Privacy Policy

Legal Merchant is committed to protecting your personal information and being transparent about how we use it.

Last updated: January 2025

1. Who We Are

Legal Merchant Ltd ("Legal Merchant", "we", "us", "our") operates the website www.legalmerchant.co.uk. We are registered in England and Wales. Our registered address is available on request. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. What Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following personal data:

  • Contact information: Name, email address, telephone number, postal address
  • Property transaction details: Property address, transaction type, purchase price
  • Technical data: IP address, browser type, pages visited, time on site (collected via cookies)
  • Marketing preferences: Your preferences for receiving marketing communications from us
  • Professional data: Firm name, professional qualifications, regulatory details (for solicitor and surveyor panel applications)

3. How We Collect Your Data

We collect data when you:

  • Complete a quote request or contact form on our website
  • Call or email us directly
  • Apply to join our solicitor or surveyor panel
  • Apply to join our affiliate programme
  • Subscribe to our newsletter or marketing communications
  • Browse our website (via cookies — see Section 8 below)

4. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data to:

  • Provide conveyancing quotes and match you with an appropriate panel solicitor
  • Respond to your enquiries and manage our relationship with you
  • Process panel membership applications (for solicitors, surveyors, and affiliates)
  • Send you relevant updates, news, and marketing communications (where you have given consent or where we have a legitimate interest)
  • Improve our website and services
  • Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations

5. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal grounds:

  • Contract performance: Where processing is necessary to provide the service you have requested
  • Legitimate interests: For marketing, service improvement, and client relationship management
  • Legal obligation: Where we are required to process data to comply with the law
  • Consent: Where you have given explicit consent (e.g., email marketing)

6. How We Share Your Data

We may share your personal data with:

  • Panel solicitors and surveyors: To provide the service you have requested
  • CRM and marketing platforms: We use HubSpot to manage our customer relationships and communications
  • Regulatory authorities: Where required by law
  • Professional advisers: Solicitors, accountants, or auditors who are bound by professional confidentiality obligations

We do not sell your personal data to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and in accordance with our legal obligations. For conveyancing-related data, we typically retain records for 7 years following the completion of a transaction.

8. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to improve your experience and to gather analytics data. Cookies are small text files placed on your device. You can control your cookie preferences through your browser settings or via our cookie consent banner.

We use the following types of cookies:

  • Essential cookies: Necessary for the website to function
  • Analytics cookies: To understand how visitors use our website (we use Google Analytics)
  • Marketing cookies: To personalise our communications (HubSpot)

9. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you
  • Correct inaccurate data
  • Request erasure of your data ("right to be forgotten")
  • Object to processing of your data
  • Request restriction of processing
  • Data portability
  • Withdraw consent at any time (where processing is based on consent)

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@legalmerchant.co.uk.

10. How to Complain

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

12. Contact Us

For any queries about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@legalmerchant.co.uk or call 0800 612 7456.