Scope and who is responsible for your data
This policy explains how CV WS collects and uses personal information when you visit our website, request a CV review, contact us, buy or use our services, communicate with a career specialist, or ask us to apply for or circulate your details to career opportunities.
CV WS is the controller of the personal information described in this policy. This means we decide why and how that information is used.
- Email: admin@cv-ws.com
- Telephone: 020 4620 6352
- Address: 1029a Finchley Rd, Finchley, London NW11 7ES
The information we collect
We may collect the following categories of information:
- Identity and contact details: name, email address, telephone number, postal address and communication preferences.
- Career information: CVs, employment history, education, qualifications, skills, achievements, salary expectations, job preferences, LinkedIn details and other information needed to prepare career documents or support applications.
- Order and transaction details: package, services, order history, payment status, invoices and refunds. Payment providers process full card details; we do not ordinarily receive or store them.
- Communications: messages, consultation notes, feedback, complaints, call or chat details and files you send to us.
- Application information: vacancies considered, applications submitted, recruiters or employers contacted, and responses received where ApplyMate or circulation services are requested.
- Technical information: IP address, browser and device information, referral source, page activity, security logs and cookie identifiers.
Your CV may contain information about health, disability, ethnicity, trade-union membership, criminal history or other sensitive matters. Please provide sensitive information only where it is relevant and you want us to use it. Where special-category information is necessary, we will identify an appropriate legal condition and, where required, ask for explicit consent.
If you provide information about another person, such as a referee, you must have authority to share it and should direct them to this policy where appropriate.
Where personal information comes from
Most information comes directly from you through forms, file uploads, orders, questionnaires, consultations, email, telephone, live chat or your communications with a career specialist.
Where you ask us to provide application, LinkedIn or recruiter services, we may also obtain professional information from public profiles, job platforms, recruiters, employers or people you authorise to communicate with us. Technical information may be generated automatically when you use the website.
How we use information and our lawful bases
| Purpose | Information | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Answer enquiries and provide quotations | Identity, contact and enquiry information | Steps before entering a contract; legitimate interests in responding to enquiries |
| Provide CV writing and career services | Identity, contact, career, order and communication information | Performance of our contract with you |
| Process payments, refunds and accounting | Identity, transaction and order information | Contract and legal obligations |
| Provide ApplyMate, circulation and application support | Career, contact, vacancy and application information | Contract; consent where required for particular disclosures or sensitive information |
| Prevent fraud and protect our website | Technical, order and communication information | Legitimate interests in security and fraud prevention; legal obligations |
| Improve services and understand website use | Feedback, technical and aggregated usage information | Legitimate interests; consent where non-essential cookies require it |
| Handle complaints and legal claims | Order, communication, transaction and career information | Legal obligations and legitimate interests in establishing or defending claims |
| Send marketing where permitted | Identity, contact and preference information | Consent or legitimate interests where permitted by electronic-marketing rules |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, those interests include operating and improving our business, securing our services, responding to customers, keeping appropriate records and protecting legal rights. We assess those interests against your rights and reasonable expectations.
ApplyMate, CV circulation and recruiter sharing
If you purchase or request ApplyMate, CV circulation or recruiter outreach, you instruct us to share relevant career and contact information with selected job platforms, recruitment agencies, recruiters and prospective employers.
Those recipients will normally become independent controllers of the information they receive and will process it under their own privacy notices. We share only information reasonably needed for the requested activity. You can withdraw future instructions, but this will not reverse applications or disclosures already made.
International transfers
Some technology providers, job platforms, recruiters or employers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Data-protection laws in those locations may differ from UK law.
Where a restricted transfer occurs, we use a lawful transfer mechanism where required, such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to approved standard contractual clauses, or another legally permitted safeguard. You may contact us for further information about the relevant safeguards.
How long we retain information
We keep information only for as long as reasonably needed for the purpose collected, legal requirements and the establishment or defence of claims. Our usual periods are:
- website file attachments: checked in memory and sent to our staff mailbox without being written to an application-managed file store;
- general enquiries that do not become customers: up to 24 months after the last meaningful contact;
- working files and draft career documents: normally up to 12 months after finalisation, unless needed for an ongoing service or dispute;
- final documents, core instructions and service history: up to six years after completion, or longer where you continue to use our free-update service and ask us to retain them;
- ApplyMate and application activity: normally up to 12 months after the relevant service ends;
- transaction, invoice and tax records: normally six years after the relevant financial year or as otherwise required by law;
- marketing records: until you opt out or we determine the information is no longer current; suppression records may be kept to respect your choice;
- security logs: normally up to 12 months unless required for investigation.
We may retain information longer where a complaint, legal claim, safeguarding concern or regulatory requirement applies. We securely delete or anonymise information when it is no longer required.
Security, file uploads and email
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information, including access controls, secure hosting, encrypted transmission where supported, restricted credentials and confidentiality requirements.
Website CVs and attachments of up to 4 MB are checked for their declared format and screened before they are sent as email attachments to authorised staff. We do not write the uploaded bytes to Vercel Blob, Redis or an application-managed file store. Our email and malware-screening providers may process a file to provide their services under their applicable terms and data-processing arrangements. Email and internet transmission involve inherent risks, so you should avoid sending irrelevant sensitive information and retain your own copies.
No system can be guaranteed completely secure. If we become aware of a personal-data breach, we will investigate and notify affected people and the ICO where the law requires.
Marketing choices
We may send information about relevant CV WS services where you have consented or where the law otherwise permits us to contact an existing customer. You can opt out at any time using the unsubscribe option in a message or by emailing admin@cv-ws.com.
Opting out of marketing does not prevent necessary service communications about an enquiry, order, payment, document, application or support request.
Your right to object
You have an absolute right to object to direct marketing. You may also object where we rely on legitimate interests. We will stop the relevant processing unless we have compelling lawful grounds to continue, except that direct marketing will always stop.
Your data-protection rights
Depending on the circumstances and lawful basis, you may have the right to:
- receive information about how we use your data;
- request access to and a copy of your personal information;
- correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
- request deletion of information in certain circumstances;
- restrict how information is used;
- object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
- receive certain information in a portable, machine-readable format;
- withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.
To exercise a right, contact admin@cv-ws.com. We may request information needed to verify your identity. We normally respond within one month, although the law permits an extension for particularly complex or numerous requests. Rights are not absolute and exemptions may apply.
If you are dissatisfied, please contact us first so we can investigate. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or by calling 0303 123 1113.
Automated decision-making
We do not currently make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. ATS tools may be used to assess and improve how a CV is likely to be parsed, but a career specialist remains involved and the tool does not make an employment decision.
Children’s information
Our services are intended for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information directly from children. If a parent or guardian believes a child has provided information, they should contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate action.
Changes to this policy and contact
We review this policy when our services, suppliers or legal obligations change. We will publish updates on this page and change the date above. If a change materially affects how we use information already collected, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to your attention before the new use begins.
Questions, complaints and rights requests should be sent to admin@cv-ws.com, by telephone on 020 4620 6352, or by post to CV WS, 1029a Finchley Rd, Finchley, London NW11 7ES.