Note
The content of this article is not legal advice. We have given answers to common questions based on what Alto will allow you to do. Please consult a legal advisor on your GDPR responsibilities.
Where possible, we have included links to government websites to assist you further
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"If a vendor or buyer told me to delete them and then in a year’s time they decide to complain about something, we won’t have a trail of anything to go to court with. I am concerned about this.”
“What about AML records, how do I ensure I keep these?”
When you select the option to delete a contact, you will be presented with a message to remind you to consider retaining their data for regulatory or legislative purposes (e.g. the Ombudsman scheme).
To understand your client’s ‘right to be forgotten’, we recommend using the ICO’s website. This also has information about your right (as an estate agent) to refuse a client’s right to be forgotten, for example when you need to retain data for legal/regulatory requirements
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"How long must we keep accounts data and what information in relation to the contact must we keep/not keep? If I hold Client accounting transactions that are less than 6 years old, how do I ensure that I keep the Client’s information in case the HMRC requests this from me?”
You can set an option called Accounting Retention Period. This will enable you to retain Contacts where you need information for the purposes of HMRC.
The Accounting Retention Period is set in Tools.
- Click Tools on the main toolbar
- On the side menu, under System Tools, click System Administration
- Click Group Settings
- Scroll down to Accounting Retention Period (in years). You can set the value accordingly
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“If a Client asks for their data to be deleted, but they are involved in a current business transaction with me, what will happen to these transactions?"
When you are asked to delete an individual’s personal information, you can check if they have a pending or accepted offer, if they are a potential or current tenant, or if they are selling or renting a property with you. You would be advised to action changes in relation to this ongoing business because once you proceed with the deletion, you won’t be able to identify the applicant, or the vendor on the sale etc
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“If I delete a contact, can I get them back?”
If you delete a record, it will not be retrievable -
“What happens to documents that I store on a contact when the contact is deleted?”
Any attached documents (e.g uploaded copies of a passport or a guarantor letter) will be permanently deleted from Alto. You will be responsible for deleting any versions held elsewhere.
If you have created documents within Alto that are stored on the Timeline, these will no longer be available to view