Privacy policy

At House Smart Surveying, protecting your personal information is just as important to us as providing a great surveying service.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, who we may share it with, and the choices you have. We've written it in plain English because we believe privacy policies should be easy to understand, not full of unnecessary legal jargon.

House Smart Surveying Limited forms part of the House Smart Group. Throughout this policy, references to "we", "our" or "us" mean House Smart Surveying Limited and, where appropriate, other companies within the House Smart Group.

Who we are

House Smart Surveying Limited is part of the House Smart Group. House Smart Property Group Limited provides customer administration, payment processing and other shared services on behalf of Group companies. Although you may instruct House Smart Surveying Limited directly, payment for your survey may be collected by House Smart Property Group Limited acting on our behalf. You may therefore see House Smart Property Group Limited on invoices, payment confirmations or your bank statement.

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 or another company within the House Smart Group.

That includes visiting our website, requesting a quotation, booking a survey, contacting us for advice, purchasing one of our services, or where we receive your details from a trusted referral partner such as 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 contact us for a quotation or book a survey, we'll usually collect information such as 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 required to prepare your report.

Where payment is required, payment may be collected and processed by House Smart Property Group Limited acting on behalf of House Smart Surveying Limited. Payments are processed securely using 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 modern websites, we also collect certain technical information automatically when you visit our website. This may include your IP address, browser type, operating system, device information and information about 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 in the future.

How we use your information

The main reason we collect your information is to provide the services you've asked us to deliver.

We use it to prepare quotations, arrange appointments, carry out surveys, produce reports, communicate with you throughout your booking and provide support after your survey has been completed.

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 maintain appropriate records for professional indemnity insurance purposes.

Where appropriate, we may also use your information to tell you about products and services offered by House Smart Surveying, House Smart Property Group or other companies within the House Smart Group that we believe may be relevant to you. These may include property-related services as well as other services offered by the House Smart Group from time to time.

Where the law requires your consent before sending marketing communications, we will obtain it. Where consent is not required, we will only contact you where UK data protection law and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) allow us to do so. Every marketing communication includes a simple way to opt out.

We also use personal information to improve our services, monitor quality, train our staff, investigate complaints, prevent fraud, maintain the security of our systems and comply with our obligations as a regulated surveying practice.

Our legal basis for using your information

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

Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following legal bases:

• to perform our contract with you or take steps before entering into a contract;
• to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations;
• where it is in our legitimate interests to operate and improve our business, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights; and
• your consent, where this is required by law.

Sharing your information

Providing a survey often involves working with trusted organisations that help us deliver our services.

We may share your information with other companies within the House Smart Group where this helps us manage your enquiry, provide customer support, improve our services or offer products and services available across the Group.

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

We also 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 perform their services and are required to keep it secure.

If you're introduced to us by one of our referral partners, such as an estate agent, mortgage broker or conveyancer, we may share information relating to the progress of your instruction where necessary to administer the referral, confirm completion or fulfil our contractual arrangements with that partner. We won't share your survey report or personal information beyond what is necessary unless you've specifically authorised us to do so or we're legally entitled to. In some circumstances, and where it is appropriate to do so, we may also provide a copy of your completed survey report to the referring partner. This typically applies where the referral partner has 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 purposes, we'll always obtain it first. You remain free to withdraw that consent at any time.

We may also share information where we're legally required to do so, for example with regulators such as RICS, law enforcement agencies or the courts.

International transfers

House Smart Surveying is based in the United Kingdom, however some business support services may be provided by trusted overseas contractors or service providers working on our behalf.

At present, this may include business development and administrative support. As our business grows, additional 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 United Kingdom, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information. These safeguards may include International Data Transfer Agreements (IDTAs), the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses or transfers to countries recognised by the UK Government as providing an adequate level of protection.

Regardless of where your information is processed, we require anyone handling your information on our behalf to comply with strict confidentiality obligations, robust security standards and applicable UK data protection legislation.

How long we keep your information

We only keep personal information for as long as it's needed.

Survey records are generally retained for at least 15 years to meet professional indemnity insurance requirements and RICS expectations.

Financial records are retained for the periods required by law, while marketing records are kept only until you ask us to stop contacting you or they're no longer required.

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

Keeping your information secure

Protecting your information is important to us.

We use appropriate technical and organisational security measures to help keep your personal information safe. These include secure systems, access controls, staff training and contractual safeguards with the third parties who process information on our behalf.

While no system can ever guarantee complete security, we continually review our processes and technology to help protect your information.

Marketing communications

From time to time, we may contact you about products and services that we believe are relevant to you based on your relationship with us. These communications may include information about services provided by House Smart Surveying or other companies within the House Smart Group that relate to property ownership, buying, selling, maintaining or improving your home, as well as other products and services we believe may be of interest.

Where you're an existing customer or have requested information about our services, we may contact you by email, telephone, SMS or post where we're permitted to do so under applicable legislation and where we have a legitimate interest or are able to rely on the "soft opt-in" rules under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

By becoming a customer of House Smart Surveying, you acknowledge that we may send you information about relevant products and services offered by House Smart Surveying and other companies within the House Smart Group.

You can opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link included in our emails, following the instructions contained within our communications or by contacting us directly. We'll always respect your marketing preferences, and choosing not to receive marketing communications won't affect the important service updates we need to send you in relation to your survey or any services you've requested.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to help it function properly and understand how visitors use it.

Where required by law, non-essential cookies such as analytics and marketing cookies will only be placed on your device after you've given your consent through our cookie banner. You can change your cookie preferences at any time.

Third-party websites

Our website may contain links to websites operated by third parties, including referral partners, professional organisations, regulators or other businesses.

If you choose to visit any third-party website, you should be aware that they operate under their own privacy policies and terms. House Smart Surveying is not responsible for the content, security or privacy practices of websites that we do not own or control, and we encourage you to read their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have several important rights over your personal information.

These include the right to access the information we hold about you, correct inaccurate information, request deletion 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 upon it, and object to direct marketing at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, simply contact us using the details below. We'll always do our best to help.

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your personal information, we'd appreciate the opportunity to resolve your concerns first. However, 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 necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, comply with court orders, respond to requests from law enforcement agencies or regulators, or fulfil other legal and regulatory obligations.

Data accuracy

We aim to ensure the information we hold about you is accurate and up to date.

If any of your personal information changes, such as your contact details, please let us know as soon as possible so we can update our records. Keeping your information accurate helps us provide the best possible service and ensures we can communicate with you effectively throughout your instruction.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

House Smart Surveying may use artificial intelligence (AI) and other automated technologies to support the delivery and improvement of our services. AI is used to assist our employees with tasks such as drafting communications, summarising information, improving customer service, analysing business data, supporting marketing activities and enhancing our internal processes.

Where AI is used, it is intended to assist our team rather than replace human judgement. Decisions relating to your survey, valuation, professional advice or any service we provide are not made solely by AI and remain subject to appropriate human review and oversight.

We only use AI systems that we believe are appropriate for business use and take reasonable steps to ensure that any personal information processed through those systems is handled securely and in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. Where third-party AI providers are used, we seek to ensure appropriate contractual, technical and organisational safeguards are in place.

As technology continues to evolve, we may introduce additional AI-powered tools to improve the efficiency, accuracy and quality of our services. We will continue to use such technologies responsibly and update this Privacy Policy where appropriate.

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 Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business, the services we provide or changes in the law.

The latest version will always be available on our website, and the "Last updated" date at the top of this page will show when it was last revised.

Contact us

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

If you're not satisfied with our response, you also have the right to contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) via www.ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.