About this privacy notice

This privacy notice is provided specifically for the purposes of Which?’s website concerning its smartphone claim against Qualcomm in order to govern any interaction with the claim website (www.smartphoneclaim.co.uk) and any data provided by users of the website.

The claim website is managed and maintained by Epiq Systems, Ltd. (including its affiliates and subsidiaries) (“Epiq”) – the claims administrator acting on behalf of and under the direction of Which? for the purposes of the claim. Data may be provided by users of the website, in respect of which Epiq acts as the data processor and Which? acts as the data controller. Which? and Epiq will collect and use any personal information provided in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”). This privacy notice is based on the principles and rules set out in the UK GDPR.

This privacy notice was last updated on 8 July 2022. The privacy notice is kept under regular review, and you are encouraged to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices. Any material changes will be notified via an update on the website and by email if you have provided an email address at which to receive updates regarding the claim.

About Which?

The Consumers' Association is a registered charity (Charity No 296072) and sits at the top of the Which? Group. The Consumers' Association is responsible for all Which? campaigns and the development of Which? policy and has been certified by the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal to bring the claim on behalf of affected consumers.

Where the Consumers’ Association is provided with your information in connection with the claim, it is a controller of your personal information for the purposes of data protection legislation. Its registered address is 2 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 4DF.

The Consumers’ Association is referred to in this privacy notice as “Which?”, “we”, “us” or “our”.

Scope of the privacy notice

This privacy notice applies to personal information we collect about you when you: (i) interact with us on this website; (ii) register your interest and receive periodic updates in relation to the smartphone claim; and (iii) submit any enquiries via the website form (here) or over the phone to the details set out at the end of this notice. It sets out:

  • what information we may collect for the purposes of the claim;
  • how we use that information;
  • who we share your information with and how it is protected;
  • your rights in relation to the information we hold about you;
  • how long we keep your information; and
  • contact details for Which? and Epiq.
1. WHAT INFORMATION WE MAY COLLECT FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE CLAIM
Information you provide to us voluntarily

You may give us and Epiq your personal information when you:

  1. use the claim website;
  2. contact us or Epiq for information; and/or
  3. register your interest to receive further and periodic updates in relation to the claim.

Where we request and you provide contact information in order to receive periodic updates regarding the claim, we will collect the information set out in the relevant forms. You may choose to provide additional information to us when you contact us or otherwise interact with us.

Information we collect automatically

We collect certain related data of visitors to the claim website automatically including what pages have been viewed and for how long. All data is collected for website visitors generally and the data is incapable of being connected to any specific website visitor. Information is also collected about how visitors arrive on the claim website, including what links have been clicked on. When you interact with a link outside of the claim website we will place a cookie on your browser so that, when you access the claim website, we recognise that you have reached the website from a related link. This information does not, however, identify any other information about you.

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually change your browser to prevent or notify you whenever you are sent a cookie. This gives you the chance to decide whether or not to accept the cookie. We use the information in cookies to help improve the claim website. If you do not accept a cookie, there may be limitations on your use of some site functions.

We may use automated devices and applications operated by third parties, including Google Analytics (http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/) to evaluate the usage of the claim website, in order to improve website performance. These third parties may use cookies and other tracking technologies to perform their services. We do not share your personal information with these third parties.

We and/or Epiq may use tracking technology (by way of a clear image gif) within our update emails to improve our future interactions with you. This means we are able to capture information including (but not limited to) the time and date you open our emails and the type of device used to open the email, to assist us (for example) in ensuring that our communications are reaching you.

We use this information primarily to understand, at an aggregate level, whether our emails are opened and what links are clicked on by our audiences. We then use this information to improve the emails and other communications that we send or display to you, and to evaluate the effectiveness of our updates. You can turn off email tracking by disabling automatic picture download within your email settings.

Types of information we may collect

We may collect, store and use the following types of information. Epiq, as the data processor, may collect the below data from website users on behalf of Which?, the data controller.

  1. your name and contact details that you provide to receive periodic updates in relation to the claim (including your email address(es));
  2. information that you may disclose to or share online, over the phone, or otherwise related to your claim (including via any website enquiry form);
  3. correspondence you have had with us;
  4. information about your computer / mobile device and your visits to and use of the claim website (but which cannot be otherwise identified to any individual); and
  5. any other information shared with us in accordance with the purpose of this privacy notice.

The following sections describe in more detail how Which?, or Epiq on its behalf, may use your information, and in particular the legal grounds on which we rely in doing so.

2. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
What we use your personal information for

We use the information collected:

  1. to provide periodic updates in relation to, and to communicate with you regarding, the claim;
  2. to enhance your online experience;
  3. to understand your website journey, including what pages you have viewed and for how long;
  4. to administer and keep safe and secure the claim website and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes;
  5. to train our staff and measure the quality of the service we give you; and
  6. to comply with laws and regulations that apply to us.

In carrying out the activities and purposes described above on behalf of Which?, data may be processed by Epiq who perform services or provide support in relation to the claim website. Data may also be disclosed to third parties as set forth below:

  1. authorised representatives or service providers acting on our behalf and engaged by Epiq to perform services or functions relating to the claim website and any update communications; and
  2. other third parties where necessary to comply with the law, a judicial proceeding, court order, or other legal process.

Your consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information can be express through written, electronic, or any other method. The choice to provide Which? and Epiq with your consent is always yours.

Epiq may also disclose the data to Which?, who has overall control over the data.

The legal grounds we rely on to process your information

The legal grounds on which we rely are:

  1. your consent (for example where you voluntarily provide contact details to us for the purposes of receiving updates);
  2. to pursue our legitimate interests (for example to facilitate your use of the claim website and to fulfil Which?’s duties as the class representative in the proceedings in updating affected consumers); and / or
  3. to fulfil a legal duty.
Legitimate interests

When we rely on our legitimate interests, these are as follows:

  1. keeping our records up to date;
  2. administering the claim website and keeping it safe and secure;
  3. ensuring that content is presented in the most effective manner for you and your devices;
  4. facilitating your use of the claim website;
  5. measuring the use of the claim website and improving their content and accessibility;
  6. measuring and understanding the effectiveness of updates;
  7. tailoring our communications so that they are most relevant to you; and
  8. complying with legal and / or regulatory requirements.
3. WHO WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH AND HOW IT IS PROTECTED
Who does Which? share my information with?

We, or one of the companies who work on our behalf, share your personal information with the following third parties:

  • Data processors

To help us fulfil our obligations as the class representative and to pursue our legitimate interests in pursuing the claim on behalf of the affected consumers, we may share your personal information with third parties who provide services to Which? or who act on Which?'s behalf, for instance Which? Limited, Epiq, IT and other providers. We do not authorise these companies to use or disclose your personal information except for the purpose of providing the service we request of them. Which? Limited is based in the United Kingdom (“UK”), but some third-party data processors may be based outside of the UK.

  • Social media companies, search engines and advertising platforms

A social networking widget may be found in many of our pages. This widget gives you the tool to bookmark the claim website, blog, share, tweet and email our content to a friend. Your interaction with this tool may result in further cookies from these social media companies being placed on your system.

Other circumstances in which we will disclose your information

We will disclose your information to local and foreign regulators, governments, law enforcement authorities, advisors, courts, tribunals and arbitrators when we have a legal obligation to do so or when we believe our compliance with the request to be fair, reasonable and lawful, e.g., to detect, prevent or investigate security breaches, fraud or other crimes.

We will also disclose your information to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, for example: (i) to enforce our terms & conditions; (ii) to ensure the safety and security of our users, consumers and third parties; and (iii) to protect our rights and property and the rights and property of the claim website visitors, consumers and third parties.

Location of third parties

Some potential recipients of your information might be located outside of the UK and the European Economic Area, in jurisdictions (including the United States) which do not have the same data protection laws as those in the UK. If we or Epiq do transfer your information outside the UK we will take appropriate steps to protect that information, which include:

  1. transferring to third parties in jurisdictions that the UK (or the European Commission had, at 31 December 2020), determined offer adequate protection for your information (and information relating to adequacy decisions made by the European Commission as at 31 December 2020 is available here); and
  2. entering into an agreement with the recipient, which includes clauses that the UK Information Commissioner’s Office has determined offer adequate protection for your information.
Links to other websites and social media

Where we provide links to other websites, we do so for information purposes unless otherwise indicated. The other websites are outside our control and are not covered by this privacy notice. If you access other websites using the links provided, the operators of these websites may collect information from you which will be used by them in accordance with their privacy notice, which may differ from ours.

4. YOUR DATA PROTECTION RIGHTS

You have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

  • Access: The right to request access to and a copy of your personal information (which can be done by emailing privacy@smartphoneclaim.co.uk;
  • Restriction: You can ask us to pause processing your information in certain circumstances (e.g., you are disputing its accuracy);
  • Rectification: You can have any inaccuracies in your personal information corrected;
  • Deletion: You can ask us to delete all your personal information in certain circumstances (e.g., if the information is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected);
  • Objection: You can object to us processing your personal information in certain circumstances – please see below information on how to unsubscribe from future communications;
  • Portability: You can ask us to transfer your information electronically to you or another organisation in certain circumstances;
  • Withdrawal of consent: Where we rely on your consent to process your information, you can withdraw consent at any time, although this will not affect any uses of your personal information prior to the withdrawal of your consent; and
  • To lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) or other relevant supervisory authority: You can complain to the ICO (ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email) or other relevant supervisory authority about any aspect of our handling of your information.

More information about the right to complain can be found at https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public. If you have any questions about these rights, or you would like to exercise them, please contact us using the details below.

Please be aware that you are under no obligation to provide us with your personal information. However, failure to do so may, in some circumstances, prevent us from being able to provide you with updates or otherwise interact with you.

Exercising your rights

When exercising your data protection rights, we may ask you to verify your identity in order to help us respond efficiently to your request.

If you would like to exercise any of the above rights, please email or write to us using the details outlined below. All of these rights are free to exercise and we will do our best to respond to you as quickly as possible and in any event, within one month of receipt of your written request. We will inform you within one month of receipt of such request if we will need longer to respond, for example due to the complexity of the request.

We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. Please always let us know if you think that it is not and needs updating. Details of how to get in touch are set out below.

Unsubscribing from updates

If you no longer wish to receive our updates, you can change your preference at any time by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link in the footer of our emails, or by writing to us, emailing us or phoning us. All contact details are set out below.

5. HOW LONG WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION AND HOW IT IS PROTECTED

Whenever we collect or process your personal data, we will keep information about you for a standard retention period following the conclusion of the claim to which the claim website relates (for further information please contact privacy@smartphoneclaim.co.uk). At the end of that retention period, your data will be deleted or anonymised. When determining how long we keep your data for, Which? adheres to the following principles in line with the UK GDPR:

  • we review the type of information it is, the amount collected, how sensitive it might be and the reasons for storing it;
  • we comply with any relevant legal requirements and industry standards or guidelines;
  • we design our processes so that we don’t hold your information any longer than we believe is necessary; and
  • while we are holding your information, we apply appropriate safeguards to keep your data secure.

Epiq’s security measures include:

  • education and training to relevant staff to ensure they are aware of our privacy obligations when handling personal data;
  • administrative and technical controls to restrict access to personal data on a ‘need to know’ basis;
  • technological security measures, including firewalls, multi-factor authentication, encryption, and anti-virus software;
  • physical security measures, such as staff security passes to access our premises; and
  • reasonable precautions for the disposal or destruction of personal information that may consist of securely shredding physical documents and deleting electronically stored information in a manner that prevents it from being readily recovered.

If Epiq find out there has been a breach of our security safeguards and there is a real risk of significant harm to you, you will be notified unless otherwise prohibited by law.

6. HOW CAN I CONTACT WHICH? AND/OR EPIQ ABOUT THIS PRIVACY NOTICE?

Please email privacy@smartphoneclaim.co.uk if you have any questions regarding the content of this privacy notice, would like to exercise your data protection rights or would like to unsubscribe from email updates.

Alternatively, you can contact:

  1. Which? as the data controller by email to dataprivacy@which.co.uk or via post to FAO General Counsel, Which?, 2 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 4DF; and/or
  2. Epiq as the data processor by email to privacy@epiqglobal.com or via post to Epiq, ATTN: Privacy Director, 5th Floor, The South Quay Building, 77 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SH.

Am I part of the class of consumers that Which?
represents in this claim?

Use our eligibility tool to find out if you might be eligible to be part of the class.

Unfortunately, based on the information you’ve provided you’re not likely to be part of the class of consumers that Which? is representing.

If you don’t know why you are not included, please visit the FAQs page or submit a query via our online enquiry form.

You are likely to be part of the class that Which? represents in this claim.

Based on the information you’ve provided, you are likely to be automatically included as part of the class of consumers that Which? is representing. Register here to receive updates on the claim.

No money is available now and there is no guarantee that money will be available in the future. In order for any money to be available, these claims will have to be successful at trial before the Tribunal or concluded by way of an earlier settlement agreed between Which?, on behalf of the class, and Qualcomm.










Smartphone
Smartphone displaying Which? website