website, and the "Effective Date" will be updated accordingly.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us:

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Complaints Procedure 

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We hope that you will have no cause to complain. However, should you be unhappy with the service you receive, we would wish to know and see if we can put it right. 

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In relation to our complaints procedure we adhere to the Family Mediation Council (FMC) and the Family Mediation Standards Board (FMSB) advice and recommendations. 

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We will review and respond fully to any complaint from a client, a former client or a qualifying third party (see below) where you believe we have breached Family Mediation Council’s Codes of Practice or Standards Framework within the last three months. In relation to any complaint, the date will run from the last mediation session. 

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It is part of our privacy policy and our agreement to mediate that any information held about you and the mediation process can be shared with FMC and / or the FMSB to allow them to properly investigate the matter. 

Link to the FMC’s Code of Practice 

https://www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/us/code-practice/ 

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How to complain 

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  1. Please raise the issue in mediation if possible, so your mediator(s) can deal with the problem straight away. You can also raise a complaint after mediation. Simply email us, telling us about your experience. All complaints should be addressed to Amy Dixon. email: info@family-mediation-online.co.uk or amy@amydixoncoaching.co.uk

  2. We will acknowledge your complaint within 10 working days. 

  3. A full review will then be undertaken and the mediator concerned will explain their understanding of the situation and you will receive a full response within 28 working days.

  4. Should you wish, the complaint can be dealt via mediation with an external mediator if we also agree that to be a suitable way forward. We can approach the FMC for them to recommend an appropriate mediator. 

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In the event you are still unhappy and wish to take your complaint further, you contact the Family Mediation Standards Board (FMSB) to consider your complaint. 

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To do this, please contact the FMSB: https://www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/complaints-about-mediators/ 

FMSB - What type of complaints will be considered? 

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The FMSB will consider complaints that concern breaches of the FMC’s professional standards. The professional standards are set out in the FMC’s Code of Practice, the FMC’s Code of Practice for Professional Practice Consultants and the FMC’s Manual of Professional Standards and Self-Regulatory Framework. 

FMSB - How can the complaint be made? 

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A complaint can be made to the FMSB by completing our complaints form which you can download here. Once completed, please send this form and any supporting documents to complaints@familymediationcouncil.org.uk 

If you struggle to complete the form, you can ask someone to help you to do this or phone the FMC office on 01707 594055 between 9am – 3pm, Monday to Friday. 

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Qualifying Third Parties 

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The following qualify as third parties who can make a complaint against a mediator: 

  • A prospective client who has been directly affected by a mediator’s professional behaviour; 

  • A person who has been invited to participate in a mediation process, for example another professional who attends a mediation. 

For the avoidance of doubt, it is common for a mediator to contact a potential mediation participant after seeing the other potential mediation participant. Complaints about a mediator making contact with a potential participant do not therefore need to be investigated by mediators and will not be accepted by the FMSB. 

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Likewise, mediators may sign court forms to say one person has attended a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) without notifying a potential second mediation participant or inviting them to attend MIAM themselves. Complaints about a mediator not making contact with a potential participant do not therefore need to be investigated by mediators and will not be accepted by the FMSB. 

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Please note that neither mediators nor the FMSB will be able to disclose any information to you that is confidential between the mediator and the mediation participant(s). It is therefore normal that as a third party, you will only receive a limited amount of information in response to your complaint, even in circumstances where it is considered by the FMSB. 

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