Privacy & GDPR notice

Who is the data controller

Common Thread Mortgages & Protection is the data controller for the information you provide.

Common Thread Mortgages is a Registered Introducer Appointed Representative of Fear Financial Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

You can contact us at sam@commonthreadmortgages.co.uk or 07961 725455.

What we collect

We may collect contact details you submit through our enquiry forms, booking systems or during our interactions with you, including your name, email address, telephone number and any information you choose to provide.

We may also collect information relevant to mortgage and protection advice, including financial, property, credit, insurance and contact information and, where necessary for protection insurance recommendations, health information.

We may also maintain contact details and records of interactions with professional contacts, introducers, referral partners and other individuals where there is a legitimate business reason to do so, such as business networking, referral activity, relationship management and business development.

We may also obtain information from third parties where necessary to provide our services or fulfil our legal and regulatory obligations. These may include credit reference agencies, identity verification providers, employers, public records and other professional parties involved in your application.

Why we use it, and our lawful basis

1. To respond to your enquiry — consent, or steps prior to entering a contract.
2. To provide mortgage and protection advice — performance of a contract.
3. To meet regulatory and record-keeping duties — legal obligation.
4. Where necessary to provide protection insurance advice, we may process health information and other special category data in accordance with applicable data protection legislation and insurance-related exemptions. Where required by law, we will obtain your explicit consent.
5. To maintain professional and business relationships, manage referrals and introducer relationships, and communicate business updates where appropriate. Our lawful basis for this processing is our legitimate interests in operating and developing our business.

Who we share it with

We may share information, where necessary, with lenders, insurers, solicitors, conveyancers, estate agents, developers, credit reference agencies, our network/compliance provider, regulators and carefully selected service providers that help us operate our business.

We use carefully selected third-party service providers to help operate our business, including customer relationship management (CRM) systems, email providers, document storage platforms, scheduling systems and compliance providers. These organisations process information on our behalf and are required to protect it appropriately.

We never sell your personal data.

How we keep your information secure

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure. Information is stored using secure business systems and access is restricted to those who require it for legitimate business purposes.

Business contacts and marketing

We may retain contact details for individuals with whom we have a personal, professional or business relationship for the purposes of networking, referral management, business development and relationship management.

We may also contact existing and former clients regarding product reviews, mortgage maturity dates, protection reviews, service updates and other communications relevant to the products and services we provide. Our lawful basis for these communications will depend on the circumstances and applicable data protection and electronic marketing laws.

Individuals may opt out of marketing communications at any time.

How long we keep it

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and to meet legal, regulatory and compliance requirements.

Enquiry information, client records and application records may be retained for different periods depending on the nature and outcome of the engagement. Certain records may need to be retained for up to six years, or longer where required by law, regulation or compliance obligations.

We periodically review the information we hold and securely delete information that is no longer required.

Website usage and cookies

Our website may collect limited technical information such as IP address, browser type and usage information through cookies and analytics tools. Where required, we will request your consent before placing non-essential cookies.

International data transfers

Some of our service providers may process personal information outside the United Kingdom. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal information in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Your rights

You have the right to access, correct, erase, restrict or object to processing of your data, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time.

Email sam@commonthreadmortgages.co.uk and we'll respond within one month.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at www.ico.org.uk.