Privacy Policy

Customer Privacy Notice

When you submit your details through this website, we ask you to provide personal information relating to your circumstances, your financial situation and, in some cases, your health and family health history (Your Information). We want to explain what happens to Your Information when you use this site, and the various rights you have in relation to it.

"Your Information"

Your Information means any information describing or relating to you. Your Information may identify you directly, for example, your name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number etc.

Your Information may also identify you indirectly, for example, your employment situation, your physical and mental health history, or any other information that could be associated with your cultural or social identity.

In the context of introducing you to our adviser partner for assistance with your mortgage and/or insurance requirements, Your Information may include:

• Title, names, date of birth, gender, nationality, civil/marital status, contact details, addresses and documents that are necessary to verify your identity
• Employment and remuneration information, (including salary/bonus schemes/overtime/sick pay/other benefits), employment history
• Bank account details, tax information, loans and credit commitments, personal credit history, sources of income and expenditure, family circumstances and details of dependents
• Health status and history, details of treatment and prognosis, medical reports (further details are provided below specifically regarding the processing that may be undertaken in relation to this type of information)
• Any pre-existing mortgage and/or insurance products and the terms and conditions relating to these

How Your Information is passed to our adviser partner

When you submit Your Information through this website - for example via a contact form, the qualification tool, a consultation booking, or by phone or email - Hampshire Mortgages collects that information and passes it to Merit Mortgages Ltd, our adviser partner. Merit Mortgages Ltd then uses Your Information to contact you and to provide mortgage and/or insurance advice tailored to your circumstances.

Merit Mortgages Ltd does so on the basis that a contract for the supply of services is in place between you and them. To perform that contract, and to arrange the products you require, they have the right to use Your Information for the purposes set out below.

The basis upon which Your Information is used

When Merit Mortgages Ltd speaks with you about your mortgage and/or insurance requirements, they do so on the basis that a contract for the supply of services is in place between you. To perform that contract, and to arrange the products you require, they have the right to use Your Information for the purposes set out below.

Alternatively, either during initial discussions with you or when the contract between you and Merit Mortgages Ltd has come to an end for whatever reason, they have the right to use Your Information provided it is in their legitimate business interest to do so and your rights are not affected. For example, they may need to respond to requests from mortgage lenders, insurance providers and their Network relating to the advice given to you, or to contact you to seek feedback on the service you received.

Processing "Your Information"

Where you ask Merit Mortgages Ltd to assist you with your insurance needs, in particular life insurance and insurance that may assist you in the event of an accident or illness, they will ask you for information about your ethnic origin, your health and medical history (Your Special Data). They will record and use Your Special Data to make enquiries of insurance providers in relation to insurance products that may meet your needs and to provide you with advice regarding the suitability of any product that may be available to you.

The arrangement of certain types of insurance may involve disclosure by you to Merit Mortgages Ltd of information relating to historic or current criminal convictions or offences (together "Criminal Disclosures"). This is relevant to insurance related activities such as underwriting, claims and fraud management.

Collection of "Your Information"

Hampshire Mortgages collects Your Information directly from you when you use this website, for example when you complete a contact form, start a qualification, book a consultation, or get in touch by phone or email. That information is then passed to Merit Mortgages Ltd, who will usually discuss your circumstances and needs with you during initial conversations.

Merit Mortgages Ltd may also obtain some information from third parties, for example, credit checks, information from your employer, and searches of information in the public domain such as the voters roll.

What happens to "Your Information"

Once your information is passed to Merit Mortgages Ltd, they will:

• Record and store Your Information in their paper files, mobile devices and on their computer systems (websites, email, hard drives, cloud facilities) and it will be accessed by employees and consultants within, or contractors engaged, by Merit Mortgages Ltd as necessary to provide their service to you
• Submit Your Information to mortgage lenders and/or insurance product providers, both in paper form and online via mortgage lender/insurance provider systems, to progress any enquiry or application made on your behalf
• Input Your Information, along with full details of the mortgage and/or insurance discussed with you or which you have taken out, to the computer systems of their Network
• Use Your Information for the purposes of responding to any queries you may have in relation to any mortgage product or insurance policy you may take out

Sharing and transferring "Your Information"

From time to time Your Information will be shared with or transferred by Merit Mortgages Ltd to:

• Their Network
• Mortgage lenders and insurance providers
• Third parties who they believe will be able to assist with your enquiry or application, such as product specialists, estate agents, providers of legal services such as conveyancing, surveyors and valuers, and digital marketing suppliers

Please note that this sharing of Your Information does not entitle such third parties to send you marketing or promotional messages: it is shared for ensuring Merit Mortgages Ltd can adequately fulfil their responsibilities to you.

Security and Retention

Your privacy is important to us. Hampshire Mortgages takes reasonable steps to safeguard the information you submit through this website while it is in our control. Once your information is passed to Merit Mortgages Ltd, they keep it secure in accordance with their legal responsibilities and take reasonable steps to safeguard against it being accessed unlawfully or maliciously by a third party, accidentally lost, destroyed or damaged.

Your Information will be retained by Merit Mortgages Ltd either electronically or in paper format for a minimum of six years, or if longer than six years, the duration of their relationship with you.

Your Rights

You can:

• Request copies of Your Information that is held by Hampshire Mortgages or Merit Mortgages Ltd
• Ask us to further explain how Your Information is used
• Ask us to correct, delete or require us to restrict or stop using Your Information
• Ask us to send an electronic copy of Your Information to another organisation should you wish
• Change the basis of any consent you may have provided to enable us to market to you in the future

How Can You Access Your Data?

You have the right to ask for a copy of any of your personal data held by us (where such data is held). Under the GDPR, no fee is payable and we will provide any and all information in response to your request free of charge.