Cardiff Estates & Lettings Privacy Policy
This privacy policy sets out how we will process personal data we collect from or about you, or which you provide to us. Please read this notice carefully to understand why data is being collected and what we do with that data.
Our website and services may contain links to independent websites which are not provided by us. Such independent sites are not under our control, and we are not responsible for and have not checked and approved their content or their privacy policies.
We may change the privacy notice from time to time by amending this page.
For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 and General Data Protection Regulation EU 2016/679, the data controller is Cardiff Estates & Lettings Ltd, a company registered in England & Wales under company number 4977658 whose registered address is 27 Caerphilly Road, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, CF14 4AD
Introduction
Cardiff Estates & Lettings needs to gather and use certain information about individuals.
These can include customers, suppliers, business contacts, employees and other people the organization has a relationship with or may need to contact.
This policy describes how this personal data must be collected, handled and stored to meet the company’s data protection standards — and to comply with the law.
This data protection policy ensures Cardiff Estates & Lettings:
• Complies with data protection law and follow good practice
• Protects the rights of staff, customers and partners
• Is open about how it stores and processes individuals’ data
• Protects itself from the risks of a data breach
This policy applies to:
• All Cardiff Estates & Lettings offices and work locations
• All staff and volunteers of Cardiff Estates & Lettings
• All contractors, suppliers and other people working on behalf of Cardiff Estates & Lettings
It applies to all data that the company holds relating to identifiable individuals, even if that information technically falls outside of the Data Protection Act 1998. This can include:
• Names of individuals
• Postal addresses
• Email addresses
• Telephone numbers
• Any other information relating to individuals
Data protection law
The Data Protection Act 1998 describes how organisations — including Cardiff Estates & Lettings must collect, handle and store personal information.
These rules apply regardless of whether data is stored electronically, on paper or on other materials.
To comply with the law, personal information must be collected and used fairly, stored safely and not disclosed unlawfully.
The Data Protection Act is underpinned by eight important principles.
These say that personal data must:
1. Be processed fairly and lawfully
2. Be obtained only for specific, lawful purposes
3. Be adequate, relevant and not excessive
4. Be accurate and kept up to date
5. Not be held for any longer than necessary
6. Processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects
7. Be protected in appropriate ways
8. Not be transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA), unless that country or territory also ensures an adequate level of protection
People, risks and responsibilities
Data protection risks
This policy helps to protect Cardiff Estates & Lettings from some very real data security risks, including:
• Breaches of confidentiality. For instance, information being given out inappropriately.
• Failing to offer choice. For instance, all individuals should be free to choose how the company uses data relating to them.
• Reputational damage. For instance, the company could suffer if hackers successfully gained access to sensitive data.
Responsibilities
Everyone who works for or with Cardiff Estates & Lettings has some responsibility for ensuring data is collected, stored and handled appropriately.
Each team that handles personal data must ensure that it is handled and processed in line with this policy and data protection principles.
However, these people have key areas of responsibility:
• The board of directors is ultimately responsible for ensuring that Cardiff Estates & Lettings meets its legal obligations.
• The data protection officer, Georgia Ireland, is responsible for:
o Keeping the board updated about data protection responsibilities, risks and issues.
o Reviewing all data protection procedures and related policies, in line with an agreed schedule.
o Arranging data protection training and advice for the people covered by this policy.
o Handling data protection questions from staff and anyone else covered by this policy.
o Dealing with requests from individuals to see the data Cardiff Estates & Lettings holds about them (also called ‘subject access requests’).
o Checking and approving any contracts or agreements with third parties that may handle the company’s sensitive data.
• The appointed IT company Red Dragon IT is responsible for:
o Ensuring all systems, services and equipment used for storing data meet acceptable security standards.
o Performing regular checks and scans to ensure security hardware and software is functioning properly.
o Evaluating any third-party services, the company is considering using to store or process data. For instance, cloud computing services.
• The branch manager, Richard Leonard, is responsible for:
o Approving any data protection statements attached to communications such as emails and letters.
o Addressing any data protection queries from journalists or media outlets like newspapers.
o Where necessary, working with other staff to ensure marketing initiatives abide by data protection principles.
General staff guidelines
• The only people able to access data covered by this policy should be those who need it for their work.
• Data should not be shared informally. When access to confidential information is required, employees can request it from their line managers.
• Cardiff Estates & Lettings will provide training to all employees to help them understand their responsibilities when handling data.
• Employees should keep all data secure, by taking sensible precautions and following the guidelines below.
• In particular, strong passwords must be used and they should never be shared.
• Personal data should not be disclosed to unauthorised people, either within the company or externally.
• Data should be regularly reviewed and updated if it is found to be out of date. If no longer required, it should be deleted and disposed of.
• Employees should request help from their line manager or the data protection officer if they are unsure about any aspect of data protection.
Data storage
These rules describe how and where data should be safely stored. Questions about storing data safely can be directed to the IT manager or data controller.
When data is stored on paper, it should be kept in a secure place where unauthorised people cannot see it.
These guidelines also apply to data that is usually stored electronically but has been printed out for some reason:
• When not required, the paper or files should be kept in a locked drawer or filing cabinet.
• Employees should make sure paper and printouts are not left where unauthorised people could see them, like on a printer.
• Data printouts should be shredded and disposed of securely when no longer required.
When data is stored electronically, it must be protected from unauthorised access, accidental deletion and malicious hacking attempts:
• Data should be protected by strong passwords that are changed regularly and never shared between employees.
• If data is stored on removable media (like a CD or DVD), these should be kept locked away securely when not being used.
• Data should only be stored on designated drives and servers and should only be uploaded to an approved cloud computing service.
• Servers containing personal data should be sited in a secure location, away from general office space.
• Data should be backed up frequently. Those backups should be tested regularly, in line with the company’s standard backup procedures.
• Data should never be saved directly to laptops or other mobile devices like tablets or smart phones.
• All servers and computers containing data should be protected by approved security software and a firewall.
Data use
Personal data is of no value to Cardiff Estates & Lettings unless the business can make use of it. However, it is when personal data is accessed and used that it can be at the greatest risk of loss, corruption or theft:
• When working with personal data, employees should ensure the screens of their computers are always locked when left unattended.
• Personal data should not be shared informally. In particular, it should never be sent by email, as this form of communication is not secure.
• Data must be encrypted before being transferred electronically. The IT manager can explain how to send data to authorised external contacts.
• Personal data should never be transferred outside of the European Economic Area.
• Employees should not save copies of personal data to their own computers. Always access and update the central copy of any data.
Data accuracy
The law requires Cardiff Estates & Lettings to take reasonable steps to ensure data is kept accurate and up to date.
The more important it is that the personal data is accurate, the greater the effort Cardiff Estates & Lettings should put into ensuring its accuracy.
It is the responsibility of all employees who work with data to take reasonable steps to ensure it is kept as accurate and up to date as possible.
• Data will be held in as few places as necessary. Staff should not create any unnecessary additional data sets.
• Staff should take every opportunity to ensure data is updated. For instance, by confirming a customer’s details when they call.
• Cardiff Estates & Lettings will make it easy for data subjects to update the information Cardiff Estates & Lettings holds about them. For instance, via the company website.
• Data should be updated as inaccuracies are discovered. For instance, if a customer can no longer be reached on their stored telephone number, it should be removed from the database.
• It is the marketing manager’s responsibility to ensure marketing databases are checked against industry suppression files every six months.
Subject access requests
All individuals who are the subject of personal data held by Cardiff Estates & Lettings are entitled to:
• Ask what information the company holds about them and why.
• Ask how to gain access to it.
• Be informed how to keep it up to date.
• Be informed how the company is meeting its data protection obligations.
If an individual makes contact with the company requesting this information, this is called a subject access request.
Subject access requests from individuals should be made by email, addressed to the data controller at [email address]. The data controller can supply a standard request form, although individuals do not have to use this.
Individuals will be charged £10 per subject access request. The data controller will aim to provide the relevant data within 14 days.
The data controller will always verify the identity of anyone making a subject access request before handing over any information.
Disclosing data for other reasons
In certain circumstances, the Data Protection Act allows personal data to be disclosed to law enforcement agencies without the consent of the data subject. Under these circumstances, Cardiff Estates & Lettings will disclose requested data. However, the data controller will ensure the request is legitimate, seeking assistance from the board and from the company’s legal advisers where necessary.
Providing information
Privacy Statement
Cardiff Estates & Lettings aims to ensure that individuals are aware that their data is being processed, and that they understand:
• How the data is being used
• How to exercise their rights
Cardiff Estates & Lettings has a privacy statement, setting out how data relating to individuals is used by the company.
[This is available on request. A version of this statement is also available on the company’s website.]
PRIVACY NOTICE - YOUR RIGHTS
How you can access and update your information
You have a right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you, known as a data subject access request. You also have the right to request that information we hold about you which may be incorrect, or which has been changed since you first told us, is updated or removed. These requests are free of charge and can be sent to Mary Walsh, 27 Caerphilly Road, Cardiff CF14 4AD
How you can request erasure of your data
You can ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where you have withdrawn consent for us to process it (as explained below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.
How you can withdraw your consent
You have the right at any time to withdraw any consent you have given us to process your personal data. Please note if you withdraw your consent it will not affect the lawfulness of any processing of your personal data we have carried out before you withdrew your consent. Should you wish to do so you can change your consent preferences at any time by contacting us at 27 Caerphilly Road, Cardiff CF14 4AD
How you can restrict or object to us using your data
You can ask us to suspend the way in which we are using your information in certain scenarios, or object to our processing your data where we are relying on a legitimate interest ground (or those of a third party) and you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms, or where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases where you object, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms.
Please note that if you want us to restrict or stop processing your data this may impact on our ability to provide our services. Depending on the extent of your request we may be unable to continue providing you with our service.
Any queries or concerns about the way in which your data is being used can be sent to Mary Walsh, 27 Caerphilly Road, Cardiff CF14 4AD
Moving your information to another organisation
In the event that we process your data by automated means where you have either provided us with consent for us to use your information or where we used the information to perform a contract with you, you have the right to request that we send to you or to another organisation, a copy of the personal data we hold about you, for example when you are dealing with a different service provider. If you would like us to move, copy, or transfer your information please let us know by email to info@wimberglot.com. We will respond to you within one month after assessing whether this is possible, taking into account the technical compatibility with the other organisation in question.
Complaints about the use of your personal data
If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact us to have the matter investigated by writing to Mary Walsh, 27 Caerphilly Road, Cardiff CF14 4AD.
If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data not in accordance with the law you can complain to the UK data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office. Further details can be found at www.ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113
