Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Joseph Blake ("we", "our", or "us"). We are committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and store personal data when you visit our website (www.josephblake.co.uk), engage our surveying services, or when we are instructed by third parties (such as solicitors) to inspect a property.

We are registered in England and Wales.

Company Name: Joseph Blake and Associates Limited
Registered Office: 81 Yale Court, London NW61JH
Email: dan@josephblake.co.uk
Data Protection Lead: Dan Blake

2. The Data We Collect

We collect different types of personal data depending on your relationship with us:

A. If you are a Website Visitor:

Technical Data: IP address, browser type, and operating system (collected via cookies to ensure site functionality).
Contact Data: Name, email, and phone number if you fill out our "Contact Us" form.

B. If you are a Tenant or Homeowner (Subject of a Survey):

Identity Data: Name and address of the property being inspected.
Contact Details: Phone numbers and email addresses to arrange access.
Property Data: Information regarding the condition of your home, including photographs of defects (damp, leaks, structural issues).
Special Category Data: In housing disrepair claims, we may incidentally process information regarding health issues (e.g., asthma aggravated by mould) if this is included in instructions provided to us by your solicitor, though we do not actively seek to collect medical records.

C. If you are a Professional Client (Solicitor/Landlord):

Business Contact Data: Name, job title, firm address, and professional email.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We collect data through two primary methods:

Direct Interactions: You give us your data by filling in forms on our website or corresponding with us by phone or email.
Third-Party Instructions (The "Instruction"): We receive data about tenants and properties from law firms, housing associations, or claims management companies who instruct us to perform a surveyor report. In these cases, we act as a Data Processor or Joint Controller depending on the nature of the instruction.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), we rely on the following legal bases to process your data:

Contractual Necessity: To perform the survey and produce the report as agreed in our terms of engagement.
Legal Obligation: To comply with statutory requirements (e.g., keeping tax records).
Legitimate Interests: To run our business effectively, recover debts, and market our services to commercial clients (B2B).

5. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data to:

Schedule and carry out property inspections.
Produce CPR Part 35 Compliant Surveyor Reports and Scott Schedules.
Communicate with instructing solicitors regarding the progress of a claim.
Process payments and manage accounts.

6. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell your data. We may share your data with:

Instructing Solicitors: The report we produce (containing property photos and tenant details) is sent directly to the law firm that instructed us.
The Court: If required, our reports may be submitted as evidence in court proceedings.
Service Providers: Trusted third parties who provide IT and system administration services (e.g., email hosting, cloud storage).

7. Data Security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorized way. Access to your personal data is limited to those employees, agents, and contractors who have a business need to know.

8. Data Retention

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for.

Survey Files: We typically retain survey reports and associated notes for 6 years to defend against any future legal claims or professional negligence actions.

9. Your Legal Rights

Under the UK GDPR, you have rights including:

Request access to your personal data.
Request correction of your personal data.
Request erasure of your personal data (where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it).
Object to processing of your personal data.

To exercise any of these rights, please email us at dan@josephblake.co.uk.

10. Third-Party Links

Our website may include links to third-party websites. Clicking on those links may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:

By Email:dan@josephblake.co.uk
By Post: 81 Yale Court, London NW6 1JH