Privacy Policy

CUTHBERTWHITE LTD
(the "Company")

PRIVACY NOTICE

1 What is this Notice?

1.1 We take our privacy and data protection responsibilities seriously.  This privacy notice (Notice) sets out how we will gather, use and share personal information. 

1.2 This privacy policy is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children other than incidental data relating to the makeup of households.

1.3 In this Notice, reference to "you" or "your" means you as a client, former client, a party involved in a lease or sale, member of staff, contractor, supplier, shareholder, a person submitting an enquiry to us (via telephone, email or face to face), or website user that we engage in relation to CuthbertWhite or one of the properties we are involved with.

2 Who are we?

2.1 We are CuthbertWhite Ltd (company number SC360013) and we are a "controller" responsible for your personal data (collectively referred to as "we", "us" or "our" in this privacy notice.

2.2 If you have any queries about this Notice or how we use your data, or to exercise any of your data rights, you can contact us by:

• Letter: CuthbertWhite, 36 North Castle Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3BN
• Email: saara(at)cuthbertwhite.com

3 What kinds of personal data do we use?

3.1 We use personal data that you provide to us such as:

(a) contact details such as name, title, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses;
(b) passport details and date of birth;
(c) next of kin and emergency contact information;
(d) bank account details, financial history, credit history, CCJs against you;
(e) salary, National Insurance number;
(f) employment status, visa or other proof of right to reside in the UK, and employer reference; 
(g) location of employment, employer and workplace; and
(h) previous tenancy details and landlord reference where applicable.

4 How do we use your personal data?

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

• Identity Data includes first name, maiden name, last name, title, date of birth, gender, photo ID, facial biometric data and proof of address together with any ‘know your customer’ data we hold such as ID verification data and immigration status data we hold about tenants or prospective tenants.
• Contact Data includes billing address, delivery address, email address and telephone numbers.
• Property Data includes information relating to a property which you may be involved with as a tenant, landlord, buyer or seller.
• Financial Data includes bank account details.
• Transaction Data includes details about payments to and from you and other details of products and services you have purchased from us.
• Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.

We do not as a matter of course collect any Special Categories of Personal Data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health, and genetic and biometric data). Nor do we collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.  In the event that we require to collect any such data we will inform you of what data we need, why we need it and how we will process it, e.g. we may need to collect nationality data as part of a job application, or details of disability where you request that reasonable adjustments are made and/or where required, to put in place a personal emergency evacuation plan.

If you fail to provide personal data

Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you, and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you. If you are a client or a prospective client then we will need to obtain data from you in order to facilitate a letting, sale or other arrangements.

5 How is your personal data collected?

5.1 We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:

• Direct interactions. You may give us your Identity, Contact and Financial Data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:
  • contact us directly by telephone, email or letter;
  • request marketing to be sent to you;
  • when you attend an event;
  •  when you enter into a contract with us;
  • when you provide us with information as a prospective employee in order for us to complete required immigration status checks;
  • when you provide us with information in order for us to complete our required identity and anti-money laundering checks; and
  • when we contact you during our relationship.
• Third parties or publicly available sources. We may receive personal data about you from various third parties (see clause 8 below).
• Identity, Contact and Property Data from publicly available sources such as Companies House and Land Registry.

6 What is our legal basis for using your personal data?

6.1 We will only use your personal data where it is permitted by law and where:

(a) we need to use your personal data to perform a contract with you;

(b) we need to use your personal data to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations (such as our obligation to verify your identity before contracting with you);

(c) you have given us consent to use your personal data.  If consent is needed we will ask for this from you separately; and

(d) it is in our legitimate business interests or the legitimate business interests of a third party we work with to use your personal data for specified purpose, and there is no disadvantage to you or risk to your personal data.

6.2 If you do not provide us with the personal data we request from you, or if you do not allow us to process your personal data that we may obtain from other sources (such as CRAs), we may not be able to provide services to you or enter into a contract with you.

7 Purposes for which we will use your personal data

7.1 We have set out below, in a table format, a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are, where appropriate.

7.2 Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.

 Marketing
 

We may provide you with information on our services, including via email. We will ask you for your consent to use your email and name for this purpose, and you will have the option to opt out.

Change of purpose

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.

If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

8 Who do we share your personal information with?

8.1 As part of using our services, we will share your personal information with:

(a) other members of our corporate group, for example your information may be held on a central database which is accessible by other members of our corporate group;
(b) our service providers who process and store data on our behalf (such as our IT service providers);
(c) our professional advisers;
(d) crime and fraud prevention agencies;
(e) law enforcement, taxation and legal authorities (which may include the police, HMRC and the Financial Conduct Authority);
(f) claims handling agencies; and
(g) debt recovery agencies.

8.2 We may also share your personal information with third parties in the event that:

(a) our business or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party;
(b) if we are under a duty to disclosure or share your personal information;
(c) in order to comply with any legal or regulatory obligation;
(d) in order to enforce or apply any contract with you (or the business you represent); or
(e) to protect our rights, property, or the safety of our employees, customers or others.

9 How long will we keep your personal data for?

9.1 We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including to provide the services you have requested, and for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.

9.2 To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.

9.3 Usually, we will retain your data for seven (7) years after the termination of your contract with us as may be required by law, unless there is an exceptional business purpose in which this time period needs to be extended.

10 How will we keep your personal data secure?

10.1 We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

10.2 We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so. If you would like more information about the security measures we use to protect your data, please contact us.

11 Will we transfer your personal information outside of the UK?

11.1 We may transfer your personal data outside the UK.

11.2 Where we do transfer your personal data out of the UK, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

• We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data; or
• Where we use certain service providers, we may use specific contracts approved for use in the UK which give personal data the same protection it has in the UK.

Please contact us if you would like further information about this.

12 What are your privacy rights?

Data protection laws give you a number of rights as set out below. If you would like is exercise any of your rights, please contact us in writing.

• Access: you may request access to a copy of your personal information.
• Withdraw Consent: where our processing of your personal information is based on your consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time.
• Rectification: you may ask us to rectify any inaccurate information we hold about you.
• Erasure: you may ask us to delete the personal information we hold about you, where there is no reason for us to continue to hold your information.
• Portability: you may ask us to provide you with the personal information that we hold about you in a structured, commonly used, machine readable format, or you can ask us to send your information in this format to another controller.
• Object: you may object to our processing of your personal information.
• Restriction: you can ask us to restrict the personal information we use about you where you have asked for it to be erased or where you have objected to our use of it.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us.

No fee usually required

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we could refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

What we may need from you

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

Time limit to respond

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it could take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

Complaints

If you have any complaint please let us know by email at saara(at)cuthbertwhite.com so can attempt to resolve any issue.

If you are not happy with the way in which we process your personal data, or the way in which we handle any request by you to exercise your privacy rights, you may make a compliant to the Information Commissioner's Office by visiting their website at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ or on 0303 123 1113.

13 Glossary

LAWFUL BASIS

Legitimate Interest means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service/product and the best and most secure experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law). You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential impact on you in respect of specific activities by contacting us.

Performance of Contract means processing your data where it is 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.

Comply with a legal obligation means processing your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that we are subject to.

Last updated: September 2024