Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

The Fife Agency Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring your personal information is handled safely and responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal data when you visit our website (thefifeagency.com), request a valuation, make an enquiry, or use our estate agency services.

We comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our website or communicating with us, you agree to the terms set out in this policy.

2. Who We Are

Forth and Tide Properties

Email: forthandtide@hotmail.com
Website:

Forth and Tide is a limited company registered in Scotland under company number SC870939.

We act as the Data Controller for the personal information you provide.

3. What Information We Collect

We collect and process personal data in the following categories:

3.1 Information you provide directly

Your name
Email address
Phone number
Postal address
Property address
Information about your property (features, condition, photos)
Enquiry details and communication history
Marketing preferences
Identification documents (when legally required, e.g., AML checks

3.2 Information collected automatically

When you use our website, we may collect:

IP address
Device and browser information
Pages viewed
Time spent on the site
Cookie data (see Cookie Policy)

3.3 Information from third parties

We may receive information via:

Property portals (Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket)
Social media (Facebook, Instagram, Google)
Public registers (Registers of Scotland, EPC register)
Mortgage brokers, surveyors or solicitors—with your permission

4. How We Use Your Information

4.1 To provide estate agency services

Responding to enquiries
Booking valuations
Marketing properties
Arranging viewings
Communicating updates
Negotiating offers
Progressing sales

4.2 For business operations

Keeping internal records
Improving our website and services
Responding to customer support requests
Ensuring website security
Preventing fraud

4.3 For marketing (legitimate interest or consent)

Property alerts
Offers, updates, and news
Social media marketing / remarketing

You may opt out of marketing at any time.

5. Legal Bases for Processing

We process data under these lawful bases:

Contract – when providing estate agency services
Consent – e.g., newsletter signup
Legitimate Interests – handling enquiries, marketing to clients, website operation
Legal Obligations – anti-money-laundering checks, financial record keeping

6. Who We Share Your Information With

We may share your data with trusted partners, including:

Property portals (to advertise your property)
EPC assessors
Professional photographers / floorplan providers
Solicitors (for progressing a sale)
Mortgage brokers (only with consent)
IT, hosting, email and website providers
Payment processors (if applicable)

All third parties must comply with data protection laws.

We never sell your personal data.

7. International Data Transfers

Some suppliers (e.g., cloud hosting, email services) may store data outside the UK.
Where this occurs, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place such as:

Adequacy regulations
Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
Equivalent protections

8. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to keep your personal data safe, including:

Encrypted devices
Secure email systems
Restricted access controls
Regular security monitoring

Despite these measures, no online system is completely secure.

9. How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain your data only as long as necessary:

Estate agency clients: up to 7 years (legal obligation)
Property enquiries: up to 12 months
Marketing emails: until you unsubscribe
AML checks: 5 years (legal requirement)

After the retention period, data is securely deleted or anonymised.

10. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

Right of access – request a copy of your data
Right to rectification – correct inaccurate information
Right to erasure – request deletion (in certain cases)
Right to restrict processing
Right to object – including to direct marketing
Right to data portability
Right to withdraw consent at any time

To exercise your rights, contact:

thefifeagency@gmail.com

11. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to:

Improve performance
Monitor traffic and user behaviour
Provide personalised marketing

You can manage cookies in your browser settings.

A full Cookie Policy can be provided upon request or created for your website.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. Any changes will be posted on this page with the updated date shown at the top.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we process your data, please contact: