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Privacy Notice

Gateway Surveyors are committed to protecting your privacy and this notes details how we handle and process your personal data.

This notice details how we collect your personal data through our website (www.gatewaysurveyors.co.uk), or that you provide us via other methods, how we use this information and what we do with the information we have received.

Your privacy is important to us and we are committed to keeping your information secure, which is managed in accordance to our legal responsibilities under applicable data protection laws.

Gateway Surveyors is one of the UK’s leading valuation panel managers, providing valuation and surveying services throughout the UK postcode area, whilst ensuring the customer is at the heart of everything we do. Established in 2005, we have our own in-house valuer workforce, in addition to over 85 panel firms, thus allowing us access to over 1500 individual valuers.

Our fully accredited ISO 9001:2015 quality management process, combined with our investment in cutting edge technology enables Gateway’s experienced panel management team to deliver consistently reliable and fully auditable case and capacity management.

As a business, Gateway provides valuation services to all of the ‘high street’ lenders, plus the wider building society and equity release sectors. We also provide services direct to the customer for valuations and surveys.  We pride ourselves on customer service across our brand, from our team who contact the customer to arrange the appointment to the valuer carrying out the inspection, taking into consideration the needs of the individual customer.

Our business receives electronic instructions from lenders to inspect residential properties for mortgage lending purposes, therefore we do not have a direct relationship with the end consumer (i.e. the mortgage applicant). As the customer relationship is directly between the lender and its customer and not Gateway, Gateway is a Data Processor, within the scope of the data protection legislation. The lender is providing the customers personal data and specifies the purpose for which this is used, and Gateway processes the data in accordance with the lender’s requirements.

Gateway also receives instructions direct from the general public to value and survey properties and in this instance, Gateway is a “Data Controller” as we define the purpose and way the personal data is processed.

Gateway obtains, keeps and uses personal information (also referred to as data) for its employees and those who apply for job applications.

The personal data supplied to Gateway Surveyors for our duty as a Chartered Surveying Firm is not used by Gateway, SimplyBiz Group or any of our suppliers for marketing purposes. Gateway will not transfer personal information outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

Gateway will comply with the following data protection principles when processing personal information:

  • we will process personal information fairly, lawfully and in a transparent manner.
  • we will collect personal information for specified and legitimate purposes only
  • we will only process personal information that is relevant and necessary for the relevant purposes
  • we will keep personal information for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the information is processed
  • we will keep accurate and up to date personal information and take reasonable steps to ensure that inaccurate personal information is deleted or corrected without delay
  • we will take appropriate measures to ensure that personal information is kept secure and protected against unauthorised processing, and against accidental loss, destruction or damage.

Gateway will collect personal information in connection to the professional services we are undertaking on behalf of either a lender/applicant. We have a contractual arrangement with the lender/client allowing it to process personal data in the provision of its services for the lender client or agreed terms and conditions where you as a consumer have asked Gateway to provide you with a residential valuation or survey. The personal information we collect:

  • your name and contact information, including your email address and telephone number
  • information provided to us such as a property address and property postcode
  • the type of property, i.e. house, flat, bungalow
  • when the property was built
  • how many bedrooms the property has
  • the estimated value of the property
  • your card payment details including the name of the cardholder, if you were paying us directly for the valuation or survey being undertaken.Please note we do not store your card details in accordance with PCI DSS, in which we are regulated.

We may also collect personal information from you if you decide to apply for a position within our company including:

  • your contact details, such as your name, current address, previous address, telephone number and email address
  • photographic identification, such as a driving licence or passport
  • evidence to confirm your suitability to work for us, including references, proof of eligibility to work in the UK, records of assessments
  • copy of your curriculum vitae, application form, interview notes and records of applicable qualifications for the role
  • results from a financial sanction check, credit reference check and a criminal record check.
  • Any sensitive information regarding your health and well-being where necessary to comply with legal obligations connected to your role in the company.

Gateway will use appropriate measures to keep personal information secure and in particular protect against any unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction and damage, including making sure, where possible, information is encrypted.

Where we use external organisations to process personal information on our behalf, additional security arrangements are enforced within the contracts with those organisations to safeguard the security of personal information. Sub-contractors are only engaged with Gateway upon receipt of a written agreement and need to ensure appropriate measures are taken to secure the information.

We would only disclose your information to third parties for the following reason:

  • To provide a service such as undertaking a valuation or survey if we instructed them as part of a contract with a lender client,
  • In the event of a professional indemnity claim or dispute relating to the use of the services
  • Regulatory entities/law enforcement bodies in order to comply with any legal obligation or court order
  • To ensure payments for services are processed securely and in compliance with Payment Card Industry, Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
  • To verify the data provided on a job application and to undertaken criminal record checks as part of our pre-employment screening process.

The information provided to us in relation to a valuation or Survey will be retained by us in accordance with applicable laws and our Records Management Policy. The information is held up to 15 years in accordance with our regulator’s guidelines (The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors). For data you have provided for a job application, this information is held on your personnel file. If you were not successful in commencing employment with us, we will either remove your information or de-identify it. We will retain this information to deal with any queries or challenge to our recruitment process.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation legislation, individuals have the rights over processing, retention and deletion of their Personal Data. You are entitled to request copies of the personal data we hold on file for you and request how we use this information and Gateway Surveyors will comply with such request within 30 days of the request being made. You are entitled to request any personal data which is either inaccurate or incorrect is either amended or erased. You can also have the right to stop us processing your personal information and/or withdraw your agreement to processing based on ‘consent’ unless we have legal justification for doing so.

Gateway Surveyors have a legal obligation to inform you within 72 hours of becoming aware of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your data and Gateway will also report such breach to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and or its lender clients having investigated fully the suspected breach.

For all Gateway related data protection matters, please contact Johan Van Rooyen, Head of Operations and ICT in writing:

Fintel House, St Andrew's Road, Huddersfield HD1 6NA.

If you have any concerns or complaints as to how we handled your personal data you may lodge a complaint with the UK’s data protection regulator, the ICO, who can be contacted through their website at https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/ or by writing to Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF.