Privacy Policy and Cookies
The Information we collect and use
This notice explains what information we collect, when we collect it and how we use this. During the course of our activities, we will process personal data (which may be held on paper, electronically, or otherwise) about you and we recognise the need to treat it in an appropriate and lawful manner. The purpose of this notice is to make you aware of how we will handle your information.
By information we mean information about you collected through our services website(s) including (but not limited to) your email address and any other additional information you provide to us by registering for our services or making requests for information about our services. Any information provided to us will be retained and used solely for the purposes of fulfilling your request for information, fulfilling a request through a site feature, performing and carrying out the terms of the service, or communicating with you as a member of the service.
We collect the following information about you
We will collect the following information about you from your application for accommodation and from our registration on our website or other social media pages.
We collect the following information about you:
- Prospective tenants and/or guarantor names, email address, date of birth, address (including any previous addresses, relationship to other prospective tenants, employment status, name of university or college where you are studying (if applicable).
- Tenant name, email address, telephone number, Date of Birth, address (including any previous addresses), marital status, National Insurance Number, nationality, next of kin, name of university or college where you are studying (if applicable), the name of friends that you are staying with (if applicable).
- Guarantor name, e-mail address, telephone number, Date of Birth, address (including any previous addresses), marital status, National Insurance Number, nationality, next of kin (if applicable).
- Property address; term, rent, deposit, utility, and service responsibilities.
- The employment status of tenants and/or guarantors, address, contact details (including email, phone, and fax numbers) of the employer/accountant, payroll numbers, length of employment, salary information (including any regular overtime or commission), and any other income received.
- Bank account details of the tenant and prospective tenants, including account number and sort code, and any hire purchase/loan agreements/credit cards or store cards that you have; and
- Any welfare benefits that you may be eligible for or are currently on.
We need this information and how we use this Information
We need your information and will use your information:
- To undertake and perform our obligations and duties to you in accordance with the terms of our contract with you.
- To enable us to supply you with the services and information which you have requested.
- To help you to manage your tenancy.
- To carry out due diligence on any prospective tenant and/or guarantor, including whether there are any money judgements against them, or any history of bankruptcy or insolvency.
- To analyse the information we collect so that we can administer, support and improve and develop our business and the services we offer.
- To contact you in order to send you details of any changes to our suppliers which may affect you; and
- For all other purposes consistent with the proper performance of our operations and business.
How long we keep this Information
STORM LETTINGS LTD at 33 Church Street, Hartlepool, TS27 7DG. We take the issue of security and data protection very seriously and strictly adhere to guidelines published in the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 which is applicable from the 25th of May 2018, together with any domestic laws subsequently enacted.
We are notified as a Data Controller with the Office of the Information Commissioner under registration number ZB071308 and we are the data controller of any personal data that you provide to us.
Any questions relating to this notice and our privacy practices should be sent to STORM LETTINGS LTD at 33 Church Street, Hartlepool, TS27 7DG.
We review data retention periods regularly and will only hold your personal data for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as required by law (we may be legally required to hold some types of information), or as set out in any relevant contract we have with you.
Registration
Registration for the services we provide is not required to simply view the site, if you elect to register for our services, STORM LETTINGS LTD asks you for information that enables us to provide this service. You will be registering with STORM LETTINGS LTD on the forms provided and such registration may require you to provide additional contact information such as your name, address, email and telephone number.
Aggregate Information
From time to time, we may collect general, non-personal, statistical information about the usage of the site and the service, such as how many visitors visit a specific page on www.stormlettingsltd.co.uk, how long they stay on that page, and which hyperlinks, if any, they “click” on. We collect this information through the use of “cookies” and “IP addresses”, which are discussed in greater detail below.
IP Addresses
An IP address is a number that’s automatically assigned to your computer whenever you’re surfing the web. Web servers, the computers that “serve” web pages, automatically identify your computer by its IP address. Company collects IP addresses for purposes of system administration, to report aggregate information to third parties and to track the use of the Site. When visitors request pages from the Site or click on a link in a mailing sent through the Service our servers log the visitors’ IP addresses. We reserve the right to use IP addresses to identify a visitor or list member when it will enhance the users experience or if we feel it is necessary to enforce compliance with the Site’s policies or to protect Company, the Site, its visitors, the Service, our Internet Service Provider partners, the list members, or others.
Cookies
Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to an individual’s hard drive for record-keeping purposes. Cookies make web-surfing easier for you by saving your preferences while you are at the Site. The use of cookies is an industry standard — you will find them at most websites. For example, we may use cookies on the Site to verify the subscriber’s login status. They are not used to store personal information, or to retain historical or transactional subscriber data. By showing how and when visitors use the Site, cookies help us see which areas are popular and which are not. Information such as the total number of visitors and pages viewed is most easily tracked with cookies. We may use the information from cookies to make improvements and updates to the Site and to tailor our services to our visitors’, list members’ and survey participants’ needs.
You always have the option of disabling cookies using your browser preferences. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, please be aware that some features of the Site will not function properly or may be slower if you refuse cookies.
Clear Gifs (Web Beacons/Web Bugs)
Clear gifs are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies, and are used to track the online movements of Web users. In contrast to cookies, which are stored on a user’s computer hard drive, clear gifs are embedded invisibly in HTML files and are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence.
We may use clear gifs in our HTML-based emails to let us know which emails have been opened by recipients. This allows us to gauge the effectiveness of certain communications and the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter or other promotional communications by email, you may opt-out of receiving them by following the instructions included in each communication.
Profile
We may store information that we collect through cookies and clear gifs to create a “profile” of your preferences. We may tie your personal information to information in the profile to provide tailored promotions and marketing offers or to improve the content of the site for you. We do not share your profile with third parties.
Information Sharing and Disclosure
The information you provide to us will be treated by us as confidential and will be processed only by any third party, acting on our behalf, within the UK/EEA
We may disclose your information to other third parties who act for us for the purposes set out in this notice or for purposes approved by you, including the following:
- If we enter into a joint venture with or merge with a business entity, your information may be disclosed to our new business partners or owners.
- To carry out due diligence on you as a prospective tenant/ guarantor, including but not limited to the carrying out of affordability checks, due diligence checks and the obtaining of references from relevant parties, whose data you have provided.
- If you request so, your information shall be disclosed in order to determine if there are any money judgements against you, as the prospective tenant/guarantor, or to determine if they have a history of bankruptcy or insolvency.
- If you are unable to make payments under your tenancy, your information may be disclosed to any relevant party assisting in the recovery of this debt or the tracing of you as a tenant; and
- In the creation, renewal or termination of the tenancy, your information will be disclosed to the relevant local authority, tenancy deposit scheme administrator, service/utility provider, freeholder/property owner/landlord, facilities manager or any other relevant person or organisation in connection with this.
Unless required to do so by law, we will not otherwise share, sell, or distribute any of the information you provide to us without your consent.
Agents and Third-Party Service Providers
To provide this service to you, we may sometimes use other businesses to perform certain specialized services such as data processing or other technology services. In such instances, we may provide your personal information to those businesses, but they are not permitted to retain or use your information for any other purpose.
We may disclose your information to other third parties who act for us for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy or for purposes approved by you, including the following: if we enter into a joint venture with or merge with a business entity, your information may be disclosed to our new business partners or owners, to carry out due diligence on you as a prospective tenant/guarantor, including but not limited to the carrying out of affordability checks, due diligence checks and the obtaining of references from relevant parties, whose data you have provided, if you request so, your information shall be disclosed in order to determine if there are any money judgements against you, as the prospective tenant/guarantor, or to determine if they have a history of bankruptcy/insolvency, if you are unable to make payments under your tenancy, your information may be disclosed to any relevant part assisting in the recovery of this debt or the tracing of you as a tenant and in the creation, renewal or termination of your tenancy, your information will be disclosed to the relevant local authority, tenancy deposit scheme administrator, service/utility provider, freeholder/property owner/Landlord, facilities manager or any other relevant person or any organisation in connection with this.
Transfers outside the UK and Europe
Your information will only be stored within the UK and EEA.
Security
When you give us information, we take steps to make sure that your personal information is kept secure and safe.
Your data will be held on secure servers which may or may not be located in the EEA (European Economic Area). All reasonable operational and technological measures have been put in place to safeguard your data, our content, and our systems from any unauthorised access. Wherever possible any identifiable information will be secured, encrypted, or minimised.
Parts of our system may be accessible by our customers and users. This access will be password protected. If you have been given a username and password which enables you to access certain parts of your data on our systems, it is your responsibility to keep it confidential. Under no circumstances should you disclose or share it with anyone.
Change of Control/Asset Transfer
As the company develops, we may buy other businesses or their assets or sell all or parts of our business assets. Customer information is generally one of the business assets involved in such transactions. In the event that the assets of STORM LETTINGS LTD in whole or in parts are acquired by a third-party, customer information, including visitor information collected through the site or the service, would be one of the transferred assets. In the event of a corporate change in control o sale of all or parts of our business assets our users will be notified in accordance with the “Changes to this Policy” section of the policy if their personal information is provided to the new corporate entity or asset purchaser.
Legal Compliance
The company reserves the right to disclose member information in special cases when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) the company’s rights or property, other visitors, list members, or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities. The company also reserves the right to disclose visitor or list member information when we believe in good faith that the law requires it.
Communications from STORM LETTINGS LTD
Customer Service
Based upon the information you provide us, we will communicate with you in response to your inquiries, to provide the services you request, and manage your account. We may communicate with you via email, telephone, mail, or home visits.
Newsletter and Promotions
We may provide you with the opportunity to opt-in to additional newsletter or promotional communications sent via email or mail. If you have opted in or otherwise qualify to receive these forms of communication, we will use your name, email address and home address to communicate with you. Out of respect for your privacy, we will provide you with a way to unsubscribe if you do not wish to receive these. Please see the “Choice and Opt-Out” section.
Choice/Opt-Out
Service email messages are required to fulfil the service to you. You may opt out of these communications, which are not promotional in nature. If you do not wish to receive them, you may opt-out and/or deactivate your account by following the instructions in each communication or by contacting info@stormlettingsltd.co.uk.
We may provide you the opportunity to opt-in to additional newsletters and/or promotional communications sent via email and post. If you have opted in or otherwise qualify to receive these forms of communication, and no longer wish to receive our newsletter or other promotional communications by email or post, you may opt-out of receiving them by following the instructions included in each communication.
Security and Information Protection
The security of your information is extremely important to us. When you enter sensitive information (such as a credit card number) on our payment forms, we encrypt that information used Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.
We are notified as a Data Controller with the Office of the Information Commissioner under registration number ZB071308 and we are the data controller of any personal data that you provide to us. We take the issue of security and data protection very seriously and strictly adhere to guidelines published in the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/670 which is applicable from the 25th of May 2018, together with any domestic laws subsequently published.
We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it. No method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, however. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
For transactions outside of the UK and Europe, your information will only be stored within the UK and EEA.
Firewalls
Protecting the security of your personal information is very important to us. When we store information that you have provided to us when registering for the Service, that information is protected by security measures that include “firewalls” (a combination of computer hardware and software that helps keep unauthorized visitors from accessing information within our computer network), “intrusion detection systems” (a combination of computer hardware and software that helps detect any unauthorized visitors) and other tools such as data encryption and physical security, where appropriate. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet or data repository can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while Company strives to protect your personal information and privacy, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you disclose or transmit to us online and cannot be responsible for the theft, destruction, or inadvertent disclosure of your personal information.
Links to Other Sites
Please be aware that when you are on the site, or when you receive an email message from us through the service, you could be directed to other sites that are beyond our control. There may be links to other sites from the site’s pages or from the email message we send to you that take you outside our site. These other websites may send their own cookies to visitors, collect data, or solicit personal information. The privacy policies of these other sites may be significantly different from this Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these other sites and cannot guarantee the security of any of your personal information collected there. Note that when you link to a third-party site from the site, you may see pre-populated data fields with your personal information; however, that information is not available to the third party unless you take certain actions on the third party’s site, such as submitting a form.
Privacy Policy for Children
We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13 on the website or through our services. If you are under the age of 13, please do not provide any information to us. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child under the age of 13, we will make commercially reasonable efforts to delete such information from our database.
Your Rights
You have the right at any time to: ask for a copy of the information about you held by us in our records, require us to correct any inaccuracies in your information, make a request to us to delete what personal data of yours we hold, and object to receiving any marketing communications from us.
If you would like to exercise any of your rights above, please contact us at info@stormlettingsltd.co.uk. Should you wish to complain about the use of your information, we would ask that you contact us to resolve this matter in the first instance. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office in relation to our use of your information. The Information Commissioner’s contact details are noted below.
England: Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Email: casework@ico.org.uk
Wales: Information Commissioner’s Office
2nd floor, Churchill House
Churchill way, Cardiff, CF10 2HH
Telephone: 029 2067 8400
Email: wales@ico.org.uk
Northern Ireland: Information Commissioner’s Office
3rd Floor, 14 Cromac Place
Belfast, BT7 2JB
Telephone: 028 9027 8757
Email: ni@ico.org.uk
The accuracy of your information is extremely important to us, please help us keep our records updated by informing us of any changes to your email address and/or any other contact details.
Changes to this Policy
The terms of this Privacy Policy may change from time to time as our business adapts and grows. We will notify you via email or text of any material changes to this Privacy Policy, along with posting a notice on the homepage of the website for a reasonable period of time after such changes are made, that this Privacy Policy has been updated, and by changing the “effective” date at the top of this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to check this page periodically for any changes. Your continued use of the website(s) and participation in following the posting of changes to these terms will mean that you accept those changes.
Contacting Us
We value your options. If you have any comments or questions regarding our Privacy Policy, please send them to STORM LETTINGS LTD, at info@stormlettingsltd.co.uk, or contact:
STORM LETTINGS LTD, 33 Church Street, Hartlepool, TS27 7DG.