Privacy Policy for Surveyors UK

Effective Date: 17th October 2025 | Last Updated: 17th October 2025

1. Introduction

Surveyors UK (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share your personal information when you use our website at www.surveyors-uk.com (the “Site”) and our membership services.

We are the data controller responsible for your personal data. This means we determine how and why your personal data is processed.

2. Information We Collect

We collect and process the following types of personal data:

Analytics data about how you use and engage with our website.

2.1 Information You Provide to Us

Membership Registration: Name, email address, telephone number, professional qualifications, membership type
Forum Activity: Username, profile information, posts, comments, and messages
Communication: Correspondence and enquiries sent to us
Payment Information: Billing address and payment transaction details (payment card details are processed securely by our payment processor)

2.2 Information We Collect Automatically

Technical Data: IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting, operating system and platform
Usage Data: Information about how you use our Site, including pages visited, time spent on pages, and navigation paths

3. Legal Basis for Processing

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

Contractual Necessity: To provide membership services, manage your account, and fulfil our obligations to you
Legitimate Interests: To improve our services, conduct analytics, and ensure Site security
Legal Obligation: To comply with legal and regulatory requirements
Consent: Where you have given explicit consent for specific processing activities (e.g., marketing communications)

4. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

Membership Management: To create and manage your membership account, process renewals, and provide member benefits
Platform Operations: To enable forum participation, publish news content, and facilitate member interactions
Communication: To send service updates, membership information, and respond to enquiries
Improvement and Analytics: To analyse Site usage, improve functionality, and develop new features
Security: To protect against fraud, unauthorised access, and ensure Site security
Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws and regulations
Marketing: To send newsletters and promotional content (only with your consent, which can be withdrawn at any time)

5. Sharing Your Data

We may share your personal data with:

5.1 Approved Third-Party Partners

We work with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our platform. These may include:

  • Website hosting and infrastructure providers
  • Payment processors
  • Email service providers
  • Analytics services
  • IT support and security providers
  • Approved third party partners who offer servcies or products to supply the surveying industry
  • All third parties are required to maintain appropriate security measures and process your data only as instructed by us.

5.2 Other Circumstances

We may also disclose your data:

  • To comply with legal obligations, court orders, or regulatory requirements
  • To protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our members or the public
  • In connection with a business transfer, merger, or acquisition
  • We will never sell your personal data to third parties.

6. International Data Transfers

Your data is primarily stored and processed within the United Kingdom and European Economic Area (EEA). If we transfer data outside the UK/EEA, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

  • Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
  • Adequacy decisions confirming equivalent data protection standards
  • Other legally approved transfer mechanisms

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy:

  • Active Membership Data: Retained for the duration of your membership plus 6 years for legal and accounting purposes
  • Forum Content: Retained while your account is active; you may request deletion subject to our legitimate interests in maintaining forum integrity
  • Marketing Data: Retained until you withdraw consent or when reviewed at intermittent time frames
  • Technical/Usage Data: Typically retained for up to 3 years

8. Your Rights Under GDPR

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

  • Right of Access: Request a copy of your personal data
  • Right to Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
  • Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your data (subject to certain conditions)
  • Right to Restrict Processing: Limit how we use your data
  • Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
  • Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing
  • Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time (where processing is based on consent)
  • Right to Lodge a Complaint: Contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your rights have been violated
  • To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 11.

9. Security Measures

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including:

  • Encryption of data in transit and at rest
  • Regular security assessments and updates
  • Access controls and authentication procedures
  • Secure backup and disaster recovery procedures
  • However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Children’s Privacy

Our services are not intended for individuals under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child, please contact us immediately.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of significant changes via email or a prominent notice on our Site. Your continued use of the Site after changes indicates acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us:

Surveyors UK

Website: www.surveyors-uk.com

Data Protection Officer (if applicable):
Nina Young
Email: membership@surveyors-uk.com

13. Supervisory Authority

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK’s data protection supervisory authority:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

Website: www.ico.org.uk

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

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

This privacy policy demonstrates our commitment to protecting your personal data in accordance with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.