PRIVACY POLICY

Welcome to the Hestia’s privacy policy. We are committed to ensuring our clients’ safety and security by respecting and protecting your personal information and the privacy of that information. This privacy policy contains information about your privacy rights, how you are protected by the law and how we look after your information.

If we collect and use your data, as the controller of your data we comply with Data Protection laws in the United Kingdom and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We use the personal information that you share with us to tailor our services to you and so that we can provide the best possible experience to users of our website www.hestias.co.uk.

If you do not want us to process your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy, please do not provide information to Hestia’s or use our website www.hestias.co.uk.

About Hestia’s

Hestia’s is a trading name of Hestia’s Estate Agents Ltd (registered number 12803441). Hestia’s can be contacted by email info@hestias.co.uk or telephone 0203 976 6180. For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Controller is Hestia’s Estate Agents Ltd. We keep our privacy policy under review, this version was updated on 11 December 2020.

The personal information that we collect from you

We obtain personal information about you that you provide to us both directly and via using automated technology as described here:

• Directly – where you provide personal data by providing information both written and verbal to Hestia’s. This can include but is not limited to personal data that you provide when you apply for our services, subscribe to our publications, request marketing information, respond to a survey, give us feedback or get in touch with us.
• Automated technology – this is where you interact with our technology including the Hestia’s website and social media channels which includes but is not limited to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. In doing so we will automatically collect data regarding your equipment and actions. This data is collected via cookies and other technologies. We may also receive data from third parties if you visit other websites using our cookies.

When visiting www.hestias.co.uk, you can set your browser to refuse browser cookies or to alert you when sites use or access cookies.

Where we need to collect personal information under the terms of a contract or by law, if you fail to provide us with the data requested we may not be able to perform the requirements of the contract. This may result in us needing to cancel the contract and we will advise you if this is the case.  

How we store your personal information and for how long

We will hold data supplied with consent, where there is a legitimate interest in doing so, for a period of five years. We review the length of time that we hold your data and this could vary depending on the lawful basis for collecting and processing your information. And to comply with codes of practice under the Property Redress Scheme we are obliged to maintain clear and full written records of transactions for a period of six years and to comply with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 we are required to hold records for a period of 5 years. 

We store your personal data digitally and this is kept secure via a CRM which is password protected. All paper based information is securely stored and destroyed once details are deposited in the CRM. 

Use of your personal information

Where required we may share limited personal information that you provide when you register with us or enter in to a transaction with us, as necessary and only for the purposes and on the lawful grounds described above with various third parties who process your personal information on our behalf (Data Processors). We may use the information that you directly provide to us in the following ways:

We may use your data for the purpose of carrying out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into by you and Hestia’s and for providing you with products and services. Our legal basis for this use is that it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party.

We may use your data to provide you with information which you have requested and respond to enquiries or requests from yourself, communicate with you in relation to those enquiries, also in arranging viewings and visits to your property by others. The legal basis for this use is legitimate interests, in particular to carry out activities for the purpose of Hestia’s business and in response to customer enquiries.

We may use your data to provide you with information regarding goods and services to those you have already enquired about. The legal basis for this use is our legitimate interests, including the ongoing marketing of our goods and services to individuals with whom we have an existing relationship in connection with our goods and services and/or who have expressed an interest in those goods and services.

We may use your data where you have entered into a contract with us or we have provided you with services, to ask you for feedback regarding the services that we have provided to you. The legal basis for this use is our legitimate interests, including evaluating and where necessary improving the quality of our services and promoting the success of our business.

We may use your data to notify you of changes to the terms and conditions of our services, where you are a party to an existing contract with us for our goods and services. The legal basis for this use is our legitimate interests, including the management and administration of our business associations and contracts.

We may use your data to send you marketing communications, if you have chosen to receive these. These may include information about properties which may be of interest, the property market, Hestia’s news and promotions. The legal basis for this use is consent.

We may use your identification including photo ID and other relevant documents such as bills or information on public databases including but not limited to the Land Registry to verify your identity where we are legally obliged. The legal basis for this use is compliance for which we are legally obliged as well as legitimate interests, for the security of our systems, information and those of third parties.

Regarding the automatic collection of data using technical means including via our website, social media and third parties including Google Analytics, we may:

• Use the information for research, statistical, testing purposes. For more information, see our Cookie Policy. The legal basis for this is our legitimate interests, largely monitoring the use of our technology systems and improving our services including the website.
• Assess the effectiveness of our own advertising. Our legal basis for this use is our legitimate interests, including improving the relevancy of our advertising.
• Assess the effectiveness of our marketing emails. For those who have chosen to opt in and receive our newsletters, we send emails via a third party GDPR compliant mailing system. Our legal basis for this use is consent. This collection of information may involve the use of cookies. Please see our Cookies Policy for further detail about these.

We may analyse data that we collect directly from you either directly or via automated technical means to create a profile of your interests so that we can contact you with information relevant to you (on the basis that you opt in to receive marketing our communications). We may make use of further information regarding yourself when it is available from third party sources to help us do this effectively.

We may also use any of your data that we collect from you directly and additional information about you from external sources where necessary to detect, reduce fraud and financial risk.  These sources include but are not limited to, Land Registry, banks, lenders, mortgage brokers, solicitors and relevant governmental departments.  Our legal basis for this use of your personal information is our legitimate interests in preventing our business being subject to fraud or financial risk.

Third parties

Our websites, newsletters and social media channels may contain links to third parties including their websites, social media, media files. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those organisations or their content. You should read the privacy policies of the organisations before providing them with any personal information.

We take the care and confidentiality of your information very seriously, we do not sell or rent your data to third parties. However, we may pass your information to third party service providers, including but not limited to: 1) partners, suppliers, sub-contractors, professionals working on our behalf or in conjunction with for the purposes of completing tasks and providing services to you. 2) Software Applications, cloud-based platforms and system providers and other integrated applications. Website Hosts and analytics platform providers including but limited to Google Analytics. 3) we may disclose your data to our professional advisers as reasonably necessary for the purposes of insurance, risk management, obtaining professional advice and in association with legal disputes.

We may transfer your data to a third party as part of a sale of some or all of our business, assets, or as part of any business restructuring, or if we’re under a duty to disclose or share your personal information in order to comply with any legal obligation or to enforce or apply our terms of use or to protect the rights, property or safety of our customers.

We may share your personal information as necessary for compliance, a legal or regulations obligation, enquiry or investigation, in order to protect vital interests of yourself, us or others.

Media files

We take all reasonable precautions to ensure that files are safe and free of viruses. However media files are provided to you at your own risk and we accept no responsibility for media provided by external third parties.

Cookies

We use Cookies via our website as do many companies. It is possible to switch off cookies by setting your browser preferences. Please refer to our Cookies Policy for further information.

Your legal rights

You have the right to request access and correction to the personal information that we hold for you, ask that we do not process your personal data, delete your personal data, and alter your preferences for the type of marketing you receive and to alter the methods via which you receive marketing from us.  

Some of the rights are complex, applying only in certain circumstances. We have not included all of the details in this Privacy Policy, if you would like a full explanation of these rights we would advise you to read the relevant laws and guidance from the regulatory bodies.

To exercise the right to prevent processing of your data, email us at info@hestias.co.uk.

If you are unhappy with the way in which Hestia’s has handled your data, you have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) www.ico.org.uk. However we would always appreciate the opportunity to discuss and try and resolve with you any concerns that you may have.

Further information

For further information about data protection laws visit www.ico.org.uk.