INTRODUCTION

This privacy policy sets out how Quotient Chartered Surveyors (Quotient CS) uses and protects any information that you provide when you use this website.

Quotient CS is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.

1. What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website, how it is used and with whom it may be shared.
2. What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data.
3. The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information.
4. How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

This policy may change from time to time so please check this page for any updates. This policy constitutes a binding agreement when you chose to use our site.

For any questions or concerns regarding this policy, please email justin@quotientcs.com, write to Quotient Chartered Surveyors, Kiln House, 15-17 High Street, Elstree, Hertfordshire WD6 3BY, or telephone 020 8144 5386

WHAT WE COLLECT

Personal information that we will process in connection with our services, if relevant, may include:

• Identity data – name, username, title and date of birth.
• Contact data – property address, correspondence address, email address or telephone numbers.
• KYC data– photographic identification (such as a copy of your passport/ driving licence) and proof of address documentation (such as a copy of your bank statement/ utility bill).
• Conflict check data – name of your relative or connection working with us.
• Financial data – bank account and payment card details, company accounts, financial records, credit references and trade references.
• Transaction data – details about payments to and from you and other details of services you have purchased from us.
• Technical data – internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access our website.
• Profile data – your username and password, details of previous transactions or enquiries made by you, your interests, preferences, feedback and survey responses.
• Usage data – information about how you use our website, products and services.
• Marketing and communications data – your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.
• Special Categories data – We may collect special categories of personal data about you. We may ask you to confirm the number of occupants in your property (both adults and minors), their date of birth and your relation with them. This data is more sensitive and can only be processed in specific circumstances.
• In circumstances where you are not the legal owner of a property, we will request details from you as to your ability to sell or let the property (such as a grant of probate or a power of attorney).
• We may check your suitability to rent or buy a property on behalf of our clients. In such instances, Criminal conviction and offences information may be brought to our attention where we share your data with referencing agencies for the purposes of highlighting any crime, fraud or money laundering,
• We also collect, use and share aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated data may be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity
• In some cases, we may anonymize your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes and to carry out routine internal reporting. We may use this data indefinitely but at this point it would no longer be deemed ‘personal data’.

WHAT WE DO WITH THE INFORMATION WE GATHER

We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service. You are in complete control of whether you consent to receive such information from us. In particular we may contact you for the following reasons:

• Internal record keeping.
• We may use the information to improve our products and services.
• Periodically send promotional emails about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.
• Contact you for market research purposes. We may contact you by email, phone, fax or mail.
• Contact you to share news of special promotions, new services or changes to this privacy policy.
• Use the information to customise the website according to your interests.
• Record and manage information for marketing, and to advise on service related matters.
• Record and manage information for provision of services.
• Instruct third parties: for example, contractors dealing with agency boards, or property maintenance.
• Liaise where required for provision of services: with solicitors, Local Authorities, professional advisors, accountants, credit referencing and fraud prevention agencies, financial organisations, utility and insurance companies, and debt recovery agents,
• Report regulatory matters e.g. HMRC, Regulatory bodies, Anti-Money Laundering Regulations
• Record and manage enquiries, complaints or insurance related matters.

WHO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WITH

We may share your personal information with any of the following organisations, for the purposes of providing the services which you have requested from us:

• Group companies
• Sub-contractors (For example those who deal with the maintenance of properties or inventory clerks).
• Utility Suppliers
• Agents and advisers that we use
• Credit reference agencies
• Debt collection agencies
• HM Revenue & Customs, the local authority and other regulators or governmental authorities
• External service providers that provide applications/functionality, data processing or IT services to us (For example, we use third parties to support us in providing our services and to help provide, run and manage our internal IT systems. These include providers of IT services, cloud-based software as service providers, website hosting and management, data analysis, data backup, security and storage services.

We require all organisations who we share your data with to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow any of our service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

SECURITY

• Our client files are stored on our secure client management systems. Access is restricted on our client systems to those within the business who are required to have access to your information for legitimate business purposes.
• Hard copy documentation is stored in locked cabinets.
• All data is hosted in datacentres which have systems and protections in place to protect against both unauthorised access, and other external factors that could cause damage to, your personal data. There are strict access requirements in place and access is restricted to those absolutely necessary.
• We ensure access to personal information is restricted to Quotient CS employees or other persons working within Quotient CS on a need to know basis. Training is provided to any of those Quotient CS employees who need access to personal information.

LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION

The period for which we will keep your personal information will depend on the type of service you have requested from us. The retention period may be longer than the period for which we are providing services to you where we have statutory or regulatory obligations to retain personal information for a longer period, or where we may need to retain the information in case of a legal claim

YOUR RIGHTS IN RELATION TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal information, these include the right to:

• Be informed about how we use your personal information
• Obtain access to your personal information that we hold
• Request that your personal information is corrected if you believe it is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate
• Request that we erase your personal information in the following circumstances:
  • If it is necessary to delete the personal information to comply with a legal obligation
  • If the personal information has been processed unlawfully (i.e. in breach of the requirements of the data protection legislation)
  • If Quotient CS is relying on legitimate interests as the legal basis for processing and you object to this processing and there is no overriding compelling ground which enables us continue with the processing
  • If Quotient CS is relying on consent as the legal basis for processing and you withdraw consent
  • If Quotient CS is continuing to process personal information beyond the period when it is necessary to do so for the purpose for which it was originally collected
• Ask us to restrict our data processing activities where you consider that:
  • personal information is inaccurate
  • our processing of your personal information is unlawful
  • where we no longer need the personal information but you require us to keep it to enable you to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim
  • where you have raised an objection to our use of your personal information
• Request a copy of certain personal information that you have provided to us in a commonly used electronic format. This right relates to personal information that you have provided to us that we need in order to perform our agreement with you and personal information where we are relying on consent to process your personal information
• Object to our processing of your personal information where we are relying on legitimate interests or exercise of a public interest task to make the processing lawful. If you raise an objection we will carry out an assessment to determine whether we have an overriding legitimate ground which entitles us to continue to process your personal information; and
• Not to be subject to wholly automated decisions which produce legal effects or which could have a similarly significant effect on you.

If you would like to exercise any of your rights please contact Quotient CS.

HOW WE USE COOKIES

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

CONTACT

Please email  justin@quotientcs.com or write to Quotient Chartered Surveyors, Kiln House, 15-17 High Street, Elstree, Hertfordshire WD6 3BY. Alternatively, please telephone 020 8144 5386.

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen. You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. A small fee will be payable. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write to us. If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible at the above address. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.