Privacy Policy

Tony Lowe Investigations Limited (“we”, “us”, “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information we hold. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, hold, disclose and protect personal information, consistent with the Privacy Act 2020 and the Information Privacy Principles. It applies to our website tonyloweinvestigations.nz and to the services we provide.

Because of the nature of our work, we handle personal information in two broad situations: information about the people we deal with directly (including clients, enquirers and website visitors); and information about individuals who are the subject of a matter we have been engaged to work on. This policy covers both.

1. The information we collect

People who deal with us directly. When you contact us, request a quote, engage our services or correspond with us, we may collect your name, organisation, contact details, the nature and details of your instructions, billing and payment information, and our correspondence with you.

Website visitors. When you use our website we may collect limited technical information (such as your IP address, device and browser type, and the pages you view) and any information you choose to submit through our online forms.

In the course of our work. To carry out the services we are engaged to provide — private investigations, surveillance, process serving and tracing — we may collect personal information about the individual or individuals who are the subject of a matter. This information may come from our client, from publicly available and official records, from our own enquiries and surveillance, and from other lawful sources. The Privacy Act 2020 recognises that, in certain circumstances, personal information may be collected other than directly from the individual concerned — including where collection is necessary for the maintenance of the law, the enforcement of a legal right, or the conduct of proceedings before a court or tribunal, or where direct collection would prejudice those purposes. We collect and use such information only where it is necessary for a lawful purpose connected with our functions and the engagement we are performing.

2. Authorised registers and databases

As licensed investigators, we may access authorised registers and databases (including, where permitted, the Motor Vehicle Register) for lawful purposes connected with an engagement, in accordance with the conditions under which access is granted.

3. How we use personal information

We use personal information to: provide, manage and improve our services; carry out the investigations, enquiries, surveillance, process serving, recovery and related work we are instructed to undertake; verify identity and carry out appropriate due diligence; prepare reports and evidence for our clients and, where appropriate, for courts and tribunals; communicate with you and respond to your enquiries; manage billing and our client relationships; and meet our legal, regulatory and professional obligations.

4. Disclosure of personal information

We treat the information we hold as strictly confidential. We may disclose personal information to: the client who has engaged us and their legal advisers; courts, tribunals and other parties where required or permitted in connection with legal proceedings; enforcement agencies and regulators where authorised or required by law; our personnel, agents and sub-contractors who need it to deliver our services and who are bound by confidentiality obligations; and any other person where you have authorised the disclosure or it is otherwise required or permitted by law. We do not sell personal information, and we do not disclose it for third-party marketing.

5. Storage and security

We hold personal information in both physical and electronic form and take reasonable steps to keep it safe from loss and from unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure. Access is limited to those who require it to perform their role, and our reports and evidence are prepared and held to evidential standards. Where we use trusted service providers to store or process information on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to ensure they maintain appropriate safeguards.

6. How long we keep it

We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purposes set out in this policy, or for as long as we are required or permitted to retain it by law. When it is no longer required, it is securely destroyed or de-identified.

7. Accessing and correcting your information

You have the right to ask for access to the personal information we hold about you, and to ask us to correct it if it is wrong. To make a request, please contact us using the details below; we will respond in the manner and within the timeframes required by the Privacy Act 2020. In some cases we may be entitled to decline or limit access — for example, where releasing the information would prejudice an investigation or the maintenance of the law, endanger the safety of any person, breach another person’s privacy, or where another ground under the Act applies. If we decline a request, we will explain why.

8. Cookies and our website

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies so that it functions properly and so we can understand how it is used. You can set your browser to limit or block cookies, although some features may not work as intended. Information you submit through forms on our website is used only to respond to and manage your enquiry.

9. Making a complaint

If you are concerned about the way we have handled your personal information, please contact us first and we will do our best to resolve it. You may also raise a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (www.privacy.org.nz; 0800 803 909).

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in the law. The current version will always be available on our website and applies from the effective date shown below.

11. How to contact us

Tony Lowe Investigations Limited
PO Box 57-134, Mana, Porirua 5247
Phone: 04 333 2744
Email: office@tonyloweinvestigations.nz
Web: tonyloweinvestigations.nz

Licensed under the Private Security Personnel and Private Investigators Act 2010 — Licence No. 25-132647. Effective: [date on approval].