Are estate agents allowed to pass contact details to mortgage companies without consent?

techno79

I contacted an estate agent to arrange a house viewing for a property I was interested in. I initially contacted them via an online portal, they had my correct email address but the contact form forced me to put in a phone number which I did not want to. I thus put in 0123456789. I did that for a few estate agents and many of them got in touch with me via email.

This one particular agent didn't get in touch so I rang them. They said they tried to get in touch via phone. I explained to them that it was easier to get in touch with email and it was difficult for me to use my phone at work hence not providing the correct number. They then wanted to know my full address before allowing me to view the property. I protested as this felt like it wasn't necessary at all and excessive on the privacy issue. They got very snotty, in the end I gave them just the postcode. I gave them my correct phone number and managed to get the viewing booked.

At the end of the viewing, the estate agent that asked us around asked me if I wanted to arrange to speak to their mortgage advisors and I told them I wasn't interested. The next day I get a call from a number associated to a mortgage advisor company in the same town as the estate agent (and the house I was viewing). I did a bit of googling and it turns out that it is a mortgage company that is affiliated with the same estate agent as above.

I'm really annoyed that they've passed on my details. Not only did they not have my consent...but I also outright declined.

My question is, is it lawful for this company to pass on my details without my consent? If it is not lawful, what can I do about it?

G_M

Not worth getting worked up about. Just ignore them.

You want to make an offer? Make sure you show evidence that you have funding sorted, whether cash and/or mortgage.

If you don't want to reveal your full financial position, get your solicitor to send them confirmation that you have funding for £X00K where X00K is the amount of your offer.

techno79

G_M wrote: »

Not worth getting worked up about. Just ignore them.

You want to make an offer? Make sure you show evidence that you have funding sorted, whether cash and/or mortgage.

If you don't want to reveal your full financial position, get your solicitor to send them confirmation that you have funding for £X00K where X00K is the amount of your offer.

I feel it's a breach of privacy. I think I'll ping them a letter at the same time as writing a formal complaint to ICO. If you ignore companies who cross a legal boundary like this then it just encourages that behaviour to carry on.

G_M

So the reason for posting here was............?

[Deleted User]

techno79 wrote: »

They then wanted to know my full address before allowing me to view the property. I protested as this felt like it wasn't necessary at all and excessive on the privacy issue. They got very snotty, in the end I gave them just the postcode. I gave them my correct phone number and managed to get the viewing booked.

There has been quite a few cases of estate agents being lured to properties and being attacked in empty houses. Asking for details of who is coming round isnt too much to ask and is proven to put people off who dont want to provide any information. When i worked EA, they had a policy of cancelling the viewing if didnt have a valid phone number that was called back and confirmed. They would also flat out refuse to do viewings if the viewer didnt provide basic personal information.

I know this wasnt your actual question but if you are going to make a complaint about information gathering and privacy information then best to know both sides of the argument.

For waht its worth, I think passing your information is dubious at best. Did they mumble their way through a data protection disclosure when you were on the phone? Or did you tick a box when you submitted your info? something like 'are you happy for us to share information to provide you with property and related services' its vague enough to ignore but give them permission to send info to property related things

letitbe90

You can report them for breach of GDPR I guess to the information commissioner (as well as the estate agent?)

https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint


Not sure what the result would be but hey, if you're that frustrated why not. Might stop them doing the practice in the future.

eddddy

techno79 wrote: »

I initially contacted them via an online portal...

Did you read the t&cs of the online portal?

Did it say anything about sharing your details with others (and not necessarily just the details that you entered into the portal)?

techno79

The online portal was Zoopla and it did not have an option for sharing details with others. There are two options which relate to getting offers and more info from Zoopla (both of which I unchecked). There was absolutely no option given to not have my information shared further.

I shall report to ICO for breach of GDPR (requires sending a couple of emails). I just wanted to ask people here in case there was an easier way to report such incident.

SmashedAvacado

Asking for your number and your address is perfectly reasonable - they need to know who you are if they are showing you around their client's properties

Selling your information / Giving your information to third parties so that they can try to flog you financial services is not reasonable and you probably have a right of complaint against them.

MysteryMe

techno79 wrote: »

I contacted an estate agent to arrange a house viewing for a property I was interested in. I initially contacted them via an online portal, they had my correct email address but the contact form forced me to put in a phone number which I did not want to. I thus put in 0123456789. I did that for a few estate agents and many of them got in touch with me via email.

This one particular agent didn't get in touch so I rang them. They said they tried to get in touch via phone. I explained to them that it was easier to get in touch with email and it was difficult for me to use my phone at work hence not providing the correct number. They then wanted to know my full address before allowing me to view the property. I protested as this felt like it wasn't necessary at all and excessive on the privacy issue. They got very snotty, in the end I gave them just the postcode. I gave them my correct phone number and managed to get the viewing booked.

At the end of the viewing, the estate agent that asked us around asked me if I wanted to arrange to speak to their mortgage advisors and I told them I wasn't interested. The next day I get a call from a number associated to a mortgage advisor company in the same town as the estate agent (and the house I was viewing). I did a bit of googling and it turns out that it is a mortgage company that is affiliated with the same estate agent as above.

I'm really annoyed that they've passed on my details. Not only did they not have my consent...but I also outright declined.

My question is, is it lawful for this company to pass on my details without my consent? If it is not lawful, what can I do about it?

If your details have been passed to the mortgage company without your consent then you have cause to complain if you wish.

However I must say I completely disagree with your view that you should be allowed access to someone else's property without providing proper contact details both from the vendors security point of view but also that of the estate agent. For all anyone knows you could be another Mr Kipper

diggingdude

keep us updated on how you get on