Privacy Policy

Privacy

Moscrops Estate Agents Limited is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Our use of your personal information is governed by this Privacy Policy notice. On this site, Moscrops”, “our” and “we” each mean Moscrops Estate Agents Limited trading as Moscrops (including but not limited to any respective subsidiaries) which collect and use your information in the manner set out in this Privacy Policy notice. Any reference to “you” or “your” refers to anyone whose personal information we process.

By accessing, browsing or otherwise using the www.moscrops.com website you confirm that you have read, understood and consent to the terms and conditions below.

Introduction

Our use of your personal data will be governed by this Privacy Policy notice together with the website Terms of Use and Cookie Policy sets out the basis on which any personal data which we collect from you, or that you or others provide to us, will be processed by us. Please read the following information carefully.

Moscrops is a controller for the personal information that it collects and uses about you. We will treat your personal information as confidential and in accordance with applicable data protection legislation and your personal information will only be shared with others in accordance with this Privacy Policy notice.

For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Controller is Moscrops Estate Agents Limited, 8 Whetstone Lane, Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside, CH41 2QR

If there are any changes to the way in which your personal information is used, this Privacy Policy notice will be updated.

What is personal information

Personal information is any information that tells us something about you. This could include information such as name, contact details, date of birth, bank account details or any information about your needs or circumstances which would allow us to identify you.

Some personal information is classified as "special" data under data protection legislation. This includes information relating to health, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs or political opinions and sexual orientation. This information is more sensitive and we need to have further justifications for collecting, storing and using this type of personal information. There are also additional restrictions on the circumstances in which we are permitted to collect and use criminal conviction data.

Any references to personal information in this Privacy Policy notice will include personal data, and where relevant, special categories of personal data.

What personal information do we collect

We will collect your full name and contact details (such as phone number, email address and postal address) from you whenever you engage with us. You may give us information about you by completing forms on our website or by corresponding with us by phone, email or otherwise.

The information you give us may include (but is not limited to) your name, title, date of birth, address, email address, phone number or other contact information, username, password, financial details, and the records and contents of any correspondence and communications you have with us or any feedback which you leave for us.

If you subscribe to receive news or other property related information from us, then we may collect details about the sector in which you work and the type of information that you would like to receive.

If we are providing a service to you, or on your behalf, or where we are required to do so by law, we will collect information relating to your identity, which will be at least one form of photographic identification (such as a passport, a driving licence or an identification card) and at least one form of documentation with proof of your place of residence (such as a recent utility bill).

We may also need to confirm whether you have any relatives or close connections working at Moscrops so that we can consider potential conflict of interests and if identified how to manage these, in accordance with our statutory and regulatory obligations.

In addition, depending on the service that we provide to you (or on your behalf) we may also collect additional personal information as detailed below;

Selling, Buying, Renting or Letting

If you are selling, buying, renting or letting a property through us;

  • We will collect a contact telephone number and/or email address to get in touch with you about organising viewings and updating you on any offers received or rental applications for your property.
  • Where you are not the legal owner of the property we will request details from you as to your ability to sell or let the property such as a Power of Attorney, Guardianship Order, Grant of Probate or other document/s.
  • We will collect your bank account details to arrange onward payment of rent due to you.

If you wish to rent a property that we are listing;

  • Specific access requirements so that we can find a property that is suitable for your needs.
  • Your bank / building society / similar account details to allow us to manage an approved tenancy deposit account for you and to set up your rental payments.
  • If you are a tenant renting under the 'Right to Rent' scheme we will collect details of your Biometric residence card, passport, immigration status document and/or your birth certificate or other documents required in order to carry out our required checks under this scheme.

If you wish to purchase a property we are listing for sale where you have specifically provided us with these we will collect personal information relating to any specific access requirements you may have in relation to a property so that we can find a property that is suitable for your needs. We will also collect personal information required to source a property for you and, where required, negotiate the purchase of a property on your behalf.

Property Management

If you instruct us to manage a property for you;

Where we engage with you to manage property on your behalf we may ask for additional emergency contact information in case we need to get in touch with you outside of working hours or in the event there is a matter requiring your urgent attention. Where you engage us for management services we will share your personal information with third party lenders as is necessary to allow us to fulfil our obligations to you and in order to manage and advise you on your property or portfolio.

Where you engage with Moscrops as an individual investor we will collect information required to identify you in order to meet anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing requirements. If the investor is an entity such as a company, trust or charity, we may need to collect personal information about the controllers and the beneficiaries of the entity.

You acknowledge that the information which you provide to us may amount to sensitive personal data under data protection legislation and you consent to that data being processed as set out in this Privacy Policy notice.

Other

If you subscribe or opt-in to receive information or other updates from us, then in addition to the above we may collect details about your job sector and the type of content that you would like to receive.

Legal basis for processing your personal information

Under data protection legislation we are only permitted to use your personal information if we have a legal basis for doing so. We rely on the following legal bases to use your information;

  • For employment-related purposes
  • Where we need information to perform the contract we have entered into with you
  • Where we need to comply with a legal obligation
  • Where the processing is necessary for us to carry out activities for which it is in Moscrops' legitimate interests (or those of a third party) to do so and provided that your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests, including:
    • Processing that is necessary for us to promote our business, brands and products and measure the reach and effectiveness of our campaigns. – this may include sending you marketing information from time to time after you have engaged us to provide services or received services from us either which may be similar and of interest to you or where you have expressly indicated that you would like to receive such information. You have the right to opt out of receiving this information at any time.
    • Processing that is necessary to improve our knowledge of the real estate sector to provide better knowledge along with more relevant services for our customers in the future.
    • Processing necessary for us to operate the administrative and technical aspects of our business efficiently and effectively – this will include: verifying the accuracy of information that we hold about you and create a better understanding of you as a customer; processing for administrative efficiency purposes such as where we may outsource certain administrative functions to third parties who are specialise in such services; processing for network and information security purposes i.e. in order for us to take steps to protect your information against loss, damage, theft or unauthorised access or to comply with a request from you in connection with the exercise of any of your rights outlined below.

In other circumstances we may also rely on the following legal bases:

  • Where we need to protect your interests (or someone else's interests); and/or
  • Where it is needed in the public interest or for official purposes

We may process special categories of personal information and criminal conviction information in the following limited circumstances:

  • With your explicit consent, in which case we will explain the purpose for which the information will be used at the point where we ask for your consent.

How we use your personal information

Your information will be used as follows:

  • To contact you.
  • To verify your indentity.
  • To provide you with the information, products and services which you request from us.
  • To provide customer support.
  • To notify you about changes to our service.
  • To comply with the requirements imposed by law or any court order.

In addition, depending on the service that we provide to you (or on your behalf) we may also use your personal information as detailed below;

Selling, Buying, Renting or Letting

  • For the purposes of fulfilling our obligations to you to let or sell your property or, if you are a buyer or tenant, for the purposes of arranging a contract for sale or a lease for you or for arranging repairs or maintenance of your property and for carrying out property inspections including (but not limited to) gas safety inspections, electrical safety inspections, energy performance inspections, fire safety inspections, insurance providers and inventory clerks.
  • If you are purchasing a property we are acting as selling agents of, we will share your personal data with third party agencies for the purposes of the prevention and detection of crime, fraud and/or money laundering and checking your suitability to purchase that property.
  • If you are purchasing a property we are acting as agents for the sale of or selling a property through us we will share your personal information with your appointed solicitors/conveyancers and the solicitors/conveyancers acting for the other side of the transaction as is necessary to facilitate the sale or purchase.
  • If you are purchasing or selling a property we are acting as selling agents of, we will share your personal information with appointed surveyors, valuers, financial/mortgage advisors, other estate agents in a chain, contractors or other relevant parties as is necessary to facilitate the sale or purchase.
  • If you are purchasing a property under the Help to Buy scheme we will disclose information which needs to be provided to the scheme operators to check your eligibility and to allow you to participate in and obtain benefits from the scheme.
  • If you are renting a property we are acting as letting agents of, we will share your personal data with third party referees or referencing agencies or other agents or landlords for the purposes of the prevention and detection of crime, fraud and/or money laundering and checking your suitability to rent that property.
  • If you are renting a property we are acting as letting agents of, we may need to pass your personal information from time to time on to third party contractors whom we have engaged to carry out repairs or maintenance on the property.
  • If you are renting a property we are acting as letting agents of, we will share your personal data with any utility or similar company in respect of invoices which relate to your use and occupation of the property for the period of the tenancy.
  • If you are renting a property we are acting as letting agents of, we will share your personal data with any tracing agent, debt collection company or legal firm we may employ if you vacate the property owing money to us or for any other lawful reason.
  • To provide your personal information to the Home Office if we are requested to do so under the ‘Right to Rent’ regulations.

Property Management

  • Where we are managing property on your behalf we may need to pass your personal information from time to time on to third party contractors whom we have engaged to carry out repairs or maintenance on your properties.
  • Where you engage us for property management services we will share your personal information with other parties to include third party lenders as is necessary to allow us to fulfil our obligations to you and in order to manage and advise you on your property or portfolio.
Other
  • If we sell any part of our business and/or integrate it with another organisation your details may be disclosed to our advisers and to prospective purchasers or joint venture partners and their advisers. If this occurs the new owners of the business will only be permitted to use your information in the same or similar way as set out in this privacy notice.
  • We will share personal information with our regulators, governmental or quasi-governmental organisations, law enforcement authorities and with courts, tribunals and arbitrators as may be required from time to time in order to comply with our regulatory and legal obligations;
  • Where we use third party services providers who process personal information on our behalf in order to provide services to us. This includes IT systems providers, website hosting service providers and IT contractors as well as third party referencing or screening agencies for the purposes of the prevention and detection of crime.
  • We may share your personal information with any person working within Moscrops on a need-to-know basis to ensure we are able to perform our obligations to you.
  • We will hold your personal information on our client management systems and may use this to provide you with marketing information about similar services offered by Moscrops to those which you have engaged us to provide which we feel you might find useful from time to time. You have the opportunity to opt out of receiving this information at any time.
What happens if you do not provide information that we request?

We need some of your personal information to perform the services you have requested from us. For example:

  • where we are selling a property on your behalf we need to know your contact information so that we can update you with information on viewings, offers and the progress of the sale;
  • where we are letting a property on your behalf we need to know your contact information so that we can update you with information on viewings, offers and the progress of the letting;
  • where you have asked us to find you a property which meets certain access requirements, we may need to know some further details about your particular circumstances so that we can find you a suitable property;

We also need some information so that we can comply with our legal obligations. For example, we may need identity documents from you to meet our obligations to prevent fraud and money laundering.

If you do not provide the information required for these purposes, we will not be able to perform our contract with you and may not be able to provide services to you or continue to provide certain services to you.

How we keep your information secure

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure we have put in place physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure your personal information.

Data is hosted in datacentres which have systems and protections in place to protect against both unauthorised access, and other external factors that could cause damage to, your personal data.

Password security

Where we have given you, or where you have chosen, a password which enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping the password confidential. Please notify us immediately if you suspect that your password is no longer secure.

How long do we keep your personal information

The period for which we will keep your personal information will depend on the type of service you have requested from us. The retention period may be longer than the period for which we are providing services to you where we have statutory, legal, regulatory or accounting obligations to retain personal information for a longer period, or where we may need to retain the information in case of a legal claim.

For instance, in order to comply with the requirement of the TPO Code of Practice, Sales and Lettings Agents need to maintain records of transactions for a period of six years and in complying with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 there is a requirement for Sales Agents to hold Customer Due Diligence and transaction data records for a period of five years after the business relationship has been terminated.

Transfer of your personal information

We may transfer, store, or process your personal information in locations outside the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA). Where the countries to which your personal information is transferred do not offer an equivalent level of protection for personal information to the laws of the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are put in place.

We’ll use one of these safeguards:

  • Transfer it to a non-EEA country with privacy laws that give the same protection as the EEA.
  • Put in place a contract with the recipient that means they must protect it to the same standards as the EEA.
  • Transfer it to organisations that are part of Privacy Shield. This is a framework that sets privacy standards for data sent between the US and EU countries. It makes sure those standards are similar to what is used within the EEA.

You can find out more about data protection on the European Commission Justice website.

Your rights in relation to your personal information

  • You have a number of rights in relation to your personal information, these include the right to:
  • Be informed about how we use your personal information
  • Obtain access to your personal information that we hold
  • Request that your personal information is corrected if you believe it is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate
  • Request that we erase your personal information in the following circumstances:
    • If Moscrops is continuing to process personal information beyond the period when it is necessary to do so for the purpose for which it was originally collected
    • If Moscrops is relying on consent as the legal basis for processing and you withdraw consent
    • If Moscrops is relying on legitimate interests as the legal basis for processing and you object to this processing and there is no overriding compelling ground which enables us continue with the processing
    • If the personal information has been processed unlawfully (i.e. in breach of the requirements of the data protection legislation)
    • If it is necessary to delete the personal information to comply with a legal obligation
  • Ask us to restrict our data processing activities where you consider that:
    • personal information is inaccurate
    • our processing of your personal information is unlawful
    • where we no longer need the personal information but you require us to keep it to enable you to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim
    • where you have raised an objection to our use of your personal information
  • Request a copy of certain personal information that you have provided it to us in a commonly used electronic format. This right relates to personal information that you have provided to us that we need in order to perform our agreement with you and personal information where we are relying on consent to process your personal information
  • Object to our processing of your personal information where we are relying on legitimate interests or exercise of a public interest task to make the processing lawful. If you raise an objection we will carry out an assessment to determine whether we have an overriding legitimate ground which entitles us to continue to process your personal information; and
  • Not be subject to wholly automated decisions which produce legal effects or which could have a similarly significant effect on you.

You have the right to withdraw consent for us to process your information and for its use for marketing purposes at any time.

If you would like to exercise any of your rights please write to the Data Protection Officer, Moscrops Estate Agents Limited, 8 Whetstone Lane, Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside, CH41 2RQ by emailing data@moscrops.com

Complaints and Contact Details

Complaints

If you have any complaints about the way we use your personal information please contact us at complaints@moscrops.com and we will try to resolve the issue. If we cannot resolve any issue, you have the right to complain to the data protection authority in your country (the Information Commissioner in the UK). If you need more information about how to contact your local data protection authority please let us know by contacting data@moscrops.com

Correcting or updating your information

You must ensure that any information you provide to us is correct and complete. You can ask us to correct or update your personal information at any time by email data@moscrops.com or by writing to the Data Protection Officer, Moscrops Estate Agents Limited, 8 Whetstone Lane, Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside, CH41 2RQ.

Contact details

If you have any questions, comments or requests regarding any aspect of this Privacy Policy notice, please do not hesitate to contact us by email data@moscrops.com or by writing to the Data Protection Officer, Moscrops Estate Agents Limited, 8 Whetstone Lane, Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside, CH41 2RQ. As a data controller we are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under registration number: ZA059213.


Cookies

Moscrops.com may use cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. If used, this cookie does not collect information that personally identifies you as an individual (other than your Internet protocol address), but merely allows us to recognize your repeated visits to the website. We may use cookie collected information to make your visit more enjoyable.

We may use the following cookies:

Strictly necessary cookies: These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytical/performance cookies: They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.

Functionality cookies: These are used to recognise you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalise our content for you, for example, greet you by name, remember your preferences or your choice of language or region.

Some features used on this website may involve a cookie being sent to your computer by a third party. For example, if you view or listen to any embedded audio or video content you may be sent cookies from the site where the embedded content is hosted. Likewise, if you share any content on this website through social networks you may be sent cookies from these websites. We have no control over third party cookies so please check the websites of these third parties for more information about their cookies and how to manage them.

Please note that third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These cookies are likely to be analytical/performance cookies or targeting cookies.

Except for essential cookies, all cookies will normally expire after one year.

How can I restrict or delete cookies?

You may delete and block all cookies from this or other websites, but please be aware that restricting or deleting cookies may impact on the functionality of the website.

Your web browser may allow you to restrict or delete cookies set by this or other websites. The Help function within your browser should tell you how.

Learn how to manage and remove cookies at AboutCookies.org which provides general information about cookies and how you can manage them on your computer.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

We may change our Privacy Policy notice from time-to-time by updating this page and may place notices on other sections of the website and/or notify you by email. You should check this page from time-to-time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.

This policy is effective from 25th May 2018.