Privacy Policy
Last updated: 28 August 2026
Study Consulting LTD (“Study Consulting”, “we”, “us” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and share personal information when you visit our website, contact us, enquire about our services or ask us to support you with UK higher education opportunities.
Website: www.study-consulting.co.uk
This policy should be read together with our Cookie Policy and any other privacy information provided when we collect personal information from you.
1. Who We Are
Study Consulting LTD is an education consultancy supporting prospective students with information and guidance relating to UK higher education.
For data protection purposes, Study Consulting LTD is responsible for deciding how and why personal information is used when we act as the data controller.
Study Consulting LTD
London, United Kingdom
General enquiries: info@study-consulting.co.uk
Privacy enquiries: privacy@study-consulting.co.uk
Website: www.study-consulting.co.uk
2. Personal Information We May Collect
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect information including:
- your full name;
- email address;
- telephone number;
- postal address;
- date of birth;
- nationality or residency information;
- preferred course, subject, university or study location;
- educational history and qualifications;
- academic transcripts and certificates;
- English language qualifications;
- employment information where relevant;
- application information;
- correspondence with Study Consulting;
- information submitted through website forms;
- technical information such as IP address, browser and device information;
- live-chat messages and conversation content;
- contact details and enquiry information provided through our live-chat or AI assistant;
- cookie and website usage information;
- documents you choose to provide in connection with an enquiry or application.
- CVs and information contained within them;
- current and previous employment information and professional experience;
- role or area of employment interest
- recruitment preferences, availability and notice period;
- languages and professional qualifications;
- right-to-work status where relevant to recruitment; and
- information provided in job applications or expressions of interest.
We aim to collect only information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.
3. Special Category Information
In some circumstances, information provided during an application or enquiry may include more sensitive personal information, for example information relating to health, disability or other special circumstances.
We will only use this information where there is an appropriate lawful basis and, where required, an additional legal condition for processing special category information.
ICO guidance confirms that special category information requires both a lawful basis and an additional processing condition.
4. How We Collect Your Information
We may collect personal information:
Directly from you
For example when you:
- complete a contact or enquiry form;
- contact us by email, telephone or messaging service;
- ask us for course or university guidance;
- provide documents;
- request application support;
- communicate with our team.
- use our live-chat service or communicate with our AI Student Guidance Assistant;
Through our website
We may receive technical information when you use the website, including through cookies, security tools and website analytics.
Please see our Cookie Policy for further information.
From other organisations
Where appropriate and lawful, information may also be received from organisations connected with your enquiry or application, such as an education provider, application partner or other organisation involved in the admissions process.
If personal information is obtained from another source, UK data protection rules generally require organisations to provide relevant privacy information about that processing.
Recruitment documents and CVs are handled only for authorised recruitment purposes and are not intentionally made publicly available through the website.
5. How We Use Your Personal Information
We may use your information to:
- respond to enquiries;
- provide course and university guidance;
- understand your study interests and circumstances;
- help you prepare an application;
- assist with supporting documents;
- communicate with you regarding admissions;
- support relevant application or referral processes;
- communicate with education providers or authorised partners where appropriate;
- provide ongoing student support;
- administer our relationship with you;
- maintain business and administrative records;
- improve our services;
- operate and secure our website;
- prevent fraud, misuse or security incidents;
- comply with legal and regulatory obligations;
- handle complaints;
- send marketing communications where legally permitted.
- assess and manage job applications and expressions of interest;
- communicate with candidates about current or potential recruitment opportunities;
- provide live-chat and AI-assisted student support;
- manage live-chat enquiries and arrange follow-up where appropriate;
We will aim to use personal information in a way that is fair, proportionate and transparent. UK data protection law requires organisations to have a valid lawful basis for each processing purpose.
6. Our Lawful Bases for Processing
Depending on the purpose, we may rely on one or more lawful bases.
Consent
We may rely on your consent where you have clearly agreed to a specific use of your personal information.
For example, consent may be relevant to certain marketing communications or optional cookies.
You can withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
We do not normally rely on consent as the principal lawful basis for processing information that is necessary to assess a job application.
Contract and Steps Before a Contract
We may process information where this is necessary to provide a service you have requested, to take steps at your request before entering into an agreement, or, where relevant, to take steps towards entering into an employment contract.
Legal Obligation
We may use information where necessary to comply with applicable legal obligations, including obligations that may arise during recruitment or employment.
Legitimate Interests
We may process personal information where this is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided that those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.
These purposes may include:
- responding to business enquiries;
- maintaining records;
- preventing misuse or fraud;
- protecting website security;
- improving our services;
- managing our business relationships.
- managing recruitment, assessing candidates and administering our recruitment and selection processes;
- providing, managing and improving our live-chat and AI-assisted support services;
ICO guidance requires organisations to identify and document the appropriate lawful basis before processing personal information.
7. University Applications and Education Providers
Only information reasonably relevant to the application or requested service should be shared.
Where you ask Study Consulting to support you with an application, it may be necessary to share relevant information with:
- universities;
- colleges;
- education providers;
- authorised recruitment partners;
- application platforms or services.
Education providers generally act independently in relation to their own admissions decisions and processing of applicant information.
Their own privacy notices will explain how they use personal information after receiving it.
8. Who We May Share Information With
We may share personal information with appropriate third parties where necessary, including:
- universities and education providers;
- authorised recruitment or application partners;
- website hosting providers;
- email and communication service providers;
- form and customer-support providers;
- IT and cybersecurity providers;
- live-chat, AI-assistance and customer-support technology providers
- professional advisers;
- government, regulatory or law-enforcement authorities where legally required;
- other organisations where you have authorised us to share information.
Before sharing personal information, we must have an appropriate lawful basis for doing so.
We do not sell personal information to third parties.
9. Website Forms and Communications
When you submit information using a website form, we may collect the details you provide so that we can respond to your enquiry, process your application or provide the relevant service.
This may include:
- your name;
- email;
- telephone number;
- study interests;
- preferred study level;
- message;
- other information you choose to provide.
- employment and career interests;
- professional experience and qualifications;
- CVs submitted through our Careers form;
- other information you choose to provide as part of a recruitment application or expression of interest.
Please do not submit unnecessary sensitive information through general enquiry forms.
Different website forms collect different information depending on their purpose. For example, our student application forms collect information relevant to education enquiries and applications, while our Careers form collects information relevant to recruitment. We aim to collect only information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.
10. Live Chat and AI Assistant
Study Consulting uses tawk.to to provide live-chat support on our website. Our live-chat service may include an AI Student Guidance Assistant, currently presented as “Daniel”, which can provide general information based on approved Study Consulting website content and other authorised knowledge sources.
When you use the live-chat service, we may process information including your name, email address, chat messages, enquiry details and any other information you choose to provide. Technical information, such as IP address, browser or device information, may also be processed where necessary for the operation, security and delivery of the chat service.
We use this information to respond to enquiries, provide student guidance, manage communications, improve customer support, protect the security of our services and, where appropriate, arrange follow-up by a member of the Study Consulting team.
Our AI assistant is intended to provide general guidance only. It does not make university admissions decisions, Student Finance decisions, visa decisions or other decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects. Final decisions remain with the relevant university, education provider, Student Finance authority or other responsible organisation.
The AI assistant should not be relied upon as legal, immigration, financial or other regulated professional advice. Where information cannot be confirmed or requires individual assessment, users may be directed to a member of the Study Consulting team or another appropriate source.
Please do not provide passwords, bank card details, National Insurance numbers, passport copies, immigration documents or other unnecessary sensitive personal information through live chat.
tawk.to
Our live-chat and AI functionality is provided using services supplied by tawk.to. In this context, tawk.to acts as a service provider and data processor supporting the operation of the chat service.
Information submitted through the chat may therefore be processed using tawk.to systems and its authorised subprocessors. tawk.to states that its infrastructure may involve processing and storage outside the United Kingdom, including in the United States, and that it participates in recognised data-transfer frameworks including the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.
Chat records may be retained within the tawk.to service until they are deleted in accordance with our operational and retention requirements. We periodically review information held through the service and aim not to retain personal information for longer than reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.
tawk.to AI Assist uses the current conversation and approved knowledge sources to generate responses. According to tawk.to, visitor conversations are not used as a knowledge source for training the individual Study Consulting AI agent.
For privacy-related enquiries about information submitted through live chat, please contact privacy@study-consulting.co.uk.
11. Recruitment and Job Applicants
Study Consulting Ltd may collect and process personal information when you apply for employment, submit an expression of interest through our Careers page, or contact us regarding employment opportunities.
Information we may collect
Recruitment information may include:
- your name and contact details;
- current location;
- role or area of employment interest;
- employment preferences;
- availability or notice period;
- current or previous employment information;
- professional experience;
- qualifications;
- languages spoken;
- areas of relevant experience;
- right-to-work status;
- information provided within your application responses; and
- information contained within your CV.
Please do not submit passports, immigration documents, National Insurance numbers, financial information, medical records or other unnecessary sensitive personal information through our initial Careers application form.
How we use recruitment information
We may use recruitment information to:
- receive, record and review applications and expressions of interest;
- assess your suitability for current or future opportunities;
- communicate with you regarding your application;
- arrange interviews or further discussions where appropriate;
- administer our recruitment and selection processes;
- maintain appropriate recruitment records;
- protect the security and integrity of our recruitment systems; and
- comply with applicable legal or regulatory obligations.
Submitting an application or expression of interest does not guarantee an interview, an offer of employment or the existence of a current vacancy.
Lawful basis for recruitment processing
At the initial recruitment and selection stage, we generally rely on our legitimate interests in managing recruitment, assessing candidates and operating our organisation effectively.
Where processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, we may rely on the legal obligation basis.
Where processing is necessary to take steps at your request towards entering into an employment contract, we may rely on the contractual basis.
We do not normally rely on consent as the principal lawful basis for processing information that is necessary to assess a job application.
Right-to-work information
Our Careers form may ask whether you currently have the right to work in the United Kingdom. This is an initial recruitment question only.
Please do not upload passports, immigration documents or other identity documents through the Careers form. Where formal right-to-work verification is required at a later stage, we will explain what information is required and how it will be processed.
CVs and recruitment documents
CVs submitted through our Careers page are used for recruitment purposes. They are not intentionally published on our website or added to our public WordPress Media Library.
Recruitment information may be accessible to authorised personnel and service providers where access is necessary for website hosting, website security, email delivery, recruitment administration or other legitimate operational purposes.
We do not sell candidate information or provide recruitment information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.
Special category information
We do not request special category personal information, such as information concerning health, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or similar sensitive matters, through our initial Careers application form.
If you voluntarily provide such information, we will only process it where there is an appropriate lawful basis and, where required, an applicable condition under UK data protection law.
How long we keep recruitment information
Where an applicant is unsuccessful or no suitable opportunity is available, we will normally retain recruitment information for up to six months after the recruitment decision or, for a general expression of interest, for up to six months after submission.
We may retain limited information for longer where reasonably necessary to comply with legal obligations, establish or defend legal claims, investigate a complaint or maintain an appropriate record of the recruitment process.
If we wish to retain your information for materially longer so that we can consider you for future opportunities, we will provide appropriate information about that further retention.
Information relating to successful candidates may become part of their employment record and will then be retained in accordance with the retention requirements applicable to employees.
Your rights as a candidate
You have rights under UK data protection law in relation to your recruitment information. Depending on the circumstances, these may include rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction and objection.
Recruitment privacy enquiries may be sent to:
Study Consulting Ltd
London, United Kingdom
Privacy enquiries: privacy@study-consulting.co.uk
General enquiries: info@study-consulting.co.uk
12. Cookies and Website Analytics
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies.
Some cookies are required for the website to function correctly, while others may support analytics, preferences or optional functionality.
Where required, non-essential cookies should only be activated after appropriate consent.
Please see our separate Cookie Policy for more information.
13. Marketing Communications
We may send information about our services, study opportunities or related updates where this is legally permitted.
Where consent is required, we will request it before sending marketing communications.
You can ask us to stop sending marketing communications at any time by:
- using an unsubscribe option where available; or
- contacting us directly.
Stopping marketing communications will not prevent us from contacting you about an active enquiry, application or service where necessary.
14. International Transfers
Some service providers or organisations involved in an application may process information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will aim to ensure that appropriate safeguards required by UK data protection law are used.
These may include:
- UK adequacy regulations;
- approved contractual safeguards;
- the UK International Data Transfer Agreement;
- the UK Addendum to approved contractual clauses;
- another legally permitted transfer mechanism.
15. How Long We Keep Personal Information
We will not keep personal information for longer than reasonably necessary.
Retention periods may depend on:
- the nature of the enquiry or application;
- whether you become a client;
- the relationship with an education provider;
- legal, regulatory or accounting requirements;
- whether information is required to establish or defend legal claims;
- our legitimate business and record-management requirements.
- the nature and purpose of live-chat communications;
Live-chat records and related enquiry information are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary to manage the enquiry, provide follow-up support, maintain appropriate business records or deal with legal or regulatory requirements. We periodically review live-chat information and delete or anonymise it when it is no longer required.
When information is no longer required, we will aim to delete, anonymise or securely dispose of it.
16. How We Protect Personal Information
We take reasonable organisational and technical measures designed to protect personal information against:
- unauthorised access;
- loss;
- misuse;
- accidental disclosure;
- alteration;
- destruction.
Measures may include access controls, secure accounts, authentication, website security measures, staff procedures and appropriate service providers.
However, no internet-based system can guarantee absolute security.
17. Your Data Protection Rights
Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law may provide you with rights including:
Right to be informed
You have the right to understand how your personal information is being used.
Right of access
You have the right to understand how your personal information is being used.
Right to rectification
You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure
In certain circumstances, you may ask for your personal information to be deleted.
Right to restrict processing
You may have the right to ask us to restrict how your information is used.
Right to data portability
In certain circumstances, you may have the right to receive personal information in a reusable format.
Right to object
You may object to certain uses of your information.
Rights relating to automated decision-making
You may have rights where significant decisions are made solely through automated processing.
These rights are recognised within UK data protection law and described by the ICO.
Some rights only apply in particular circumstances.
18. Exercising Your Rights
If you wish to exercise a data protection right, contact:
Privacy enquiries: privacy@study-consulting.co.uk
Please provide enough information for us to identify you and understand your request.
We may need to verify your identity before releasing or changing personal information.
19. Automated Decision-Making
Study Consulting does not currently intend to make decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on individuals solely through automated processing through this website.
If this changes, we will provide appropriate information about the process and applicable rights.
20. Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to external websites, including universities and third-party services.
Study Consulting is not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites.
You should review the privacy notice of any third-party website before providing personal information.
21. Data Protection Complaints
If you are concerned about how Study Consulting has handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to review the matter.
You may contact:
Study Consulting LTD
Email: privacy@study-consulting.co.uk
UK organisations must have a process for handling data protection complaints.
If you remain dissatisfied, you also have the right to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK data protection supervisory authority.
Information Commissioner’s Office
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
22. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:
- changes to our services;
- changes to our website;
- new technologies;
- changes to our business arrangements;
- changes to legal or regulatory requirements.
The latest version will be published on this page.
Please check the Last updated date to see when this policy was most recently revised.
23. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we use personal information, please contact:
Study Consulting LTD
London, United Kingdom
Privacy enquiries: privacy@study-consulting.co.uk
General enquiries: info@study-consulting.co.uk
Website: www.study-consulting.co.uk