Privacy policy
1. Introduction
Thomas Merrifield takes your privacy very seriously. We ask that you read this Privacy policy carefully as it contains important information about what to expect when Thomas Merrifield collects personal information about you and how we will use your personal data.
Thomas Merrifield is a network of Estate Agencies whose registered office is Holyfield House, 1 Walton Well Road, Walton Street, Oxford OX2 6ED. The Thomas Merrifield companies are joint controllers of the data.
The companies are:
- Thomas Merrifield Abingdon Limited (03409630)
- Thomas Merrifield Bicester Limited (03287892)
- Thomas Merrifield Didcot Limited (03394162)
- Thomas Merrifield Kidlington Limited (03333005)
- Thomas Merrifield Oxford Limited (03287659)
- Thomas Merrifield Wallingford Limited (03703326)
- Thomas Merrifield Wantage Limited (06022741)
- Thomas Merrifield Witney Limited (03930451) Holyfield Estates Limited (03287630)
Collectively the companies set out above are trading as Thomas Merrifield.
This policy applies to information we collect about:
- visitors to our website
- people who do business with us or register for our services on-line or in person
- property information
- anti-money laundering checks
- references
- financial information required for the transaction
2. The information we collect about you
When you do business with us or register for our sales or lettings service we may collect the following personal information from you:
- Name
- Postal address, email address and telephone number
- Proof of identity in the form of a driver’s licence, passport or National Insurance number in order to carry out anti money laundering checks
- Financial information sufficient to demonstrate that funds are available in order to proceed with a transaction
- References for prospective tenants.
- If you are a vendor, purchaser, landlord or a tenant involved in a particular transaction with us then we may receive information about you from other sources (such as solicitors, surveyors, lenders, mortgage brokers, referencing agencies) which we will add to the information which we already hold about you in order to help the property transaction.
We will not collect information deemed as “special category” under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
3. How we will use the information about you
We gather this information to allow us to provide the services requested and any other services you may have asked us to provide in the future. The relevant information is then used by us to communicate with you on any matter relating to the conduct of your instructions in general. If you agree, we may also contact you about other services we think may be of interest to you.
We may also use aggregate information and statistics for the purposes of monitoring website usage in order to help us to develop our website and our services. We may also provide such aggregate information to third parties. These statistics will not include information that can be used to identify you.
The lawful basis for our processing of your personal information depends upon our relationship with you. That basis also determines the period of time for which we will keep your information
| Relationship | Lawful Basis | Retention Period |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor (Seller) | Performance of a contract | 7 years |
| Purchaser (Buyer) | Legitimate interest | 7 years |
| Applicant / Attendee at viewing | Legitimate interest | 1 year |
| Landlord | Performance of a contract | Contract period plus 1 year |
| Tenant / Prospective Tenant | Performance of a contract | 7 years |
| Valuation for potential Vendor or Landlord | Performance of a contract | 2 years |
| Anti-money-laundering checks | Legal obligation | 5 years |
4. Marketing
We may also wish to provide you with information about special features of our website or any other service we think may be of interest to you. If you would rather not receive this information, please use the ‘manage your communication preferences’ link at the foot of our property emails or email a request to unsubscribe to data@thomasmerrifield.co.uk. If you agree to us providing you with marketing information, you can always opt out at a later date.
5. Cookies and other information-gathering technologies
Our website uses cookies. Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behaviour information. These cookies allow us to distinguish you from other users of the website which helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.
You may adjust your browser settings to refuse cookies, but some of the services on our website may not work if you do so. You can find our more information about cookies at www.allaboutcookies.org and www.youronlinechoices.eu.
6. How we protect your information
We have put in place the appropriate security procedures and technical and organisational measures to safeguard your personal information.
Electronic information
All electronic information including email is stored on our computers and secure servers, which are password protected and have anti-virus and firewall protection. Our data is also backed-up to a hard drive located in the UK which is also password and anti-virus protected. All information held by Thomas Merrifield and provided to our relevant contractors is stored within the European Economic Area (EEA) at present and we will inform you as soon as we become aware that this changes.
Printed/hard copy information and files
Where we have paper files, these are kept securely, and the information contained therein is held in accordance with the lawful basis upon which we are required to retain the information and for the period detailed above.
Information provided to third parties
Information is only provided to third parties who have agreed to keep data in accordance with the requirements of the GDPR. We are required by legislation not to disclose confidential information to third parties, except to the extent that it is reasonably required in the performance of our duties. You agree that we have the right to share your personal information with selected third parties, including but not limited to suppliers, sub-contractors and business partners for the performance of any contract we enter into with them or you. We may also disclose your personal information where we are required to do so in order to comply with any legal obligation, or to protect our rights, property of the safety of our clients, employees or others.
We will use all reasonable efforts to safeguard your personal information. However, you should be aware that the use of the Internet is not entirely secure and for this reason we cannot guarantee the security or integrity of any personal information which is transferred from you or to you via the Internet.
7. Access to your information and updating and correcting your information
You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. You also have the right to withdraw your consent for us to hold your data and can request that all data held is deleted. If you have any requirements regarding some or all of your personal information, please contact our Data Protection Officer:-
D P Onion
Thomas Merrifield, Holyfield House, 1 Walton Well Road, Oxford OX2 6ED
Email: data@thomasmerrifield.co.uk
Tel: 01865 515000
We want to ensure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. If any of the information that you have provided to Thomas Merrifield changes, for example if you change your email address or name, please let us know the correct details by contacting our Data Protection Officer:-
D P Onion
Thomas Merrifield, Holyfield House, 1 Walton Well Road, Oxford OX2 6ED
Email: data@thomasmerrifield.co.uk
Tel: 01865 515000
You may ask us, or we may ask you, to correct information you or we think is inaccurate, and you may also ask us to remove information which is inaccurate.
8. Your consent
By submitting your personal information you consent to the use of that information as set out in this policy.
9. Changes to Privacy policy
We keep our Privacy policy under regular review. If we change our Privacy policy we will post the changes on this page, and place notices on other pages of the website, so that you may be aware of the information we collect and how we use it at all times. This Privacy policy was last updated on 1st May 2018.
10. How to contact Thomas Merrifield
We welcome your views about our website and our Privacy policy. If you would like to contact us with any queries or comments please send an email to data@thomasmerrifield.co.uk or write to D P Onion, Thomas Merrifield, Holyfield House, 1 Walton Well Road, Oxford OX2 6ED.
11. Links to other websites
Our website contains links to other websites, including our Facebook and Twitter pages. This Privacy policy applies only to this website so when you access links to other websites you should read their own privacy policies.
12. Further information
Please contact us in the first instance with any questions relating to data protection or the GDPR. Further information can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Website by following this link: https://ico.org.uk
