Shepherds are continually committed to ensuring we handle data in a sensitive and professional manner. We will always do our best endeavours to look after your information and update your preferences, when you make a request for us to do so. The following details how we treat, handle and retain data.
Our privacy policy is under regular review and you should check back from time to time to review changes that may impact you. By giving us your personal data, you are agreeing that we are able to process it by the terms detailed in this policy.
Who are we?
Shepherds Estate Agent Limited is an independent estate agency business, offering all service aspects of residential and commercial property sales, lettings management, new homes, as well as being recognised introducers for independent mortgage broking services. You can find more information on our About Us page on our website.
Where we collect your personal data from:
- When you talk to us in branch, on the phone or via email to enquire on any of our services
- When you use our website, mobile device apps or any property portal (e.g. Rightmove, Zoopla or other property portals)
- If you take part in any competitions or promotions – as detailed in marketing leaflets, on-line or any other marketing medium
- In customer surveys
- Third party companies that introduce you to us
- Any local community sponsorship sponsored by Shepherds
- Social networks
- Land Registry
What information do we collect and how do we use it?
We will collect your full name and contact details (such as phone number, email address and postal address) from you whenever you engage with us.
If we are providing a service to you, or on your behalf, where we are required to do so by law, we will collect information relating to your identity, which will be at least one form of photographic identification (such as a passport, a driving licence or an identification card) and one form of documentation with proof of your place of residence (such as a recent utility bill).
Where you are not the legal owner of the property, we will request details from you as to your ability to sell or let the property such as a Power of Attorney, Guardianship Order or Grant of Probate.
We will ask for your financial information when purchasing or renting a property through us. This information will include; PURCHASING Process: – a copy of your mortgage agreement in principle or proof of cash/deposit, RENTING Process: – (for people over the age of 18 – 6 months bank statements, address verification, photo ID and resident visas. We will also enquire in to your salary and employment information when taking a rental property.
How the law protects you
As well as our privacy promise your privacy is protected by law. This section explains how that works.
Data Protection Law says that we are allowed to use personal information only if we have a proper reason to do so. This includes sharing it outside of Shepherds. The law says we must have one or more of these reasons:
- To fulfil a contract we have with you, or
- When it is in our legal duty, or
- When it is in our legitimate interest, or
- When you consent to it,
- When it is in the vital interest of the data subject or another natural person,
- When the performance of a task is carried out in the public interest or by an official authority.
|
What we use your personal information for |
Our reasons |
Our legitimate interests |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Job application and employment
If you send us information in connection to a job application, we may keep it for up to 3 years in case we have subsequent job opportunities which we feel may be relevant and of interest to you.
If we employ you, we will collect information about you and your work which is relevant to being employed by us. Our policy for handling staff data is outlined and covered in our staff handbook which you will be given access to upon commencement of employment.
How long do we hold your personal data for?
We review our retention periods for personal information on a regular basis. We are legally required to hold some types of information to fulfil our statutory obligations. We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you hold with us.
Once you have registered with us to aid your search in a property, we will keep your data for the time you are actively looking for a property and will ‘forget you’ at the point you request to be removed or after three years of inactivity, whichever is sooner.
In order to comply with relevant Industry regulations such as Anti- Money Laundering and The Property Ombudsman, we retain transaction records from the point of completion, including personal data, for up to 7 years.
Who has access to your personal information?
- Relevant direct employees of Shepherds Estate Agent Limited
- Appropriate Third-party service providers, agents, subcontractors and other associated
organisations for the purposes of completing tasks under our legal duty or to fulfil our
contractual requirement - We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes, other than that
related to your sale/purchase/letting and with your expressed permission
How do we keep your data safe?
When you give us personal information, we take steps to ensure that it’s treated securely. When you are on a secure page, a lock icon will appear on the bottom of web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Non-sensitive details are transmitted normally over the internet, and this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your information, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems.
Sending data outside of the EEA
As part of the services offered to you through this website, the information which you provide to us may be transferred to countries outside the European Union (“EU”). By way of example, this may happen if any of our servers are from time to time located in a country outside of the EU. These countries may not have similar data protection laws to the UK. By submitting your personal data, you’re agreeing to this transfer, storing or processing. If we transfer your information outside of the EU in this way, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate security measures are taken with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected as outlined in this Policy.
Please also remember, if you use our services while you are outside the EU, your information may be transferred outside the EU in order to provide you with those services.
Access & updates to your information
The accuracy of your information is important to us. We’re working on ways to make it easier for you to review and correct the information that we hold about you.
REMEMBER – In the meantime, if you change email address, or if any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please email us at: enquiries@shepherdsestates.co.uk or if you prefer, you may direct it to a specific employee work email address. Or write to us at: Shepherds Estate Agent, 37 High Street, Hoddesdon, Herts. EN11 8TA (head office. Our registered office is not our trading office address). Alternatively, you can telephone us on: Hoddesdon 01992 440044 or Cheshunt 01992 637351 for further information on how to update your details.
You have the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold about you.
If you wish to make a data subject access request please make contact using the above contact details. In most cases there will be a nominal charge to you for us to respond to such request, however we can refuse or charge for requests that are manifestly unfounded or excessive. If we refuse a request, we will advise the individual why.
What if you want us to stop using your personal information?
You have the right to object to our use of your personal information, or to ask us to delete, remove, or stop using your personal information if there is no need for us to keep it. This is known as the ‘right to object’ and ‘right to erasure’, or the ‘right to be forgotten’.
You can withdraw your consent at any time. Please contact us if you wish to do so.
If you withdraw your consent, we will be able to provide any property information, property updates or any other related services to you.
There may be circumstances where our legitimate Business interests outweigh the consumer’s right to be forgotten. In these cases, we will intend to not process the data but it may be stored in line with transaction time lines.
If you choose not to give your personal information
We may need to collect personal information by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you.
If you choose not to give us this personal information, it may delay or prevent us from meeting our obligations. It may also mean that we cannot perform services needed to successfully satisfy our contractual agreement. It could mean that we have to cancel our contract or service you have with us.
How to complain
In the unlikely event that you are unhappy with how we have used your personal information. Please contact us using the above contact details, and we will supply our complaints procedure to you.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Find out how on their website how to report a concern.
Use of ‘cookies’
Like many other websites, Shepherds Estate Agents Limited website uses cookies. ‘Cookies’ are small pieces of information sent by an organisation to your computer and stored on your hard drive to allow that website to recognise you when you visit. They collect statistical data about your browsing actions and patterns and do not identify you as an individual. This helps us to improve our website and deliver a better more personalised service
It is possible to switch off cookies by setting your browser preferences. Turning cookies off may result in a loss of functionality when using our website.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites run by other organisations. This privacy policy applies only to our website, so we encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit. We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of other sites even if you access them using links from our website.
In addition, if you link to our website from a third-party site, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners and operators of that third party site and recommend that you check the policy of that third party.
Review of this Policy – This policy was reviewed 22nd of February 2023
