We provide estate agency, conveyancing and private client services to the public.

We have to hold the details of the people who have requested the service in order to provide it.

To deliver these services, we may share personal data with trusted third parties such as:

• Surveyors and professional photographers
• For Sale board providers
• Software, IT and anti-money laundering service providers
• Professional bodies and public authorities (including Registers of Scotland and the Scottish Court System)

All third parties are required to process personal data only for specified purposes, in line with contractual obligations and data protection law.

We only use personal data for the purpose of providing the services requested and for closely related, compatible purposes. When people do subscribe to other general updates e.g. our property mailing list, they can cancel their subscription at any time and are given an easy way of doing this.

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), we rely on the following lawful bases:

Performance of a Contract
Processing is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.

Legal Obligation
Processing is necessary for compliance with legal or regulatory obligations, including anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, fraud prevention and professional regulatory requirements.

Legitimate Interests
Processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests.

Special Category Data – Substantial Public Interest
Where we process special category data (including biometric data), we do so under Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR, where processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, particularly the prevention of fraud and compliance with legal obligations.

Neilsons complies with the data protection principles set out below. When processing personal data, we ensure that:

• it is processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’)
• it is collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes (‘purpose limitation’)
• it is all adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (‘data minimisation’)
• it is all accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date and that reasonable steps will be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (‘accuracy’)
• it is kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed (‘storage limitation’)
• it is processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (‘integrity and confidentiality’)

Neilsons Solicitors will facilitate any request from a data subject who wishes to exercise their rights under data protection law as appropriate, always communicating in a concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible form and without undue delay.

To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, including anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing, fraud prevention, and Companies House identity verification requirements, we are required to verify the identity of clients.

We use a third party electronic identity verification provider, Amiqus, to carry out identity verification checks on our behalf.

How identity verification is carried out:

Identity verification is completed using the Amiqus mobile application. Individuals are guided through a secure process which may include:

• Capturing a live facial image or short video selfie
• Facial recognition and similarity matching against an identity document
• Liveness detection checks (for example, simple head movements) to prevent spoofing or impersonation
• Scanning the embedded chip in biometric passports using Near-Field Communication (NFC), where available

No audio is recorded during this process.

Biometric and special category data:

The facial images and video recordings collected during this process are used to uniquely identify an individual and therefore constitute biometric data, which is classified as special category personal data under UK data protection law.

Purpose of processing:

Biometric and identity data is processed solely for the purposes of:

• Verifying an individual’s identity
• Preventing fraud and financial crime
• Meeting our legal and regulatory obligations

The information is not used for marketing or any unrelated purpose.

Lawful basis for processing:

For identity verification processing, the lawful bases relied upon are:

• Article 6(1)(c) UK GDPR – processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation
• Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR – processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, namely the prevention of fraud and compliance with AML and identity verification legislation

In addition, Amiqus obtains the individual’s explicit consent within the mobile application to perform biometric processing for identification purposes. This consent enables the technical processing of biometric data but does not replace our legal obligations as data controller.

Automated processing:

Biometric checks involve automated technical analysis. However, no decision producing legal or similarly significant effects is made solely by automated means without human involvement.

Data processors and third parties:

Neilsons acts as the data controller for identity verification data. Amiqus acts as a data processor and processes personal data strictly in accordance with our instructions and applicable data protection law.

Amiqus may engage specialist sub-processors to perform elements of the technical verification process, including Onfido Limited. All such processors are subject to contractual safeguards and security requirements.

Security of biometric data:

All identity verification and biometric data is protected using appropriate technical and organisational measures, including encryption, access controls and audit logging.

Retention of identity verification data:

Identity verification records are retained only for as long as required to meet legal, regulatory and professional obligations.

When you visit www.neilsons.co.uk, we use analytics tools to collect standard internet log information and visitor behaviour data. This information is processed in a way that does not identify individuals.

We do not attempt to identify website users and do not permit analytics providers to do so.

Some property information, descriptions, summaries, or search results on our website may be generated or assisted by artificial intelligence (AI).

While we endeavour to ensure the information presented is accurate and up to date, AI-generated content may contain errors, omissions, or inaccuracies and should not be relied upon as a statement of fact.

Property details, descriptions, measurements, and other information provided on this website are for general guidance only and do not constitute property particulars, professional advice, or any representation by the seller, selling agent, or website operator.

Website users and/or prospective purchasers should not rely solely on the information provided on this website and must satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of all information by independent inspection and enquiry. Buyers should review the official Home Report and property schedule before making any decision to view, Offer, or purchase a property, and consult with their own Solicitor.

The website operator makes no representations or warranties regarding the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of any content and accepts no liability for any loss, damages, or expense arising from reliance on information provided on this website.

Neilsons will not be responsible for any inaccurate information provided by AI.

Our website is hosted using WordPress services. Anonymous usage statistics may be collected to help us improve site performance and content.

Website management is overseen internally and by our appointed web developer. Any queries regarding website content should be directed to jennaspence@neilsons.co.uk.

You can read more about our use of cookies on our website where we have a detailed cookies policy.

We use third party providers to deliver e-newsletters to those that have opted in to receiving general property market updates from us. We gather statistics around email opening and clicks using industry standard technologies including clear gifs to help us monitor and improve our e-newsletter.

For people that request they are added to our matching service to be matched to relevant properties that match their criteria. Details are kept secure at all times and those on the matching service have a clear way to unsubscribe.

We operate official accounts on a number of social media platforms. Links to these accounts can be found at the bottom of our website pages. Any messages sent to us via social media are processed solely for the purpose of responding to enquiries.

Neilsons Solicitors and Estate Agents are not responsible for, and accept no liability for, the content or personal data included in any reviews, comments, or posts made about the firm on social media platforms (including, but not limited to, Facebook or Google) by individual users.

We reserve the right to challenge, refute, or request the removal of any allegations, inaccurate statements, or misleading content published online about Neilsons Solicitors and Estate Agents.

Any explicit, abusive, threatening, defamatory, or otherwise inappropriate content submitted to our social media pages may be reported to the relevant social media platform and removed. We also reserve the right to block or ban users from our pages. Where content is unlawful or gives rise to serious concern, we reserve the right to report the matter to the police or other appropriate authorities.

When you call Neilsons telephone numbers we collect Calling Line Identification (CLI) information. We use this information to help improve our efficiency and effectiveness.

We monitor any emails sent to us, including file attachments, for viruses, phishing and malicious software. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any email you send is within the bounds of the law.

We endeavor to reply to all emails as soon as possible. If you have any queries relating an email you have sent us, do not hesitate to contact us to discuss further.

We are committed to providing a high quality service. If you have any concerns, however, as to the manner in which the transaction is being, or was, handled or the fee that has been charged your complaint should, in the first instance, be directed to the partner responsible for the matter. Thereafter if you are not satisfied (or if you are not yet a client) you can contact our Client Relations Partner, Steve Spence via email at stevespence@neilsons.co.uk. Contact telephone number: 0131 316 4444. We will ensure that any complaint is properly and objectively investigated and dealt with and that you are fully advised of all your rights.

If after investigation by the Client Relations Partner you are still not satisfied, you are at liberty to refer the matter to The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) who are the single gateway for all legal complaints in Scotland. Visit the SLCC website: https://www.scottishlegalcomplaints.org.uk/.

The SLCC can be contacted at the following address:

Scottish Legal Complaints Commission
The Stamp Office
10 – 14 Waterloo Place
Edinburgh
EH1 3EG

Phone: 0131 201 2130
Fax: 0131 201 2131
Enquiries: enquiries@scottishlegalcomplaints.org.uk

If you are not happy with our response to a complaint made about your personal data, you are also entitled to submit a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Tel: 0303 123 1115.
Website: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

If you are a Neilsons client please refer to our General Terms of Business or Executry Terms of Business for further relevant information on complaints.

When we receive a complaint from a person we make up a file containing the details of the complaint. This normally contains the identity of the complainant and any other individuals involved in the complaint.

We will only use the personal information we collect to process the complaint and to check on the level of service we provide.

We usually have to disclose the complainant’s identity to whoever the complaint is about. This is inevitable where, for example, the accuracy of a person’s record or a transaction is in dispute. If a complainant doesn’t want information identifying him or her to be disclosed, we will try to respect that as much as possible. However, it may not be possible to fully handle a complaint on an anonymous basis.

We will keep personal information contained in complaint files in line with our retention policy. This means that information relating to a complaint will be retained from closure. It will be retained in a secure environment and access to it will be restricted according to the ‘need to know’ principle.

Similarly, where enquiries are submitted to us we will only use the information supplied to us to deal with the enquiry and any subsequent issues and to check on the level of service we provide.

As mentioned, we have to hold the details of the people who have requested the service in order to provide it. However, we only use these details to provide the service the person has requested and for other closely related purposes.

We have a legitimate interest in collecting your data (names, email address, telephone number) if you show an interest in one of our properties for sale and wish to view it as we are instructed by our client to sell and market their property professionally.

For health and safety purposes, we also must know who is attending our clients’ private properties.

By providing us with your email address and telephone number, we are able to log your details on our system and keep you up to date on the property e.g. if it goes to a closing date or there is a price change. This is highly recommended in today’s fast-moving market.

We will also retain your data on our system so that if you request any details from any future properties listed with us, we have your details already.

We will pass your name, email address and contact telephone number to sellers and viewing agents in relation to any viewings or interest you confirm. If you provide feedback or informal Offers to us then Neilsons and our client(s) should they so wish – have the right to reply to you. Please be advised that Neilsons are duty bound by law to keep clients up to date with all feedback, Offers and interest.

We will endeavour to only use your personal data to keep you up to date with any property or properties you show interest in and if you wish to be removed from the system just let us know. You have the option of withdrawing your details from us at any time.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you, as a data subject have a number of rights which are detailed below. Some of these only apply in specific circumstances and are qualified in several respects by exemptions in data protection legislation. We will advise you in our response to your request if we are relying on any such exemptions.

Access to personal data: You have a right to request information about the personal information that we hold about you. Should you wish to make such a request, please email us.You should include adequate information to identify yourself and such other relevant information that will reasonably assist us in fulfilling your request.

Correction of personal data: You can request us to rectify and correct any personal data that we are processing about you which is incorrect.

Right to withdraw consent: Where we have relied upon your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent. To opt out of marketing, you can use the unsubscribe link found in the marketing communication you receive from us.

Right of erasure: You can request us to erase your personal data where there is no legitimate interest for us to continue processing. This right only applies in certain circumstances, it is not a guaranteed or absolute right.

Right to data portability:  This right allows you to obtain your personal data that you have provided to us with your consent or which was necessary for us to provide you with our products and services in a format which enables you to transfer that personal data to another organisation. You may have the right to have your personal data transferred by us directly to the other organisation, if this is technically feasible.

Right to restrict processing of personal data: You have the right in certain circumstances to request that we restrict our processing of your personal data.

Right to object to processing of personal data: You have the right to object to our use of your personal data which is processed on the basis of our legitimate interests. However, we may continue to process your personal data, despite your objection, where there are compelling legitimate grounds to do so or we need to process your personal data in connection with any legal claims.

Rights relating to automated decision making and profiling: You have the right not to be subject to a decision which is based solely on automated processing (without human involvement) where that decision produces a legal effect or otherwise significantly affects you. This right means you can request that we involve one of our employees or representatives in the decision-making process. We are satisfied that we do not make automated decisions of this nature.

Neilsons recognise that online security and data protection is an area of vital importance for all our clients and users of our site, so it is important to us that you have confidence in the security of your personal details. We are committed to employing security measures to protect your information from access by unauthorised persons and to prevent accidental or unlawful processing, disclosure, destruction, loss, alteration and damage. In particular, all of our websites and key features such as the online payments feature and client portals are SSL protected.

Our technological security solutions are very advanced too. Our approach is focused on preventing risks given the current high risks of fraud facing law firms.

As the security of some communications via the internet is not secure, we cannot guarantee the security of any information that you disclose using your internet connection to Neilsons via any method of transfer. You accept the inherent security implications of using the internet and the Firm will accept no liability for any direct, consequential, incidental, indirect, or punitive losses or damages arising out of such an occurrence.

This privacy notice does not cover the links featured on our website linking to other websites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit for further information.

We retain personal information for as long as we reasonably require it for legal, business or archiving purposes.

We keep our privacy notice under regular review.

If you want to discuss any aspect of our privacy policy you can email us at mail@neilsons.co.uk or write to:

Operations and Compliance Department
Neilsons Solicitors and Estate Agents
Head Office
138 St John’s Road
Edinburgh
EH12 8AY

Tel: 0131 316 4444