This website is provided by:
 Grey Matters-Mortgage Studio Limited.

Disclaimer

Whilst Grey Matters-Mortgage Studio Limited take all reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the information contained on this website, we cannot guarantee this and accept no liability for any errors or omissions.

This website is intended for use by persons residing in, or seeking a mortgage in, the United Kingdom and provides information on products available in the UK only.

Privacy Policy

All personal details you submit to this website will remain private except where it is necessary to provide them to a third party for the purposes of a mortgage/protection application. Grey Matters-Mortgage Studio Limited comply with and are registered under the Data Protection laws in the United Kingdom. We take all reasonable care to prevent any unauthorised access to and use of your personal data.

Parties

The data controller of your personal information under this notice is Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd, trading as Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd. “Our” “We” or “Us” refers to Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd.

Where you are not authorised to act on behalf of a business, “You” or “Your” will refer only to personal data specific to you as an individual. Where you are authorised to act on behalf of a business, where the context permits, “You” or “Your” will include the principals, directors and shareholder of the business, as well as any workers within the business but in this context You must not provide any personal information for any of these parties that have not given You consent to provide such information as set out in this privacy policy.

Contact Details

To request or change information We hold, or ask for information to be erased, contact Us:

Telephone: 01462 630622
Email: contactus@gmmstudio.co.uk
Main Address: 14 Taylors Road, Stotfold, Hitchin, Herts, SG5 4AQ.

Information Categories Held & Processed

We will hold information given to Us as well as information obtained from public sources (including Your own business website if applicable).

  • Your names, date of birth, telephone numbers, email addresses, home address, place of work.
  • Any information requested by a lender which may include but not be limited to payslips, SA302 and Tax Year Overviews, proof of address, ID, bank statements, rental income, credit files, mortgage statements, utility bills
  • Records of all communications.
  • Your health, details of Your medical information will be collected to process any applications for protection planning

The Basis of the Information Processing

Your information is being collected and processed in order to provide You with services that You have specifically requested. You may opt out of any service. There is therefore a legal basis upon which We store and process Your data. Processing may also be necessary in order to ensure We comply with Our own legal and regulatory obligations. We may process the data to protect Our own legitimate interests where these do not restrict Your interests, rights or freedoms, such as internal audit, compliance reviews, research, analysis, statistics or other similar activities.

Minimum Information Required

The information We collect will be limited to that which is required to perform the specific functions You have authorised Us to conduct. As We operate in a regulated industry We will collect information that is required in order to assess and record that You are a suitable recipient of the services being provided. Regulatory and business information will therefore always be required along with some form of contact details.

We request that You provide non-mandatory information in order to improve Our ability to offer the services required but We will not ask for any information that is not relevant to Us performing the requested service. You are not obliged to provide information that is not a minimum information requirement but We will be unable to provide certain services if the minimum information requested is not provided.

Category of Services Provided and Required Contact Details

  1. Mortgage or Protection Case Updates
    We are unable to keep You updated on the case without all available contact details.

Retention Period

We will maintain Your data for as long as is needed to perform the services You have requested, i.e. until You opt out of the relevant services. At the point of opt-out, You may request that We retain some data in order to record Your preferences and thus prevent any inconvenience in the future. This does not restrict or limit Your right to request that We remove all of Your personal data. The retention period may be longer if there are any legal or regulatory grounds for doing so.

Monitoring of Communications

Subject to applicable laws We will monitor and record all email communications for compliance with regulations, self-regulation, training purposes, the security of Our systems and procedures and for quality control. In order to prevent crime and to protect Our legitimate interests, in certain circumstances.

Sharing Your Information

We may share Your personal information with:

  • Relevant Mortgage Lenders and/or Protection providers
  • Relevant FCA or PRA authorised product providers.
  • Our legal and professional advisers or the legal and professional advisers of any possible acquirer of the business as well as any possible acquirer of the business.
  • Third party outsourcing contractors or entities such as temporary staff, out-sourced support functions, IT hosting or networking, technology or software providers.
  • Our regulatory principal, Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Limited, for compliance oversight.
  • Principals of Your business or employer or their regulatory Principal (if relevant).
  • Government agencies or their appointed representatives.

As a result of the above, in particular the provision of outsources services such as software and technology, Your data may be transferred outside the UK and outside the European Economic Area. Whilst some countries have adequate protections for personal information under applicable laws, in other countries, steps will be necessary to ensure appropriate safeguards apply to maintain the same levels of protection as are needed under UK data protection law. For more information contact Us using the above contact details.

Your Rights under Data Protection Legislation

Your personal information is protected under data protection law and You have a number of rights which You can enforce against Us as Your data controller. You should be aware that these rights do not apply in all circumstances. If You seek to exercise one against Us it will at that stage be explained to You whether or not the right does apply to You based on the facts.

A summary of Your rights is below. You have the right to:

  • be informed,
  • have Your information corrected or completed if incorrect or incomplete,
  • object to the processing of Your personal data,
  • have Your personal data erased, i.e. the right to be forgotten subject to regulatory requirements,
  • request access to Your personal information and how We process it,
  • copy and transfer personal information,
  • opt out of automated decision making,
  • complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if You consider that We have infringed any data protection laws. For more information visit their website at ico.org.uk.

For more information about all of Your data protection rights and how to exercise them against Us, contact Us on the above details.

Data Protection Policy

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd receives, holds and processes information relating to individuals (“personal data”) in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA98”) and the Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003. In doing so, Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd is committed to maintaining the privacy and protection of all personal data collected in pursuance of its broker and loan services. Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd is further committed to ensuring that its websites are absolutely secure in their collection and use of your personal information. The general principles under the GDPR that Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd will follow at all times are set out below.

COLLECTION AND USE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd collects and processes your personal data in order to provide you with a loan broker service. As a credit broker Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd will use your personal data provided on your completed application form to carry out the following functions:

  • Provide your information to a lender/packager for them to assess your suitability.
  • Provide your information to a lender/packager who will provide this to a credit reference agency for searches to be made.

We may also use your information (with your consent where applicable) to:

  • Contact you in the future to offer you products or services that we feel may be of interest to you.
  • Permit access to your information by any regulatory authority where required to by law and to ensure that we are complying with all regulatory requirements when processing your data.

We will keep your information for as long as you allow us to do so and we will contact you on a regular basis to check that you still consent to being contacted by us regarding our products and services.

Lenders to who the application is passed will make wider use of the information than a broker. If you have received any lender documents, they should include a statement telling you what they will do with the information or telling you where to look to find out what use they will make of it. This statement will usually be near any signature box, or clearly placed on the front page.

Both ourselves and almost all lending companies will check the information supplied on loan or mortgage applications with data held by credit reference agencies. The lender may search on more than one occasion. Every time a search is made it is recorded by the agency and disclosed to other organisations on any later searches.

Lenders will use the information obtained in the credit reference searches to help them assess the application and they may use the result of any search in a credit scoring system. A credit scoring system is a system by which points are given for various factors like your age, your job or even for information obtained from a credit reference agency, such as how you have repaid previous or existing credit. Lenders use different methods of scoring depending upon their interpretation of the importance of different factors and the level of risk they are willing to accept.

The lender may check your details with the credit reference agency or with other agencies (see ‘other agencies’ section) to satisfy itself that all the details on the application are true, and that the application has really been made by you. If it suspects information is false or inaccurate it may report it to a fraud prevention agency. Please ensure the information is true as lending companies will check with fraud prevention agencies and if you give false or inaccurate information, and the lender suspects fraud, it will record this.

Sometimes a lender may not wish to lend. This may be for a number of reasons. The lender may think you cannot afford the loan. If it is a secured loan, your property may not be of sufficient value. A lender does not have to tell you exactly why you have been refused a loan but you can ask them for the name and address of any credit reference agency used and they will supply this information free of charge.

If you are refused credit because of a computerised credit scoring system you can ask the lender for an explanation of how their credit scoring works (this applies only if the decision has been made on the basis of a computerised system alone). The lender may charge a small fee for providing this information. You also have the right to require a personal, non automated review of the decision. Nobody has a right to receive a loan. Loans are always granted at the discretion of the lending company.

Use of information once a loan has been made.

All lending companies keep information about their customers in their own records. This will include all the initial information given by you, and extra information about how your account has been run and any other dealings between you and the lender.

Lenders will record the conduct of any loan throughout its duration, including how punctually the payments are made and other information, with one or more of the credit reference agencies. This enables them, and others, to make decisions about credit and credit-related services for you and other members of your household including decisions on motor and household credit, life and other insurance proposals and insurance claims.

Information may also be provided to the ‘other agencies’ listed below. These will help lenders and other subscribers to those agencies to trace debtors, recover debt, prevent fraud and to check your identity to prevent money laundering. In particular, any difference between the information given by you or your broker and any later information discovered by the lender is likely to be noted.
Lenders may also use your information for statistical analysis about credit, insurance and fraud.

This may be done by them or by third parties contracted to do the work for them. If they use a contractor, they are obliged to ensure that your data is properly secure. Many lenders will also need to give information about you and your account to their bankers, other providers, insurers and re-insurers of funding for their lending or any other product they have offered to you.
If your broker or lender intends to use your information for any purposes not included above, it will explain this in its documents.

Brokers and lenders are under a legal duty to keep all the information they hold accurate and up to date. The agencies do not keep “blacklists” nor do they give any opinion about whether or not credit should be granted. They do have a duty to keep information up to date and accurate.

Credit Reference Agencies.

The main credit reference agencies are:

Callcredit plc
Consumer Services Team
PO Box 491
Leeds
LS1 5XX

Experian Limited
Consumer Help Service
PO Box 8000
Nottingham
NG1 5GX

Equifax plc
PO Box 1140,
Bradford,
BD1 5US

All lending companies may use one or more of these agencies. Credit reference agencies keep a wide range of information. This includes information from the electoral roll (sometimes known as the voters roll) and records of most county court judgements and bankruptcies. They also retain information relating to previous and existing credit and a record of searches made against the file. The lenders share information through the agencies providing a history of how punctually payments are being made or have been made. Loan information is usually held on file for 6 years. Details of the voters roll may be held for much longer. Information about credit searches is kept for up to two years.

Other Agencies – CIFAS

Reports from CIFAS relating to fraud and fraud avoidance are also available to its members (most lenders) – these contain information indicating that fraud, or attempted fraud, has been notified by a lender. The information might not directly relate to you, it might relate to someone who has tried to impersonate you. Data available to members of CIFAS, may also be used to help make decisions on motor, household, credit, life and other insurance proposals for you and members of your household.

CML Repossession Register

The Council of Mortgage Lenders, Repossession Register is available to its members through the main credit reference agencies. If you have had a property repossessed or have given it up voluntarily this will show on the register.

GAIN

A file may also show a “gone away” marker indicating that a member of the “Gone Away Information Network” has reported that they cannot trace a customer who is in arrears with payments. Alternatively, the marker may indicate a new address which the “gone away” has been traced to.

HUNTER

Files in this register contain detailed information on applications made and loans given. It is aimed at tracing fraudsters who use different combinations of information to obtain credit dishonestly. It checks and counter checks information given on application forms.

If your broker or lender uses any of the above agencies they will be able to confirm their contact addresses. CIFAS information is intended to warn lenders and act as a protection for innocent customers.

If you wish to see the information contained on a credit reference agency file you can do so by writing to the relevant agency.

The Information Commissioner provides a useful leaflet which explains how to request changes to your credit reference file. The easy to read leaflet includes examples of letters and details of various actions you may take to amend a file. You can obtain a copy of the free leaflet by writing to:

No Credit Leaflet
P.O. Box 99
Nelson
BB9 8GS

Information is also available at www.dataprotection.gov.uk

Should you wish to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold on you please write to Marc Charlesworth, GMMS, 14 Taylors Road, Stotfold, Hitchin, Herts, SG5 4AQ. As soon as we are satisfied as to your identity we will send you free of charge, within one calendar month, a copy of all the data we hold concerning you. Please contact us at the same address if you have any reason to believe the data we hold on you is inaccurate.

COLLECTION AND USE OF PERSONAL DATA

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall collect and process all personal data in respect of its data subjects in line with the following data protection principles:

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall collect and process all personal data fairly and lawfully;

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall only use personal data for the purposes stated at the time of its collection and shall seek the customers consent before using the personal data for any other purpose with the exception of purposes for which Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd is required to process data by any legislation or regulatory requirement;

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall ensure that all personal data collected is adequate, relevant and not excessive, for the purposes for which it is processed;

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall ensure that all personal data is accurate and where necessary kept up to date;

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall ensure that all personal data is retained for no longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it is being processed;

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall ensure that personal data is processed in accordance with the rights of the data subject;

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall obtain the data subjects prior written or verbal consent before processing sensitive personal data.

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall ensure that appropriate technical and organisation measures are taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.

RIGHT TO INFORMATION

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall ensure that all data subjects will benefit from the following rights:

The right to request information as to whether or not personal data relating to the data subject is being processed by Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd and the right to receive a response to such a request;

The right to request information from Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd, as to the purpose of the process of personal data;

The right to request information from Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd as to the recipients of any personal data where personal data has been disclosed;

The right to receive, in an intelligible and permanent form, copies of personal data undergoing process and any available information as to its source;

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall ensure that any reasonable requests for information will be met without constraint.

RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN

Data subjects may request the deletion or removal of personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing. Exceptions to this include where data is needed to comply with a legal obligation (FCA rules), or the exercise or defence of legal claims.

RIGHT TO OBJECT

The data subject shall have a right to object at any time on legitimate grounds in relation to the processing of his or her personal data by Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd.

Where a data subject has objected to the processing of personal data relating to him or her, and such objection is justified, Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall desist from the processing of the personal data at issue in respect of that data subject until further notice.

RETENTION POLICY AND SECURITY OF PROCESSING

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall implement technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, or accidental loss or alteration, and unauthorised disclosure or access (in particular where the process involves transmission of personal data over a network) and against all other unlawful forms of processing.

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk represented by the process and nature of their personal data to be protected, having all due regard to the state of the art and costs measures.

Data bases which contain sensitive personal data shall be protected by fire walls and access passwords.

OUTSOURCING TO A DATA PROCESSOR

Where personal data has been outsourced to a third party, such outsourcing shall be undertaken in line with a written agreement between Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd and the third party in question and shall specify the rights and obligation of each party and in particular shall state that the third party shall have adequate security measures in place and shall only process personal data on the specific written instructions of Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd.

DISCLOSURES

Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd shall not sell, rent, share, trade or disclose any personal data it keeps relating to a data subject to any other parties without the prior written consent of the relevant data subject, with the exception of companies who are involved in the processing of personal data on Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd behalf.

Not withstanding the above, Grey Matters Mortgage Studio Ltd reserves the right to disclose personal data to the police, and relevant regulatory or other bodies, as required by law or regulation and in the event of the sale of its business (or part thereof) where it is necessary to do so in order to affect the sale of a data subject’s personal data in connection with such a business sale.

Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Cookie policy

What are cookies

As is common practice with almost all professional websites this site uses cookies, which are tiny files that are downloaded to your computer, to improve your experience. This page describes what information they gather, how we use it and why we sometimes need to store these cookies. We will also share how you can prevent these cookies from being stored however this may downgrade or ‘break’ certain elements of the sites functionality.

For more general information on cookies see the Wikipedia article on HTTP Cookies.

How we use cookies

We use cookies for a variety of reasons detailed below. Unfortunately in most cases there are no industry standard options for disabling cookies without completely disabling the functionality and features they add to this site. It is recommended that you leave on all cookies if you are not sure whether you need them or not in case they are used to provide a service that you use.

Disabling cookies

You can prevent the setting of cookies by adjusting the settings on your browser (see your browser Help for how to do this). Be aware that disabling cookies will affect the functionality of this and many other websites that you visit. Disabling cookies will usually result in also disabling certain functionality and features of the this site. Therefore it is recommended that you do not disable cookies.

The cookies we set

When you submit data to through a form such as those found on contact pages or comment forms cookies may be set to remember your user details for future correspondence.

Third party cookies

In some special cases we also use cookies provided by trusted third parties. The following section details which third party cookies you might encounter through this site.

This site uses Google Analytics which is one of the most widespread and trusted analytics solution on the web for helping us to understand how you use the site and ways that we can improve your experience. These cookies may track things such as how long you spend on the site and the pages that you visit so we can continue to produce engaging content.

For more information on Google Analytics cookies, see the official Google Analytics page.

Third party analytics are used to track and measure usage of this site so that we can continue to produce engaging content. These cookies may track things such as how long you spend on the site or pages you visit which helps us to understand how we can improve the site for you.

From time to time we test new features and make subtle changes to the way that the site is delivered. When we are still testing new features these cookies may be used to ensure that you receive a consistent experience whilst on the site whilst ensuring we understand which optimisations our users appreciate the most.

More information

Hopefully that has clarified things for you and as was previously mentioned if there is something that you aren’t sure whether you need or not it’s usually safer to leave cookies enabled in case it does interact with one of the features you use on our site. However if you are still looking for more information then you can contact us through one of our preferred contact methods.

Email: marc@gmmstudio.co.uk

Phone: 07950701143