Privacy Policy

The Middle Way Society wishes to respect your privacy and we understand how important it is that your personal information remains secure.

We will not reveal information about you without your permission and will not disclose your attendance on a retreat unless we are required to do so for legal reasons or by the emergency services.

If you are booking a retreat with us, please ensure that the emergency contact person that you declare on your booking form is aware that you are attending a retreat with us.

We hope that this statement answers any questions you may have regarding our care of your information but if you have any further questions please contact:

Jim Champion
Secretary
jim@middlewaysociety.org

1. What information does the Middle Way Society collect about me?

Joining the Society
In order to join the Middle Way Society we ask for the following information from you:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Email address
  • Confirmation that you are aged 18 years or more
  • Telephone number (optional)

If you pay your membership fees using PayPal then PayPal will share with us details of your name and address. We need this information so that our Treasurer can match your payment with your membership, and also for financial auditing purposes.

If you pay your membership fees using a direct bank transfer we only ask that you provide your name as a reference so that our Treasurer can match your payment with your membership, and also for financial auditing purposes.

As stated on the membership form, we can if you wish share your name and email (only) with other local members so that you can get in touch with each other. This is entirely optional and will only be done if you specifically opt into it on the membership application. We cannot take responsibility for the use of your name and email address by other members when you select this option.

Coming on retreat or attending an event
In order to complete your retreat or event booking we ask for the following information from you:

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Address
  • Telephone number
  • Confirmation that you are aged 18 years or more
  • Your preference (if any) for who to share a room with
  • Whether you have any specific needs relating to a disability or health condition
  • Any special dietary needs or preferences (optional)
  • Contact details for someone we can get in touch with in the event of an emergency

We need this information in order to communicate with you about your booking and to help with room allocation. We do not collect sensitive information about you unless there is a clear reason for doing so, such as ensuring we meet specific needs you may have.

If you pay your retreat fees using PayPal then PayPal will share with us details of your name and address. We need this information so that our Treasurer can match your payment with your booking, and also for financial auditing purposes.

If you pay your retreat fees using a direct bank transfer we only ask that you provide your name as a reference so that our Treasurer can match your payment with your booking, and also for financial auditing purposes.

2. Who at the Middle Way Society has access to my data?

The information we store on our system is accessed by members of the Middle Way Society Committee, as required as part of their duties.

Retreat booking information will be shared with the person(s) leading the retreat.

All the committee members and retreat leaders are aware of the importance of confidentiality and your right to privacy.

3. How do you use my information to keep me up-to date with The Middle Way Society’s news and activities?

From May 2018, in line with our commitment to best practice around data protection, we will only contact you about our news, activities and fundraising appeals if you have specifically said you agree to us doing this, and we will only contact you in the way(s) you have agreed to.

Our communications consist of our monthly email newsletter and any other ad hoc communications via email.

What if I want to change my communications preferences at a later date?
The monthly email newsletter is distributed using MailChimp, and every newsletter offers you links to unsubscribe from the list or to update your subscription preferences, if you so wish.

You can also let us know of any changes to your communications preferences at any time by emailing the secretary jim@middlewaysociety.org.

4. Do you ever share my information with third parties?

We will not at any time sell or exchange your information. We may use other companies to provide services on our behalf. These are trusted partner organisations that work with us in connection with our charitable purposes. We only provide these partners with the information they need to deliver the required service. We ensure that any third party we employ has a robust privacy policy and that appropriate compliance contracts are in place. The third parties that we currently use are:

If you have booked a retreat or event with us then we may need to share some of the booking information with the retreat or event venue providers, to enable them to fulfil their role in your retreat or event.

We do not share your information for any other purposes.

5. How is my credit/debit card information processed?

If your membership fee, retreat booking fee or one-off donation is processed through the Middle Way Society website we do not have access to your payment card details. These are processed by PayPal. PayPal privacy policy

6. How secure is the information I give you?

The Middle Way Society takes the care of your data seriously and undertakes to protect your personal information by putting in place appropriate procedures to safeguard and secure the data we collect.

In today’s cyber environment it is unfortunately not possible to completely guarantee against loss, misuse or alteration of data, for example in the event of a successful cyber-attack. However, should this scenario arise, we have a robust data breach notification procedure in place and will contact you as soon as possible giving full details of any data that has been compromised.

7. How long will you keep my information?

Membership information
The information you disclose in relation to your membership is held on our database. If you choose not to renew your membership we will retain your information for no more than five years.

Retreat or event booking information
The information you disclose in relation to your retreat booking is held on our email system to assist with your current booking and any future bookings. If you do not attend any further retreats then we will suppress your record after five years.

8. The right to be forgotten

You have the right to be ‘forgotten’, which means that if you request us to, we will remove all the data that we hold on you from our systems.

If you have made a fees payment, booking payment or donation within the last 12 months we are required to retain your details for two years for administrative purposes. Records of financial transactions will need to be held for seven years for accountancy and auditing purposes.

9. How can I see what information you hold on me?

Under the UK Data Protection Act 1998 and the EU General Data Protection Regulation you can request a report detailing the information we hold about you. To obtain a report, please send an email to the Secretary: jim@middlewaysociety.org

We aim to issue an initial response to all enquiries within seven days, and will offer a full response to all information access requests within a month. If we require additional time we will keep you informed.

The following information will be required before access is granted:

  • Your full name and contact details
  • Your relationship to the Middle Way Society
  • A copy of your passport or national ID card

Reports will be sent by email, unless you have negotiated another channel with us.

We reserve the right to charge a reasonable admin fee for additional copies of the
same information.

10. Who can I contact for further information?

Our processing of data is overseen by the committee of the Middle Way Society.

The person to contact regarding day-to-day data protection issues is the secretary.
Email: jim@middlewaysociety.org

If you are unhappy with the Society’s data practices and do not feel that we have addressed your concerns, please contact the UK Information Commissioner’s Office or call the helpline on +44 303 123 1113.

This statement is correct as of May 2018.

Any alterations to our statement on the collection or use of data will be posted on this
website.