Providing freelance clients with personal information

Hi there

I'm a freelancer based in the UK. I took on some freelance work with a Spanish company in January, however they have just (as a new request) asked me to provide them with my address, NI number and passport number. And when I asked them what this is for, they have just said:

"It is a legal requirement that has recently come in to effect here for us to collate all the personal information and submit it to a data protection company so that this sensitive information will not be passed on to a third party and will be protected and secure. Once we have the requested info, we will send you a legal document to sign in due course to confirm that you wish to have your information protected under the data protection act."


If anything it sounds to me like they are trying to protect my info, but if they don't have it in the first place, surely they don't need to protect it?

Is this normal? I only ask, because none of my clients have ever asked for any of my personal information before.

I work from home and manage the social media platforms for this particular client. I don't have access to any confidential business information.

Any thoughts and advice on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Laura

 

Hi Laura,

A version of your question was answered by an expert for FreelanceUK's sister publication, ContractorUK. I hope the guidance within helps!
https://www.contractoruk.com/succes...client_my_address_ni_number_and_passport.html

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Moore News Ltd - expert care for your editorial needs.

 

I think you should give them your information. Most companies do this in order to verify your identity. You might have a fake ID. There were many cases when people came to me to apply for a job. I'm the general manager, I always check the documents for authenticity. And you know, most people came with perfect passports, but when I checked them through the program fake id checker, many turned out to be fake. It was sad to realize that such a nice person wanted to deceive you.

 

Tbh, I don't think a fake ID could be a problem. You know, actually, I've never seen any service that provides people with fake IDs. Do you know any?

 

From my experience, this is a normal procedure. If you’re still hesitating, just check for more details here. I guess that fake IDs have always been a problem. But, you know, this option is the only one available for some people. That’s why we shouldn’t blame them for that. Of course, the choice to blame them for it is always up to you. You know, I’m 44, and I think I’ve become a more understanding person now that I am older. Everyone has their own reasons for doing something though it seems suspicious to you (except for crimes, of course). Anyway, wish you all the best. Be careful.