Home Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

At Online Mortgage Advisor (OMA), we prioritize the privacy and security of our users’ personal information. We are committed to safeguarding the personal data we collect, use, and share when you visit our website and engage with our services.

This Privacy Policy is designed to inform you about how we handle your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other relevant data protection laws. We understand the importance of your privacy and are dedicated to being transparent about our data practices and your rights as a data subject.

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, including for direct marketing purposes. Please see the section below, entitled ‘Your Legal Rights’ for more information.

When we use the words ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’, or ‘Online Mortgage Advisor’ in this policy, we’re talking about FIND A MORTGAGE ONLINE LTD. When we say ‘you’ or ‘your’ we’re talking about our customers.

Your trust is important to us, and we encourage you to read this policy carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. If you have any questions or require more information about our privacy practices, please do not hesitate to contact us using the information provided in the next section.

Who We Are and How To Contact Us

For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and any subsequent UK data protection legislation, the Data Controller is FIND A MORTGAGE ONLINE LTD.

Contact Details of the Data Controller:

Name: Nick Edmonds, Head of Commercial
Registered Address: Sterling House, Outrams Wharf, Little Eaton, Derby, DE21 5EL.
Company Registration Number: 08662127
Email: [email protected]

As the Data Controller, we are responsible for determining the purposes and means of processing your personal data. We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and handling your information in an open, transparent manner.

Effective Date and Policy Changes

Effective Date: This privacy policy is effective as of 27th February 2024.

Policy Updates and Changes:

  • Online Mortgage Advisor (OMA) reserves the right to update and change this privacy policy from time to time to reflect any changes to our practices, service offerings, legal or regulatory requirements, or any other changes we deem necessary.
  • We will notify you of any significant changes by posting the new privacy policy on our website, and, where appropriate, by other means. We will also update the “Effective Date” at the top of this privacy policy.
  • We encourage you to review this privacy policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting the personal data we collect. Your continued use of our services after any changes or revisions to this privacy policy shall indicate your agreement with the terms of such revised privacy policy.

What Data We Collect

At Online Mortgage Advisor (OMA), we collect various types of personal information to effectively provide our services and enhance your experience.

For the purposes of this policy, personal data is effectively information about individuals which, alone, or in conjunction with other information held by us, is capable of identifying them.

Here’s a detailed list of the types of data we might collect from you but it may not be exhaustive:

Personal Identification Information:

  • Name: To identify you and personalize our communication.
  • Address and/or Postcode: Essential for localizing the service and matching you with mortgage brokers.
  • Phone Number and Email: For communication purposes, to keep you updated, and for processing inquiries.
  • Date of Birth: Necessary for verifying your identity and for assessing mortgage eligibility.
  • Employment type and income

Residency and Credit Information:

  • UK Residency Status: To determine eligibility and to comply with local financial service regulations.
  • Credit Information: Including details of any County Court Judgments (CCJs), defaults, Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA), or Debt Management Plans (DMP), to assess your financial standing and tailor our advice.

Mortgage Requirements:

  • Type of Mortgage and Loan Size: To understand your specific needs and find suitable mortgage options. we will ask you various questions regarding your specific situation.
  • Deposit Size: To calculate the loan-to-value ratio, which is crucial in mortgage advising.
  • Readiness to Proceed: Helps in gauging the urgency and timeline for your mortgage needs.

Website Usage Data:

  • We use tools like Google Analytics and Hotjar to gather data about how you interact with our website. This includes information about your browsing behaviour, preferences, and engagement with our site. This data helps us improve website functionality and user experience. 
  • Marketing and Communications Data – Your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties, as well as your communication preferences, are collected to manage our relationship with you effectively.

Please note that there is no statutory or contractual obligation to provide personal data and you are doing so voluntarily. However, without certain data, we may be unable to offer personalized advice or effectively match you with suitable mortgage advisors.

Special Category Data

The information you provide us with may on occasion contain Special Category Data (sensitive personal data) for the purposes of the act, being information as to your physical or mental health or condition; the committing or alleged committing of any offence by you; any proceeding for an offence committed or alleged to have been committed by you, including the outcome or sentence in such proceedings; your political opinions; religious or similar beliefs; sexual life; or your membership of a trade union.

Lawful Basis for Processing

By providing us your personal data through our website you allow Online Mortgage Advisor to process your data under legitimate interests, whereby processing is necessary in order for you to be served by the offering Online Mortgage Advisor provides. If you no longer have a legitimate interest in our service we allow you, at any time, to contact us and we will cease communication or remove you from our systems, until such time that you submit your personal data.

Separate to legitimate interests we may also capture your consent for future marketing at the point you provide your data for processing. This consent can be used for marketing different products or services throughout the time you remain opted in (or if we decide to remove you from our database in line with our data retention policy). You can remove your consent at any time either in communications from us or by contacting us directly. You can remove your consent to future marketing communications and remain in contact with us via legitimate interests if you so choose.

How We Collect Your Data

At Online Mortgage Advisor (OMA), we gather information about you in various ways to ensure we can provide personalized and effective services. Below are the primary methods through which we collect your data:

Direct Interactions:

  • Forms and Applications: When you fill out forms on our website, such as contact forms, mortgage inquiry forms, or when registering for our services.
  • Correspondence: Information you provide when you communicate with us via email, phone, post, or otherwise, including when you request information about our services.
  • Newsletter subscription: When you sign up for our newsletter, we collect your email address to send you updates and information about our services. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link provided in every newsletter.

Automated Technologies or Interactions:

  • As you interact with our website, we automatically collect technical data about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies, server logs, and other similar technologies.

Social Media and Online Platforms:

  • When you interact with our social media platforms or use features on our website that integrate with social media platforms, we may receive certain information via these platforms.

Through Our Services:

  • We may collect data in relation to your use of our services, such as your preferences, feedback, and information related to your inquiries and transactions.

This information collection is essential for us to provide you with our services and to improve your overall experience. We are committed to collecting and using your data in a manner consistent with your rights and our obligations under the law.

Cookie Policy

At Online Mortgage Advisor (OMA), we use cookies and similar technologies to enhance and personalize your experience on our website, as well as to analyze site traffic and trends. To give you a comprehensive understanding of how we use cookies and your choices regarding them, we have a dedicated Cookie Policy.

What Our Cookie Policy Covers:

  • Types of Cookies: Our Cookie Policy outlines the types of cookies we use on our website, including essential, performance, functionality, and advertising cookies.
  • Purpose of Cookies: You will find detailed information about what each type of cookie does and how these cookies help improve your experience on our website.
  • Managing Cookies: The Cookie Policy provides guidance on how you can manage your cookie preferences and settings, including how to disable cookies if you choose to.

We encourage you to read our Cookie Policy to better understand the use of cookies and tracking technologies on our website. Understanding these tools will help you make informed decisions about your privacy.

You can find our Cookie Policy here: https://www.onlinemortgageadvisor.co.uk/cookies/

Remember, if you choose to disable cookies, it may affect the functionality and features of our website.

How We Use Your Data

Online Mortgage Advisor provides specialist information for potential borrowers who are struggling to find finance. The market-leading experts for these niche finance arrangements will be from different companies around the UK, and we will provide your personal data to them.

The information provided to us may also be shared internally with employees of Online Mortgage Advisor in order to deal with your request in the most effective manner possible, and as outlined above, we will of course also share your information with the specific advisor we pass your enquiry on to.

By making an enquiry you are providing us with personal data to enable us to search for a mortgage broker for you. By using that data the legal basis for processing is the consent you give when first applying to us by completing our Enquiry Form and completing a contract in due course if a mortgage is arranged as a result of our searches on your behalf.

We will not pass or sell your details on to third-party companies purely for additional marketing purposes other than what is necessary to process your mortgage search. If the need arises to pass on your personal data for other marketing purposes we will obtain your explicit consent first.

We will never share your personal details with anyone it is unnecessary to do so with, whether inside or outside the company unless we have your explicit consent to do so or are obliged to by law.

We utilize the personal data we collect from you in various ways to provide and enhance the services we offer. Below are the key purposes for which your data is used:

Mortgage Advisory Services: We use your identity, contact, and financial data to match you with suitable mortgage advisors who provide tailored advice. This helps us ensure that the mortgage options presented to you are relevant to your specific circumstances.

Communication: Your contact details are used to communicate with you about your mortgage inquiries, provide updates, and respond to any questions or feedback you may have.

Website Improvement and Personalization: Technical and usage data are crucial for us to understand how our website is used and to make continuous improvements. This data helps in enhancing the user experience and ensuring that the content is relevant and engaging.

Marketing and Promotional Offers: We may use your identity, contact, marketing, and communications data to inform you about new products, services, or promotional offers that may be of interest to you. We will always seek your consent where required by law and provide you with options to opt out of receiving such communications.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance: In certain circumstances, we may need to use your personal data to comply with regulatory requirements and legal obligations.

We are committed to using your personal data only for the purposes for which it was collected, and we will seek your consent before using it for any significantly different purpose.

Who We Share Your Data With

We understand the importance of your personal information and are committed to protecting its privacy. Here’s how we handle data sharing:

Sharing with Mortgage Advisors and Brokers: To facilitate the provision of tailored mortgage advice, we share your personal data with selected mortgage advisors and brokers. These parties are carefully chosen and are obligated to protect your data and use it solely for the purpose of providing you with the requested services.

Service Providers: We engage with various third-party service providers to support our operations, such as IT services, customer relationship management, and analytics. These providers are contractually bound to handle your data securely and in accordance with our privacy standards.

Legal Requirements: In certain situations, we may be required to disclose your data to comply with legal or regulatory obligations. This includes responding to lawful requests by public authorities, including meeting national security or law enforcement requirements.

Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your personal data may be transferred. We will notify you before your personal data is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

Consent-Based Sharing: Apart from the scenarios mentioned above, we will not share your personal data with any other third parties without your explicit consent.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

Data Storage and Retention

We take a thoughtful approach to the duration for which we keep your personal data. Our data retention policy is designed to ensure that we keep your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Here’s how we approach data retention:

Retention Period:

  • For personal data related to mortgage inquiries and advisory services, we retain the data for a period necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this privacy policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
  • In general, we will retain your personal data for a period of six years after our professional relationship ends to comply with regulatory and legal obligations, and for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.

Criteria for Determining Retention Periods:

  • The amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data.
  • The potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal data.
  • The purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means.
  • Applicable legal requirements, such as for tax reporting or to comply with financial regulations.

Anonymization of Data:

  • In some circumstances, we may anonymize your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

Review and Deletion of Data:

  • We regularly review our data retention policies to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
  • Upon the expiration of the retention period, your personal data will be securely deleted or destroyed.

If you have questions about our data retention policies or wish to request the deletion of your personal data, please contact us using the details provided in this policy.

Your Legal Rights

As a user, you have certain rights concerning your personal data under data protection laws, such as the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We respect these rights and are committed to upholding them. For more information about your data protection rights please visit the ICO website: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/individual-rights/

Below is a summary of your key rights:

Right to Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, often referred to as a ‘data subject access request’.

Right to Rectification: If the information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to correct or complete it.

Right to Erasure: Also known as the ‘right to be forgotten’, this right allows you to request the deletion or removal of your personal data where there’s no compelling reason for us to continue processing it.

Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to ‘block’ or suppress further use of your personal data in certain circumstances.

Right to Data Portability: This right allows you to obtain and reuse your personal data for your own purposes across different services in a safe and secure way, without it affecting the usability of your data.

Right to Object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, including for direct marketing purposes.

Rights in relation to Automated Decision Making and Profiling: You have the right not to be subject to a decision when it’s based on automated processing and it produces a legal effect or a similarly significant effect on you.

Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we are relying on consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, particularly in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or of an alleged infringement of the UK GDPR.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the contact details provided. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it.

Data Security

At Online Mortgage Advisor, we are committed to ensuring the security of your personal data. We have implemented robust technical and organizational measures to safeguard your data from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Here’s an overview of our data security practices:

Security Measures:

  • We use encryption and secure servers to protect your personal information transmitted to and from our website.
  • Access to your personal data is limited to employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

Regular Reviews and Updates:

  • Our security policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure they are effective and in accordance with the latest industry standards and practices.
  • We also conduct regular training for our staff on data protection and security.

Breach Response:

  • In the unlikely event of a data breach, we have procedures in place to deal with such situations promptly. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

User Responsibility:

  • We also advise you to take steps to protect your personal information when browsing the internet or communicating online. This includes using secure networks and creating strong passwords.

While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal data, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

If you have any questions about our data security practices, please contact us using the details provided in this policy.

Third-Party Links Disclaimer

Online Mortgage Advisor (OMA) may include links to third-party websites, applications, and other external services on our website. These links are provided for your convenience and information. However, they are not under our control, and we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these third-party sites.

Third-Party Sites:

  • When you access third-party websites through links on our site, you leave our website and your interactions are no longer protected by our privacy policy.
  • These third-party sites have their own privacy policies, terms of use, and security practices, which may differ significantly from ours. We strongly encourage you to review the privacy policies and terms of service of any third-party site you visit to understand how your information may be collected and used.

Your Responsibility:

  • Your interactions with these third-party sites, including any information you provide to them, are solely between you and the third party.
  • We do not endorse, nor are we liable for the privacy practices, content, or offerings of these sites.

This disclaimer does not relinquish our commitment to safeguard your privacy on our website but serves to inform you of the potential risks and responsibilities when navigating to external sites.

Complaints Procedure

At Online Mortgage Advisor, we are committed to providing high-quality service to all our clients. However, we understand that there may be times when you are not completely satisfied. If you have any concerns or complaints about our service or how we handle your personal data, we encourage you to let us know, so we can address them promptly. Here’s our complaints procedure:

Raising a Complaint:

You can make a complaint by emailing us at [email protected], calling us at 0808 189 2301, or writing to us at:

Complaints
Online Mortgage Advisor
Sterling House
Outrams Wharf
Little Eaton
Derby
DE21 5EL

Please access the following link for instructions on how to raise a complaint to the ICO: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

Any Questions?

Do not hesitate to contact us for clarification about any of the information provided in this Privacy Policy. Simply contact us via any of the options on our contact page and we will do our best to clarify any of the matters you require clarification of. 

Maximise your chances of approval, whatever your situation - Find your perfect mortgage broker