Privacy policy

At House Smart Surveying, protecting your personal information is just as important to us as providing a great surveying service. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, who we share it with and the choices you have. We've written it in plain English.

Throughout this policy, "we", "our" and "us" mean House Smart Surveying Limited.

Who we are

House Smart Surveying Limited is an independent RICS-regulated surveying practice registered in England and Wales under company number 14007542. We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.

When you instruct us, your contract is with House Smart Surveying Limited, and payment for your survey is collected by House Smart Surveying Limited.

Registered office: 56 Bury Business Centre, Kay Street, Bury, BL9 6BU. ICO registration: ZC100150. Email: hello@housesmartsurveying.co.uk.

Who this policy applies to

This policy applies whenever you interact with House Smart Surveying. That includes visiting our website, requesting a quotation, booking a survey, contacting us for advice, buying our services or being referred to us by an estate agent, mortgage broker or conveyancer.

The information we collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us and the services you request.

When you ask for a quotation or book a survey, we usually collect your name, postal address, email address, telephone number and the address of the property concerned.

To carry out our surveying services, we also collect information about the property itself. This may include photographs, measurements, inspection notes, observations recorded by our surveyors and any information needed to prepare your report.

Where payment is required, it is collected by House Smart Surveying Limited. Payments are processed securely through authorised payment providers, and we never store your full payment card details.

Whenever you communicate with us, we keep records of those interactions so we can provide the best possible service. This may include emails, website enquiries, contact forms, WhatsApp messages, SMS messages and telephone conversations. Telephone calls may be recorded for training, quality assurance, complaint investigation, regulatory compliance and monitoring customer service standards.

Like most websites, we also collect some technical information automatically when you visit. This may include your IP address, browser type, operating system, device information and how you use our website. This helps us improve the performance, security and usability of our services.

We also keep a record of your communication preferences, so we know how, and whether, you'd like to hear from us.

How we use your information

The main reason we collect your information is to provide the services you've asked for. That includes preparing quotations, arranging appointments, carrying out surveys, producing reports, keeping in touch during your booking and supporting you after your survey.

We also use your information to improve our services, monitor quality, investigate complaints, meet our legal and regulatory obligations, protect our business against fraud and keep the records our professional indemnity insurance requires.

Where appropriate, we may tell you about other services offered by House Smart Surveying that we think may be relevant to you. Where the law requires your consent before we send marketing, we will get it first. Where consent isn't required, we will only contact you where UK data protection law and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) allow it. Every marketing message includes a simple way to opt out.

Our legal basis for using your information

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful reason for using your personal information. We rely on:

• performing a contract with you, or taking steps at your request before entering into one
• complying with our legal and regulatory obligations
• our legitimate business interests, where these don't override your rights
• your consent, where the law requires it

Sharing your information

Providing a survey often involves working with trusted organisations that help us deliver our services. We do not sell your personal information.

Where appropriate, we may share relevant information with approved panel surveyors, specialist contractors or other professionals involved in providing the services you've asked for, or in carrying out further investigations identified during your survey.

We work with trusted providers who supply services such as payment processing, cloud hosting, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, telephone systems, IT support, marketing platforms and professional advice. These organisations only receive the information they need to do their job, act on our instructions and must keep it secure.

If you're introduced to us by a referral partner, such as an estate agent, mortgage broker or conveyancer, we may share information about the progress of your instruction where needed to administer the referral, confirm completion or meet our contract with that partner. We won't share your survey report or personal information beyond what's necessary unless you've authorised it or we're legally entitled to.

In some cases, and where appropriate, we may give a copy of your completed survey report to the referring partner. This usually applies where the partner arranged or commissioned the survey on your behalf.

Where we need your consent before introducing you to another business or sharing your information for marketing, we'll always ask first. You can withdraw that consent at any time.

We may also share information where the law requires it, for example with regulators such as RICS, law enforcement agencies or the courts.

International transfers

House Smart Surveying is based in the United Kingdom. Some business support services, such as business development and administrative support, may be provided by trusted contractors or service providers outside the UK. As our business grows, customer support, booking administration or other back-office services may also be provided by overseas personnel.

Whenever personal information is accessed or processed outside the UK, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include International Data Transfer Agreements (IDTAs), the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or transfers to countries the UK Government recognises as providing adequate protection.

Wherever your information is processed, anyone handling it for us must follow strict confidentiality obligations, robust security standards and UK data protection law.

How long we keep your information

We only keep personal information for as long as it's needed. Survey records are generally kept for at least 15 years to meet professional indemnity insurance requirements and RICS expectations. Financial records are kept for the periods the law requires. Marketing records are kept until you ask us to stop contacting you or they're no longer needed.

If you'd like more information about our retention periods, please contact us.

Keeping your information secure

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to keep your personal information safe. These include secure systems, access controls, staff training and contractual safeguards with the third parties who process information for us. No system can guarantee complete security, but we regularly review our processes and technology to protect your information.

Marketing communications

From time to time, we may contact you about House Smart Surveying services we think are relevant to you, based on your relationship with us.

If you're an existing customer or have asked for information about our services, we may contact you by email, telephone, SMS or post where the law allows. We do this where we have a legitimate interest or can rely on the "soft opt-in" rules under PECR.

You can opt out of marketing at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our emails, following the instructions in our messages or contacting us directly. Opting out won't affect the important service updates we need to send about your survey.

Cookies

This website does not use analytics or marketing cookies, and it does not set non-essential cookies.

Third-party websites

Our website may link to websites run by third parties, including referral partners, professional organisations, regulators or other businesses. Those websites have their own privacy policies and terms. House Smart Surveying is not responsible for the content, security or privacy practices of websites we don't own or control, so please read their privacy policies before giving them personal information.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

• access the information we hold about you
• correct inaccurate information
• ask us to delete your information, where appropriate
• restrict certain types of processing
• receive a copy of your information in a portable format
• object to processing based on our legitimate interests
• withdraw consent where we've relied on it
• object to direct marketing at any time

To use any of these rights, contact us using the details below. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, we'd appreciate the chance to put it right first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at any time.

Fraud prevention and legal compliance

To protect our customers, employees and business, we may process personal information to detect, investigate and prevent fraud, financial crime, cyber security threats and other unlawful activity. We may also use your information where needed to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, comply with court orders, respond to law enforcement or regulators, or meet other legal and regulatory obligations.

Data accuracy

We aim to keep the information we hold about you accurate and up to date. If your details change, such as your contact details, please let us know so we can update our records.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

House Smart Surveying may use artificial intelligence (AI) and other automated tools to support our services. AI helps our team with tasks such as drafting communications, summarising information, improving customer service, analysing business data, supporting marketing and improving internal processes.

AI supports our team rather than replacing human judgement. Decisions about your survey, valuation, professional advice or any service we provide are not made solely by AI and are always subject to human review.

We only use AI systems we consider suitable for business use, and we take reasonable steps to make sure any personal information processed through them is handled securely and lawfully. Where we use third-party AI providers, we put appropriate contractual, technical and organisational safeguards in place. We will update this policy if our use of AI changes.

Children's privacy

Our services are intended for adults arranging property-related services. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our business, our services or the law. The latest version will always be on our website, and the "Last updated" date at the top shows when it was last revised.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this policy or how we use your personal information, please contact us:

If you're not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.