We have published this notice to help you understand -

• how and why Humble & Clark Legal Services collect information from you;
• who we share your information with, why and on what basis;
• what your rights are

If we make changes to this notice, we will notify you by updating it on our website.

What information we collect from you when you instruct us and why?

When you instruct us to act for you, you are entering into a contract with us. We will open a file for each of your transactions and we will ask you to provide some personal information such as;

• full name
• address
• date of birth
• contact numbers
• email address
• bank details
• National Insurance number

How do we use your information?

Data Protection laws allow us to use and share your personal data only where we have a proper reason to do so. We must have one or more of these reasons and these are:

• Contract - your personal information is processed in order to fulfil a contractual arrangement e.g. a contract or transfer document
• Consent – where you agree to us using your information in this way e.g. updating Estate Agents and others in a transaction; registering your transaction with Land Registry; completing HMRC Stamp Duty forms; and dealing with your mortgage lender
• Legitimate Interests - to allow us to provide you with the best service in the most secure and appropriate way e.g. offering advice and updates on changes in legislation
• Legal Obligation – where there is statutory or other legal requirement to share the information e.g. we are legally required to retain case files for a number of years after completion

Here is a list of the ways that we may use your personal information, and which of the reasons described above we rely on to do so.

Who we share your information with and why

Humble & Clark Legal Services LLP work with a number of trusted agencies and businesses in order to provide you with a quality service such as estate agents, banks, building societies, financial services, builders, HMRC, Land Registry and management companies amongst others. Some examples of the categories of third parties with whom we share your data are –

Business Partners

We work with a number of trusted agencies and businesses to assist us in providing our service to you. These agencies and businesses are subject to our security checks and will only hold the minimum amount of personal information needed in order to help provide a service on our behalf.

Other Solicitors and conveyancers

In dealing with any transaction on your behalf, it will be necessary/appropriate for us to share certain details with other law firms e.g. those acting for your seller or buyer.  

Banks 

We work with our bank and others, in order to securely transfer funds and manage payments.

Thirdfort

We use a third party called Thirdfort which lets clients electronically verify identity and where required source of funding, safely and securely via the Thirdfort app. This provides an alternative way for you to share your information with us without the need of sending your documents or attending their office. We can process this information, by appointment, using original documents, in person at our offices. To view the Thirdfort privacy policy go to www.thirdfort.com/terms/privacy-policy or to contact them for anything else on 020 3984 1271 or at help@thirdfort.com

Fraud prevention services

Before we provide services to you, we undertake checks for the purposes of preventing fraud and money laundering, and to verify your identity. The personal data you have provided and we have collected from you, will be used to prevent fraud and money laundering, and to verify your identity. This is on the basis that we have a legitimate interest in preventing fraud and money laundering, and to verify identity, in order to   protect our business and to comply with laws and regulations that apply to us. 
If we, or a fraud prevention agency, determine that you pose a fraud or money laundering risk, we may refuse to provide the services you have requested or stop providing existing services to you.

Keeping in touch with you

We may keep in contact with you by phone, text, email and letter throughout your transaction -  from your quotation request to the full completion and closure of your file, including post-completion formalities such as completing application to register titles at Land Registry.

Website security

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

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

How long we keep your information

If we collect your personal information, the length of time we retain it is determined by a number of factors including the purpose for which we use that information and our obligations under our regulator the Council Of Licenced Conveyancers (CLC)

We may need your personal information to establish, bring or defend legal claims. For this purpose, we will always retain your personal information for 6 years after the date of completion of a property / business sale; 15 years after the completion of a property/business purchase or transfer and for 6 years after the death of the Testator/Donor re a Will or Lasting Power of Attorney respectively. The only exceptions to this are where:

• the law requires us to hold your personal information for longer, or delete it sooner
• you exercise your right to have the information erased (where it applies) and we do not need to hold it in connection with any of the reasons permitted or required under the law or CLC regulations
• we bring or defend a legal claim or other proceedings during the period we retain your personal information, in which case we will retain your personal information until those proceedings have concluded and no further appeals are possible
• existing or future law, a court or regulator requires us to keep your personal information for a longer or shorter period.

Your Rights

Your personal data is protected by legal rights, which include your rights to object to our processing of your personal data; request that your personal data is erased or corrected; request access to your personal data. These are called your Data Subject Rights and there is more information on these on the Information Commissioners website www.ico.org.uk

Where your personal information has or is being used in a way that you believe does not comply with data, however, we encourage you to contact us before making any complaint and we will seek to resolve any issues or concerns you may have. Should you need to contact us please write to:
Data Protection Officer, Humble & Clark Legal Services, Mallan House, Bridge End, Hexham, NE46 4DQ or via info@humbleclark.co.uk quoting Data Protection Enquiry.

Last Updated: Jun 28, 2023