GDPR Privacy Policy

Percival & Company is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. This Privacy Policy explains how we use information we collect about you, how you can instruct us if you prefer to limit the use of that information and procedures that we have in place to safeguard your privacy. The policy will be reviewed yearly and updated when required to ensure it remains relevant.

Registration

Our business is registered with the Information Commissioners Office.

The information we collect and how we use it

When you contact us, register interest or request publications, we need to know your name, postal address, email address and contact number.

This information allows us to process your registration and any offers you make for a property. The relevant information is then used by us, our agents and sub-contractors to provide any services requested by you and to communicate with you on any matter relating to providing the service in general.

Personal information we collect from you

“Personal information” is any information that relates to you and identifies you personally. Percival & Company will collect the following information, if you wish to receive our marketing:-

  • Your full name
  • Your full address
  • Your email address (so we can email you properties which may be of interest & our monthly newsletter).
  • Your contact number (so we can contact you to let you know of any properties which may be of interest)

If you are a Vendor, Purchaser, Tenant or Landlord, we are required to hold photographic ID and proof of address for you in order to comply with AML regulations.

Why we collect personal data

We hold personal data in order to comply with Legal Obligations, Contracts, where we have a Legitimate Interest, with reference to AML regulations, The Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations and The Estate Agency Act, amongst others.

Clients will be actively asked for their consent to receiving our services and a record of this will be held on our software, in most instances by an automated email system. All emails generated from our software will have an unsubscribe option.

The data is collected to enable Percival & Company to provide the service required by the client and to protect the safety of our staff with information taken prior to viewings.

Where we feel consent is required, prior to the new regulations, we will ask all of our clients to opt into our service and if they do not opt in to receiving our emails, we will not make further contact.

How we use your personal information

Percival & Company will use your information, where appropriate for the following purposes detailed below: -

  1. Booking viewings: Our company policy is that we need to take your name, current address, contact number and email address in order to arrange a viewing, this is for our personal safety. Providing we have your consent, this information then gets added onto our client database where we can mailshot you with any properties which may be of interest.
  2. To engage with you in relation to the information you have asked to receive: We will use your personal information to provide you with the services you have requested from us, such as new properties and our monthly newsletters.
  3. Enrichment of our data: Where we have obtained your personal data, we will combine this information in certain circumstances in order to enrich our understanding of your requirements and preferences in relation to our products and services.

How we share your personal information

We treat your personal information with care and confidentiality and do not share it with third parties other than as listed below:-

Sales -

EPC & Floorplan provider - if you instruct us to market your property, we will pass your details onto our EPC and floorplan provider in order that they can prepare the floorplan and EPC.

Solicitors - we will pass your details onto the solicitors you have chosen to instruct via our sales summaries.

Brokers - we may pass your contact number onto brokers if you require advice on mortgages etc.

Other estate agents - if we have agreed a sale on your property, we will provide the rest of the Estate Agents within the chain with your current address and name.

Lettings -

Tenancy Referencing - when our third party referencing company carry our reference checks on an applicant, we provide them with:- full names, email addresses, residential status, employment status, total gross annual income, bank/building society details, details of adverse credit history, current addresses previous addresses, current Landlord/Letting Agent details and financial/employment information.

Tradesmen & utility companies - During the management of your tenancy, we may be required to pass on your contact details to our subcontractors, utility companies and other related parties - for example to arrange access to carry out maintenance on your heating system or to ensure that you are correctly billed for services used.

Debt collection companies - Where there are rent arrears or other charges remaining at the end of the tenancy, we reserve the right to pass on your details to a tracing agent or debt collection company to help recover the money owed to us. Leaving unpaid rent and other bills at the end of your tenancy may affect your credit rating and your ability to obtain a new tenancy or other credit facilities.

How we protect your personal information

We are committed to protecting your personal information and implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect it against any unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage.

Our online data is held in a secure off-site cloud based client database called Resource Techniques which is password protected. Our paper based files are held in locked filing cabinets.

Data destruction

Our paper files are dead filed upon completion of a transaction and are easily accessible up until destruction which is normally at 15 years depending on other associated regulations.

Data breaches

A breach would consist of our secure computers being hacked or computers or mobile phones being stolen, our offices being broken into and the secure and locked filing cabinets opened.

We will notify the ICO if there is a breach, where it is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, for example, it could result in damage to reputation, financial loss, loss of confidentiality etc. Where a breach is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, we will also notify those directly concerned.

We are aware that failure to report a breach when required to do so could result in a fine, as well as a fine for the breach itself.

Data Protection Officers

We do not need a formally designated Protection Officer as our organisation does not fit the requirement as we are not an organisation that carries out the regular and systematic monitoring of individuals on a large scale; or an organisation that carries out the large scale processing of special categories of data, such as health records, or information about criminal convictions. Claire Smith is our designated person who takes responsibility for data protection compliance.

International

We do not sell properties overseas and do not need to take further action on this point.

Children

We do not collect personal data on children.

Training

Many data breaches are accidental and a result from insider actions. All staff will be trained in handling personal data and their data protection responsibilities. Specialist training has been given to staff who have specific duties, such as marketing, information security and database management. Training records are kept.

Withdrawing consent

Where we have obtained your consent in relation to any matter in relation to your personal information, you can withdraw this consent at any time by contacting us. To opt out, please contact us on: -

01787 223879 or earlscolne@percivalandcompany.co.uk

Website Privacy policy

This website is owned and operated by Percival & Company. Respecting your privacy and ensuring the confidentiality of your personal information is critical to us. The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to ensure that we interact with you in line with current data protection legislation such as the Data Protection Act 1998 and in accordance with your wishes.

NB: This statement does not extend to websites that are linked to this website. You should refer to the privacy policies of any such websites for further details about their use of your personal information.

By registering with and/or using this website, you consent to the collection, use and transfer of your information under the terms of this privacy policy.

What information do we gather?

In addition to information gathered directly (for example, through the website contact form), we also gather information indirectly. In common with most websites we have access logs. These logs record a user's IP address and browser and are aggregated to produce summary information. This allows statistics about the popularity of the website to be compiled. Log files do not contain any personal information. Percival & Company reserves the right to store this information indefinitely.

Browser detection

We detect the browser that the user is using for the purposes of tailoring the content to suit the features of, and to deal with the bugs in, different operating system, browser type and browser version combinations.

Contact us

This website is owned and operated by:

Percival & Company
High Street
Earls Colne
Colchester
Essex
CO6 2RN

If you have any questions about this privacy statement or any other matters concerning this website or you wish to report a technical error, you can contact us via the enquiry form on the contact page.