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Privacy Policy

Last updated: 17 July 2026

1. Who we are

This website is operated by Whittle & Co Surveyors Limited, referred to in this privacy policy as “Whittle & Co”, “we”, “us” or “our”.

Whittle & Co Surveyors Limited is registered in England and Wales under company number 12385696.

Our registered office is:

8 Bourne House
Old Grange Close
Calcot
Reading
England
RG31 7BZ

Whittle & Co Surveyors Limited is the data controller responsible for the personal information described in this privacy policy.

You can contact us about this privacy policy or the personal information we hold about you:

Email: paul@whittlesurveyors.co.uk

Post: Whittle & Co Surveyors Limited, 8 Bourne House, Old Grange Close, Calcot, Reading, England, RG31 7BZ.

2. Information we collect

We may collect and process the following personal information:

  • your name;
  • your email address;
  • your telephone number, where you provide it;
  • your job title, organisation or employer;
  • the information you include in an enquiry, message or other communication;
  • information you provide when discussing or instructing us to provide professional services;
  • correspondence and records of our communications with you;
  • information relating to a professional instruction, construction project, contract, dispute or proceeding;
  • billing and payment information;
  • technical information generated when you use our website, such as your IP address, browser type, device information and website activity; and
  • any other personal information you choose to provide to us.

Some professional instructions may involve information about people other than the person instructing us. This could include parties to a contract or dispute, witnesses, advisers, employees, consultants and other individuals connected with a project or proceeding.

Please avoid providing confidential or sensitive personal information through the website contact form unless it is necessary for your enquiry.

3. How we collect personal information

We may collect personal information:

  • when you complete the contact form on our website;
  • when you contact us by email, telephone, post or another method;
  • when you request an initial consultation;
  • when you ask us to provide a quotation, proposal or professional service;
  • when you or your organisation instructs us;
  • through our dealings with clients, prospective clients, advisers and other parties involved in a matter;
  • from solicitors, contractors, consultants, employers, developers, insurers, funders, experts, witnesses, courts, tribunals and dispute-resolution bodies;
  • from publicly available sources and professional directories; and
  • automatically through website logs, cookies and similar technologies.

Where someone else provides personal information about you, we may not always contact you directly if doing so would be disproportionate, would prejudice a legal or professional matter, or where another legal exemption applies.

4. How we use personal information

We may use personal information to:

  • respond to enquiries and requests for information;
  • arrange and conduct initial consultations;
  • discuss, assess and provide our professional services;
  • prepare proposals, quotations and terms of engagement;
  • verify potential conflicts of interest;
  • administer our relationships with clients and professional contacts;
  • provide construction contract advice, adjudication support, mediation and expert witness services;
  • analyse documents, evidence, contracts, accounts and project information;
  • communicate with clients, advisers and other parties involved in a matter;
  • perform our contractual and professional obligations;
  • issue invoices, process payments and maintain financial records;
  • comply with legal, regulatory, insurance and professional obligations;
  • establish, exercise or defend legal claims;
  • prevent fraud, misuse and security incidents;
  • maintain the security and operation of our website, email and IT systems;
  • understand how our website is used and improve its content and performance; and
  • send relevant professional or business communications where permitted by law.

We will not use personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons for which it was originally collected unless permitted or required by law.

5. Our lawful bases for processing

The lawful basis we rely on will depend on why and how we use the information.

Contract

We may process personal information where this is necessary:

  • to take steps at your request before entering into a contract; or
  • to perform a contract with you or your organisation.

This may include responding to an instruction, preparing a proposal, providing professional services and administering the client relationship.

Legitimate interests

We may process personal information where this is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of another person, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

Our legitimate interests may include:

  • responding to enquiries;
  • operating and developing our business;
  • providing and improving our professional services;
  • managing professional relationships;
  • assessing and administering instructions;
  • protecting our legal and commercial interests;
  • maintaining appropriate professional records;
  • ensuring the security of our website and systems; and
  • establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

Legal obligation

We may process personal information where necessary to comply with a legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, insurance or professional obligation.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time by contacting us. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

6. Special category and sensitive information

Some professional instructions may involve information that is considered particularly sensitive under data-protection law. This may include information relating to a person’s health, disability or other protected characteristics.

Where we process special category personal information, we will identify both an appropriate lawful basis and an additional legal condition permitting that processing.

Depending on the circumstances, this may be because:

  • the information is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;
  • processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest;
  • the individual has given explicit consent; or
  • another condition under applicable data-protection law applies.

We will only process sensitive information where it is relevant and necessary.

7. Sharing personal information

We may share personal information where necessary with:

  • our employees, consultants and professional advisers;
  • solicitors, barristers, experts, surveyors, contractors, consultants and other professional representatives;
  • clients and other parties involved in a professional instruction;
  • courts, tribunals, adjudicators, arbitrators, mediators and dispute-resolution bodies;
  • professional, accreditation and regulatory bodies;
  • insurers, brokers and claims handlers;
  • accountants, auditors and tax advisers;
  • website hosting, maintenance and IT-support providers;
  • email, cloud storage, document-management, accounting and other business-software providers;
  • payment providers and banks;
  • law-enforcement agencies, regulators and public authorities;
  • a prospective purchaser, investor or successor in connection with a sale, restructuring or transfer of all or part of our business; and
  • any other person where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

Where a service provider processes personal information on our behalf, we require it to protect the information and use it only for the agreed purposes.

We do not sell personal information.

8. International transfers

Some organisations providing hosting, email, software or cloud-based services may store or process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we take appropriate steps to ensure that it is adequately protected in accordance with UK data-protection law.

These safeguards may include:

  • transferring information to a country recognised by the UK as providing an adequate level of protection;
  • using approved contractual safeguards; or
  • relying on another legally permitted transfer mechanism.

You can contact us for further information about the safeguards used for a particular transfer.

9. How long we keep personal information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.

The appropriate retention period will depend on:

  • the nature of the information;
  • the purpose for which it is held;
  • whether it relates to a professional instruction;
  • relevant contractual, legal, tax, insurance, regulatory and professional obligations;
  • applicable limitation periods; and
  • whether the information may be required in connection with a complaint, dispute, investigation or legal claim.

General enquiries that do not lead to an instruction will ordinarily be retained for up to 24 months after the last meaningful contact, unless there is a reason to keep them for longer.

Records relating to clients and professional instructions may be retained for longer periods to meet our professional, legal, regulatory, insurance and record-keeping obligations.

Financial and transaction records will normally be kept for the period required by applicable tax and accounting law.

When information is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it.

10. Website security and technical information

When you use our website, our web server and security systems may automatically record technical information, including:

  • your IP address;
  • the date and time of your visit;
  • your browser and device type;
  • the pages or resources requested;
  • referring website information; and
  • information relating to website errors or suspected misuse.

We use this information where necessary to:

  • deliver and operate the website;
  • protect the website from malicious activity;
  • diagnose technical problems;
  • prevent fraud and misuse; and
  • maintain the security of our systems.

11. Cookies and similar technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to operate securely, remember visitor preferences and understand how the website is used.

Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website.

Strictly necessary cookies

Some cookies are necessary for the website to function properly or securely. These may be set without your consent where permitted by law.

Optional cookies

The website may also use optional technologies for purposes such as analytics, embedded content or measuring website performance.

Where consent is legally required, these technologies will not be activated until you have made a choice through the website’s cookie controls.

You can accept, reject or manage optional cookies using the cookie settings available on the website. You may also be able to control cookies through your browser settings.

Blocking some cookies may affect how parts of the website operate.

Further details about the particular cookies used, their purposes and how long they remain on your device should be provided through the website’s cookie banner or cookie settings.

12. Embedded content and external websites

Our website may contain links to external websites or include content provided by third parties, such as social-media links, videos, maps or professional directories.

When you follow an external link or interact with third-party content, the relevant provider may collect information about you and may place cookies or use similar technologies.

Third-party websites and services operate under their own privacy policies. We do not control their privacy practices and are not responsible for how they use personal information.

13. Keeping personal information secure

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against:

  • unauthorised access;
  • accidental or unlawful disclosure;
  • alteration;
  • loss;
  • destruction; and
  • misuse.

These measures may include access controls, secure hosting, backups, software updates, password protection and restrictions on who can access information.

However, no method of transmitting information over the internet or storing information electronically can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

14. Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

Access

You may ask for confirmation that we process your personal information and request a copy of the information we hold about you.

Rectification

You may ask us to correct personal information that is inaccurate or complete information that is incomplete.

Erasure

You may ask us to delete your personal information in certain circumstances.

Restriction

You may ask us to restrict how we use your personal information in certain circumstances.

Objection

You may object to processing based on our legitimate interests in certain circumstances.

You have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing.

Data portability

You may ask us to provide certain information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, or transfer it to another organisation, where the legal requirements for this right are met.

Withdrawal of consent

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

Complaints

You may complain to us or to the Information Commissioner’s Office about how your personal information has been used.

These rights are subject to legal conditions and exemptions. For example, we may need to retain information to comply with a legal obligation, protect confidential information or establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

To exercise any of these rights, contact:

Email: paul@whittlesurveyors.co.uk

Post: Whittle & Co Surveyors Limited, 8 Bourne House, Old Grange Close, Calcot, Reading, England, RG31 7BZ.

We may need to ask for information to verify your identity before responding to a request.

15. Complaints

Please contact us first if you have concerns about how we collect or use your personal information. We will seek to address your concerns wherever possible.

You also have the right to complain to the UK data-protection regulator:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: ico.org.uk

16. Changes to this privacy policy

We may update this privacy policy periodically to reflect changes to our services, practices, technology or legal obligations.

The latest version will be published on this page and identified by the “last updated” date at the top.