Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

This Privacy Policy explains how Freedom Financial Ltd ("we", "us", "our"), trading as Freedom Financial, collects and uses your personal data. We are registered in Scotland (company number SC616441) and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA No. 920865).

We are the data controller for the personal data you provide through this website. You can contact us at michael.watt@freedomfs.co.uk.

2. What data we collect

When you complete our enquiry form or use the qualification tool, we may collect:

• Identity and contact details: full name, email address, telephone number.
• Financial information you choose to share: deposit amount, income range, expected purchase price, buying timeline, first-time buyer status.
• Your contact preferences (e.g. requesting a callback or further guidance).
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device information, pages viewed, referring URL and UTM campaign parameters, collected via cookies and similar technologies for analytics.

3. How we use your data and our lawful basis

• To respond to your enquiry and provide mortgage advice you request — lawful basis: taking steps at your request prior to entering into a contract, and our legitimate interest in operating our advice business.
• To send you further guidance or a booking link where you have ticked the relevant box — lawful basis: your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
• To meet our regulatory and legal obligations (FCA record-keeping, anti-money laundering, tax) — lawful basis: legal obligation.
• To measure and improve our website — lawful basis: legitimate interest in understanding how the site is used.

4. Who we share your data with

We only share your data with:

• Trusted service providers who help us operate the site and contact you (e.g. our hosting and database provider, email delivery provider).
• Lenders, mortgage clubs or third-party providers — only where this is necessary to progress a mortgage application you have asked us to pursue.
• Regulators, law enforcement and other authorities where we are legally required to do so.

We do not sell your personal data and we do not share it for third-party marketing.

5. International transfers

Our systems are hosted within the UK or EEA where possible. Where data is transferred outside the UK (for example to a sub-processor), we rely on adequacy decisions or Standard Contractual Clauses to ensure your data is properly protected.

6. How long we keep your data

Enquiries that do not progress to advice are kept for up to 2 years so we can respond if you come back to us. Where we provide regulated mortgage advice, we retain client records for at least 6 years after the end of the relationship, in line with FCA requirements. Analytics data is kept in aggregated form.

7. Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the right to:

• Access a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Ask us to delete your data ("right to erasure"), subject to our regulatory record-keeping obligations.
• Restrict or object to our processing, including direct marketing.
• Withdraw any consent you have given, at any time.
• Request data portability where applicable.

To exercise any of these rights, email michael.watt@freedomfs.co.uk. We will respond within one month.

8. Cookies

We use a small number of strictly necessary cookies to make the site work, plus first-party analytics to understand how visitors use the site. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

9. Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit, access controls and a secure database backend. No system is 100% secure, but we take our obligations seriously.

10. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, please contact us first so we can try to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top of this page shows when the latest changes were made.