Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Mortgage Owl (mortgageowl.co.uk) is run by Steve Neville, trading as Mortgage Owl. Steve is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. This means he decides how and why it's used, and is responsible for looking after it.

You can contact us about anything in this policy at contact@mortgageowl.co.uk.

2. What we collect

We only collect what you type into our forms. Depending on the form, that can be:

With every form we also record the choices you make in the tick boxes, the page you sent it from, and the date and time.

Please don't send us sensitive information, such as account numbers or health details. Our forms don't ask for it.

3. How we use it and why

We use your details to:

• reply to your question by email;
• email you the calculator results you asked for;
• email you the link to any checklist you asked for;
• send your fixed-rate reminders, 6, 3 and 1 month before your deal ends;
• send a short Bank Rate alert after each Bank of England decision (usually 8 a year), if you signed up for them;
• send The Owl's Nest newsletter, only if you ticked that box;
• keep a record of what you asked for and the choices you made, so we can show we respected them.

Our legal basis for this is your consent, which you give by ticking the box on the form. You can withdraw it at any time by replying to any of our emails or emailing contact@mortgageowl.co.uk. Withdrawing consent doesn't affect anything we did before you withdrew it.

We keep a record of your consent and of any request to stop, because we have a legitimate interest in being able to show that we followed your wishes.

We don't use your details for automated decision-making or profiling.

4. The Owl's Nest newsletter

We only send The Owl's Nest if you've ticked the newsletter box. It contains new guides, mortgage news and updates to our free tools. It doesn't contain sales emails.

You can unsubscribe at any time by replying "unsubscribe" to any newsletter, or by emailing us. We'll stop straight away and keep a note that you've unsubscribed, so you aren't added again by mistake.

5. Who we share it with

We don't sell your personal information.

We use these service providers to run the site. They only process your details on our behalf:

• Google (Gmail, Google Sheets and Google Apps Script): our forms send your details to a Google Sheet, and we use Gmail to send and receive emails.
• Krystal, our UK website hosting company.

FCA-authorised advisers

Some of our forms include an optional, unticked box asking whether you'd like your details passed to an FCA-authorised mortgage adviser. At the moment we don't pass anyone's details on. If we start doing this, we'll only share the details of people who ticked that box, and only with a firm on the FCA Register. Before passing anything on, we'll tell you who the firm is and whether we'd receive any payment.

We may also share information if the law requires us to, for example in response to a court order.

6. Storage outside the UK

Our website is hosted in the UK. Google may store and process information on servers outside the UK, including in the United States. Where that happens, the transfer is protected by safeguards recognised under UK data protection law, such as the UK–US data bridge and Google's standard data protection terms.

7. How long we keep it

• Form details and emails: up to 5 years from our last contact with you, or until you ask us to delete them, whichever is sooner.
• Fixed-rate reminders: they stop after your last reminder is sent, or as soon as you tell us to stop.
• Bank Rate alerts: until you unsubscribe, using the link in any alert. After that we keep only your email address and a note that you've unsubscribed, so we don't email you again.
• The Owl's Nest: until you unsubscribe. After that we keep only your email address and a note that you've unsubscribed, so we don't email you again.

8. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• see the personal information we hold about you (a "subject access request");
• have it corrected if it's wrong;
• have it deleted;
• restrict or object to how we use it;
• receive it in a format you can take elsewhere (data portability);
• withdraw your consent at any time.

To use any of these rights, email contact@mortgageowl.co.uk. It's free, and we'll reply within one month.

9. Cookies

We only use cookies that the website needs to work, such as one that remembers your cookie choice. We don't use analytics, advertising or tracking cookies. See our Cookie Policy for details.

10. Keeping it safe

Our website uses a secure (HTTPS) connection. The Google account that holds your form details is password-protected, and only Steve can access it.

11. Children

Mortgage Owl is meant for adults. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you think a child has sent us their details, please tell us and we'll delete them.

12. Changes to this policy

We'll update this policy if the way we use personal information changes, and show the new date at the top. If a change affects you significantly, we'll let you know by email.

13. How to complain

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, please contact us first so we can try to put it right.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.