Privacy Policy

Buckinghams Estate Agents

6 Station Approach, Virginia Water, Surrey GU25 4DL

Tel: 01344 845050

Email: sales@buckinghams.comlettings@buckinghams.com

Website:  www.buckinghams.com 

General Data Protection Regulations

Scope of Business:

Buckinghams is an independent residential sales and lettings agency, established in 1991 operating from an office in Virginia Water, Surrey and conducting business in Virginia Water and the surrounding areas.  There are three directors – Geoff Burgoyne, Nicky Morris and Alex Juddery.

There are a further five members of staff covering sales, lettings, administration and accounts.

Our business comprises the sale xand rental of residential properties, the sale of new homes and land and the project management of refurbishment of property.

All dealings with our clients are carefully protected and treated with the greatest degree of confidentiality.

We are members of NFOPP (National Federation of Property Professionals), NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents) and the Property Ombudsman.

Privacy Policy

Buckinghams maintain a database of potential buyers and tenants looking for property in the GU25 and SL5 postal districts and surrounding areas.

Buckinghams will never pass any personal details on to a third party without informing an individual and gaining consent.

Once an individual/party has asked for their details to be removed from our database this request will be actioned within 24 hours and all details and/or information will be deleted unless there is any legal requirement for Buckinghams to retain those details.  This would only apply to those individuals or parties who have bought, sold or rented a property through Buckinghams or have been a Landlord – in these cases Buckinghams are legally required to retain the information and keep a record for seven years.

Security

Our database is held within our Sales and Management system which is operated in our office and contained on our file server.

The only operatives with access to these details are:

  1. Our staff – each of whom has a personal login and password
  2. The software company which supports our system and a copy of their policy on GDPR is available on request.  They are only able to view and make changes to our system or database only with the strict consent and overview of our staff.
  3. Our IT support company, Computer Strategies, require consent from a Buckinghams staff member prior to making any amendments or updates to any part of our software and this is only carried out under the supervision and using the passcode of one of our staff.
  4. Any Buckinghams staff member working from home does not hold information on our database on laptops or PCs and is only able to access information by remote access to our office file server with the use of login and passwords.  

Regulations to which we must adhere

Buckinghams are required to pass personal details of buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords through anti-money laundering checks.  This is done using a product called TraceSmart (owned and operated by Lexis Nexis) and the information required to complete a check for each individual is as follows: full name, address, date of birth;  proof of address and proof of ID which is done by presentation of the original of either a Driver’s Licence or Passport and Visa (if required) to a member of Buckinghams staff. 

All tenants must pass referencing which will include verifying proof of address, proof of identity affordability via an employer’s or accountant’s reference.  They must also pass the ‘Right to Rent’ checks required by law and also adverse media checks and politically exposed person checks (PEPs).  We will need to see each tenant with their passport and visa (if required) in person at our office prior to their moving in to any property.

Consent to hold information – Legitimate Interests

For all those persons on our database for whom we provide a service: ie: Vendors and Landlords, consent to hold personal data is implied as Buckinghams would otherwise be unable to perform our obligations to those persons without holding this information.  It is generally accepted that a signed Terms of Business or Agency Agreement signed by all parties will be held on those files.

For applicants who are purchasing or renting properties through Buckinghams, the information provided by those applicants will be seen to be providing consent for Buckinghams to hold their personal information until they have either purchased or rented a property through us, in which case their details will be stored for a longer time or if they purchase or rent a property elsewhere and we are asked to remove all of their details from the Buckinghams database.   In this latter case, our software provides a Right to be Forgotten option.

In all of these cases, we will not give any personal information to any third party without the request or consent of the applicant.  This ‘third party’ could be our referencing company or a mortgage advisor or solicitor or accountant.

Contractors

Your name and contact number or email may be given to our external contractors.  These would include our photographer and floor plan producer, EPC home assessor, or a surveyor.  In the case of landlords and tenants this would include plumbers, electricians, decorators, gardeners, handymen etc.  With this in mind, our Contractors are required to only use the data provided to them for the purpose for which it was sent to them.  They must assist us in allowing the individuals concerned, be they landlord or tenant, to exercise their rights.  At the end of the contract (ie completion of the works) they must return or destroy the data as required and must take reasonable and practical measures to keep that data secure while in their possession. To limit the amount of time these contractors would hold information we require them to shred copies of works orders they hold once the work has been completed and invoiced.  

Copies of these would however be held on our main data system for up to 7 years for reference purposes.

Inland Revenue

The Inland Revenue are required to be informed of tenancies where the landlord is overseas and on request from them personal information will be provided by us to them.  This consent is incorporated in our Terms of Business and Agency Agreement, signed by our landlords at the commencement of our service.

Data Security

We are committed to ensuring that your personal data is secure.  In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place appropriate technical, physical and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect from you.  You would be informed if there is a breach of security and we would inform the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

We will always contact you using the contact preferences you have given us.

Your Rights

GDPR gives you the following rights:

• The right to be informed:
To know how your information will be held and used (this notice).
• The right of access:
To see our records of your personal information, so you know what is held about you and can verify it.
• The right to rectification:
To tell us to make changes to your personal information if it is incorrect or incomplete.
• The right to erasure (also called “the right to be forgotten”):
For you to request us to erase any information we hold about you if you ask us not to hold it anymore
• The right to restrict processing of personal data:
You have the right to request limits on how we use your personal information
• The right to data portability: under certain circumstances you can request a copy of personal information held electronically so you can re-use it in other systems.
• The right to object:.
To be able to tell us you don’t want them to use certain parts of your information, or only to use it for certain purposes.
• Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling.
• The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office: 

To be able to complain to the ICO if you feel your details are not correct, if they are not being used in a way that you have given permission for, or if they are being stored when they don’t have to be.

Full details of your rights can be found at https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/

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