Privacy Policy

What Cornwall Thinks is wholly owned and operated by PFA Research (hereafter referred to as PFA Research or “We”), based at Tremough Innovation Centre, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9TA.

Your privacy is important to us and We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy regarding any information We may collect from you across our website https://whatcornwallthinks.co.uk (the “Website”), and other sites we own and operate.

This privacy policy sets out

  • The basis on which any personal data we collect from you or that you provide to us processed by us.
  • How any personal data we collect from you or that you provide to us is used by us.
  • How any personal data we collect from you or that you provide to us is protected by us.

Please read the following policy carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. This policy should be read in conjunction with our Cookie Policy , Terms & Conditions  and PFA Research’s Data Processing Policy.

PFA Research offers a range of services, including full market and social research services, customer insights and consultancy services. Services and projects may be covered by separate privacy policies, depending on the services offered, please contact our Data Protection Officer for more information: dpo@pfa-research.com

1. Information We collect

Log data

When you visit our website, our services may automatically log the standard data provided by your web browser. It may include your computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, your browser type and version, the pages your visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on each page, and other details.

Device data

We may also collect data about the device you’re using to access our website. This data may include the device type, operating system, unique device identifiers, device settings, and geo-location data. What We collect can depend on the individual settings of your device and software. We recommend checking the policies or your device manufacturer of software provider to learn what information they make available to us.

Personal Information

When you register to become a What Cornwall Thinks Member via https://whatcornwallthinks.co.uk you will be required to provide a range of information about yourself. For example (but not restricted to) your name, address, email address, date of birth.

2. Grounds for processing your personal data and information

We will process your personal information lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner. We collect and process information about you only where we have legal bases for doing so.

We process your personal data on the following ground(s):

  • You have given your consent to the processing for an agreed purpose;
  • It’s necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract (for example, when we provide a service, you request from us);
  • It satisfies a legitimate interest (which is not overridden by your data protection interests), such as for research and development, to market and promote our services, and to protect our legal rights and interests’;
  • We need to process your data to comply with a legal obligation.

Where you consent to our use of information about you for a specific purpose, you have the right to change your mind at any time (but this will not affect any processing that has already taken place.)

We don’t keep personal data for longer than is necessary. While we retain this information, We will protect it within commercially acceptable means to prevent loss and theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. That said, we advise that no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure and cannot guarantee absolute data security. If necessary, We may retain your personal information for your compliance with a legal obligation or in order to protect your vital interests of the vital interests of another natural person.

3. Use of your information

Your information will be used to process your answers to any surveys in which you have chosen to participate and will allow us to provide you with access to all parts of our website. We will also use your information to administer, support, improve and develop our business and may contact you occasionally for your views and our services.

We may also use your information to let you know about special offers, new products, services, promotions, and other similar information which we offer which may be of interest to you including invitations to participate in surveys, free prize draws, website promotions and other activities related to PFA Research’s market research business. We may contact you by post, telephone, as well as by e-mail as per your stated preferences. If, at any time, you wish to update your information or if you wish to opt-out of receiving these notifications from us please email participate@pfa-research.com.

We will use your information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and any other relevant laws or regulations in force in the United Kingdom at present.

4. Personal data – Your rights

You have the right to ask that we do not process your personal data for any reason, with the exception if we are required by law to do so. You will be informed on how we intend to use your personal data (at the time of collection). For example, we will inform you how and if your personal data is intended to be shared with any other third party, such as our client(s) if and when they are survey sponsors. You have the right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your personal data, or by letting the person who is interviewing know your preference.

In addition, and under the UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Request access to a copy of all personal data we hold about you;
  • Request a report on the specific data categories and uses;
  • Withdraw your consent for your personal data to be processed;
  • Require inaccurate data which we hold about you to be corrected and rectified;
  • Require us to erase any personal data which we hold about you (unless prohibited by law);
  • Have your personal data transferred by us to another data controller or to us from another data controller;
  • Restrict us from processing your personal data whilst any dispute that may arise between us is being resolved.

Please submit any request to exercise your rights to dpo@pfa-research.com.

Please note that any request might need to be verified by PFA Research with you and/or a nominated agent who makes the request(s) on your behalf. We might request that you and/or your agency submit evidence of your written authorization and identification before we execute the request.

5. Right to complain

If you believe that we have not handled your personal data properly, or that your data protection rights under the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Data Use Access Act 2025 have been breached, you have the right to complain directly to us as the data controller.

We are committed to listening to concerns and resolving them fairly, quickly, and in line with the law.

How to Make a Complaint

You can raise a complaint with us in any of the following ways:

  • By email: dpo@pfa-research.com
  • By post: Data Protection Officer, PFA Research, Tremough Innovation Centre, Penryn, TR10 9TA
  • By phone: 01326 375705 (we will follow up in writing to confirm details)

To help us respond, please provide:

  • Your name and contact details
  • A description of your concern (what happened, when, and how you believe your rights were affected)
  • Any supporting documents (if available)

What happens next

Acknowledgement – We will confirm that we have received your complaint within 30 days (sooner if possible).

Investigation – Your concern will be reviewed carefully by us, we will gather relevant information, and may contact you if we need more details. We will take ‘appropriate steps’ to investigate, as required by the DUAA.

Updates – We will keep you informed of progress, especially if the investigation takes longer than expected.

Outcome – We will provide you with a clear response, setting out what we found and what, if any, action(s) we have taken.

We aim to resolve complaints without undue delay.

If you are not satisfied

If you are unhappy with our response, you can:

  • Ask us to review your complaint again
  • Raise your complaint with the Information Commissioner (the UK’s independent regulator for data protection matters)

You also have the right to seek a legal remedy through the courts.

Our commitment

We take every complaint seriously. Handling complaints fairly helps us improve our work and ensure your personal data is respected, protected and used responsibly in line with market research standards.

6. Data Protection

PFA Research is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office, under registration reference Z7757529.

We are committed to dealing with personal data in the spirit of the Data Protection Act 1998 (“the Act”), the UK GDPR as enforced by 25th May 2018 and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA), protecting personal privacy in accordance with the law.

If you wish to know more about your rights in respect of protection of personal data, you should write to the:

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF or telephone 0303 123 1113 (or 01626 646745 if you would prefer not to call an ‘03’ number).

Homepage: www.ico.gov.uk

The Register: www.dpr.gov.uk

When you answer a survey on the Website, you confirm that you do not and will not consider any of the uses of your information described above as being a breach of any of your rights under the Data Protection Legislation. When you become a What Cornwall Thinks Panel Member, you consent to Us using your information for bona fide market research purposes.

On occasions, and as part of the market research process, We may request sensitive personal information, including, but not limited to: ethnicity, sexual habits, voting intent, etc. You do not have to give this information to What Cornwall Thinks – we will make provision to have a ‘prefer not to say’ option for the question or you can simply not complete the survey. If you do provide this information, We guarantee to treat it with full and appropriate confidentiality.

7. Security to protect your information

You should take appropriate steps to protect your information. You should ensure that any machine that you use to provide data to the What Cornwall Thinks Panel is secure and bona fide. We advice you to ensure that

  • your browser software is up to date
  • you have appropriate anti-virus software
  • you are in a private environment (e.g. free from ‘shoulder-surfers’)
  • you use a private internet connection and not public networks

before providing any confidential personal information.

We employ security measures to protect your information from being accessed by unauthorized persons and against unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction and damage. We will retain your information for a reasonable period or as long as the law requires.

8. Disclosure of personal information to third parties

We may disclose personal information to:

  • Third party service providers for the purpose of enabling them to provide their services, including IT service providers, data storage, hosting and server providers, analytics, error loggers, maintenance or problem-solving provider;
  • Our employees, contractors and/or related entities;
  • Courts, tribunals, regulatory authorities and law enforcement officers, as required by law, in connection with any actual or prospective legal proceedings, or in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights;
  • Third party, including agents or sub-contractors, who assist us in providing information, products or services to you;
  • Third parties to collect and process data.

9. International transfer of personal information

The personal information We collect is stored and processed in the United Kingdom and/or within the European Economic Area (EEA).

We will ensure that any transfer of personal information from the United Kingdom to the EEA will be protected by appropriate safeguards, for example by using standard data protection clauses approved by the European Commission, or the use of biding corporate rues or other legally accepted means.

10. Your rights and controlling your personal information

Choice and consent: By providing personal information to us, you consent to us collecting, holding, using and disclosing your personal information in accordance with this privacy policy. You do not have to provide personal information to us, however, if you do not, it may affect your use of this website, or the services offered on or through it.

Information from third parties: If we receive personal information about you from a third party, We will protect it as set out in this privacy policy. If you are a third party providing personal information about somebody else, you represent and warrant that you have such person’s consent to provide the personal information to us.  

Restrict: You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information. If you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for us to contact you, you may change your mind at any time by contacting us using the details below. If you ask us to restrict or limit how we process your personal information, we will let you know how the restriction affects your use of our website and services.

Access and data portability: You may request details of the personal information that we hold about you. You may request a copy of the personal information we hod about you. Where possible we will provide this information electronically in a Microsoft Office compatible format. You may request that we erase the personal information we hold about you at any time. You may also request that we transfer this personal information to another third party.

Correction: If you believe that any information We hold about you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, please contact us using the details below. We will take reasonable steps to correct any information found to be inaccurate, incomplete, misleading or out of date.

Notification of data breaches: We will comply with laws applicable to us in respect of any data breach.

If you suspect a data breach, please contact us using the details below.

Complaints: If you believe we have breached a relevant data protection law and wish to make a complaint, please contact us using the details below and provide us with full details of the alleged breach. See 5. Right to Complain above.

11. Cookies

We use ‘cookies’ to collect information about you and your activity across our site. A cookie is a small piece of data that our website stores on your computer, and accesses each time you visit, so we can understand how you use our site. This helps us serve you content based on preferences and have specified. Please refer to our Cookie Policy for more information.

12. Business transfers

If We or our assets are acquired, or in the unlikely event that We go out of business or enter bankruptcy, We would include data among the assets transferred to any parties who acquire us. You acknowledge that such transfers may occur, and that any parties who acquire us may continue to use your personal information according to this policy.

13. Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information that you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

12. Changes to this policy

At our discretion, We may change our privacy policy to reflect current acceptable practices. We will take reasonable steps to let users know about changes via our website. Your continued use of this site after any changes to this policy will be regarded as acceptance of our practices around privacy and personal information.

If we make significant changes to this privacy policy, for example changing a lawful basis on which we process your personal information, we will ask you to re-consent to the amended privacy policy.

**What Cornwall Thinks, operated and wholly owned by PFA Research Limited**

Contact PFA Research via

www.pfa-research.com

participate@pfa-research.com

Or for matters relating to personal information please contact PFA Research’s data protection officer via email: dpo@pfa-research.com

 

This policy was updated on 9th February 2026.