Privacy notice
Last updated 16 October 2026.
1. Who we are
Appeal Specialists is the controller of the personal data described in this notice. You can contact us about anything in it at legal@appealspecialists.co.uk. We follow the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
2. Whose data we use
- Clients: people and businesses we act for.
- People involved in a client's matter: for example staff of parking operators, councils and traders, customers who owe our clients money, police officers named in a complaint, and witnesses.
- People who write to us, including organisations replying to our correspondence.
3. What we collect
- Names, postal and email addresses, and the name of the business you act for.
- Vehicle registration details, and the notices, decisions and correspondence about a penalty.
- Invoices, quotes, contracts, payment history and correspondence about a debt or dispute.
- Photos and documents you send us as evidence.
- For police matters, details of the police contact you are complaining about. We ask you not to send us details of anything you may be investigated for.
- Health or other sensitive information only if you choose to send it so we can rely on it, for example in a request for a parking charge to be cancelled.
4. Why we use it and our lawful bases
| Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Acting on a client's instructions | Contract (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b)), or legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)) where there is no contract |
| Using the data of other people involved in a matter, such as a customer who owes money | Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)): establishing, exercising or defending our client's legal rights |
| Health or other special category data you send us | Your explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a)), or establishing, exercising or defending legal claims (Article 9(2)(f)) |
| Information about police contact or alleged offences | Your consent, or legal claims, under the Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 1 |
| Keeping business and tax records | Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) |
5. Who we share it with
- The organisation or person the matter is against, such as a parking operator, council, police force, trader or customer.
- Independent bodies dealing with the matter, such as POPLA, the IAS, the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, London Tribunals, police and crime commissioners, the Independent Office for Police Conduct and ombudsmen.
- Our email and document storage providers, who process data on our instructions.
We do not sell personal data or use it for marketing.
6. Transfers outside the UK
If a service provider stores data outside the UK, we make sure the transfer is covered by UK adequacy regulations or appropriate safeguards such as the International Data Transfer Agreement.
7. How long we keep it
We keep matter files for six years after a matter ends, because claims can usually be brought for up to six years. We delete or anonymise data sooner where we no longer need it.
8. This website
This website does not use cookies or analytics. The fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, so your browser sends your IP address to Google when a page loads. Emails you send us are handled by our email provider.
9. Your rights
You have the right to ask for a copy of your personal data, to have it corrected, to have it deleted or its use restricted, to object to our use of it where we rely on legitimate interests, to receive it in a portable format, and to withdraw consent where we rely on consent. Some rights do not apply in every case, for example where we need data for a legal claim. Email us to use your rights. We will respond within one month.
10. Complaints
Please contact us first if you have a concern. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, or at ico.org.uk.
11. Changes
We will update this notice when our practices change, and show the date of the latest version at the top.