Sign up now and get access to our private community.
- Wirral, Merseyside
- Mon - Fri: 9:00am - 6:00pm
Sign up now and get access to our private community.
John Ratchford Property & Land is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and your rights in relation to it.
This policy applies to all personal data collected through johnratchford.com, our contact forms, WhatsApp Business groups, and any other communications between you and John Ratchford.
We comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
The data controller for your personal information is:
John Ratchford Property & Land
Based on the Wirral, Merseyside
Email: john@johnratchford.com
Website: johnratchford.com
If you have any questions about this policy or how your data is handled, please contact us at the email above.
When you use our website or contact us, you may provide:
When you visit johnratchford.com, we may automatically collect:
This data is collected through Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. It is used in aggregated, anonymised form to understand how people use the site and improve it.
If you are added to one of our WhatsApp Business groups or communicate with us via WhatsApp, we may retain records of those conversations. WhatsApp is operated by Meta Platforms Inc. and is subject to its own privacy policy. We do not control the data Meta collects through the WhatsApp platform.
We only collect and use your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so. The table below sets out the purposes for which we use your data and the legal basis under UK GDPR:
Responding to your enquiry
Legal basis: Legitimate interests / taking steps prior to entering a contract
Conducting property purchases, land negotiations or deal introductions
Legal basis: Performance of a contract / legitimate interests
Adding you to a private WhatsApp group relevant to your enquiry
Legal basis: Consent (you submit an enquiry requesting to be added)
Referring you to a professional partner (solicitor, broker, etc.)
Legal basis: Legitimate interests / your consent where required
Improving our website and understanding how visitors use it
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (analytics data is anonymised and aggregated)
Complying with legal obligations
Legal basis: Legal obligation
If you submit an enquiry but we do not proceed with any transaction, we will retain your contact details and enquiry information for up to 12 months in case you wish to re-engage. After that period, your data will be deleted unless you have asked us to keep you on file.
Where a property purchase, land agreement or other transaction completes, we retain relevant records for a minimum of 6 years from the date of completion, in line with standard legal and tax record-keeping requirements.
Conversation history within WhatsApp is retained for as long as you remain in the relevant group. If you are removed from or leave a group, we may retain a record of relevant communications for the period described above.
Website analytics data collected through Google Analytics is retained in accordance with Google’s data retention settings, which we have set to 14 months.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We may share your data in the following limited circumstances:
If you are an investor or buyer and a relevant property opportunity arises, we may share your name and contact details with the seller’s solicitor or other relevant professional for the purpose of progressing a transaction. We will only do this where it is necessary and proportionate.
If you register as a professional partner (solicitor, broker, surveyor, estate agent), your details will be held on file and we may pass your contact details to investors or sellers who require your services, where relevant.
If a property finder introduces a seller to us, the finder’s name may be disclosed to solicitors handling the transaction where legally required. We will not share finder details more widely without consent.
We use a small number of trusted third-party services to operate our website and communications:
These providers act as data processors and are contractually required to handle your data securely and only for the purposes we specify.
We may disclose your personal data if required to do so by law, court order, or in connection with any legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings.
Our website uses cookies to help it function and to understand how it is being used. Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website.
We use the following types of cookies:
We do not use advertising or tracking cookies for marketing purposes.
You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Please be aware that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the website. For more information about cookies and how to manage them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.
We take the security of your personal data seriously and take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, loss or misuse.
Our website uses HTTPS encryption. Contact form submissions are transmitted securely. Access to stored enquiry data is restricted to John Ratchford personally.
No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we do our best to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you have concerns about the security of any data you have provided, please contact us.
Some of the third-party services we use (including Google and Meta) may process or store data on servers located outside the United Kingdom. Where this occurs, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the use of standard contractual clauses approved by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), or transfers to countries with an adequacy decision.
Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. We will respond to a valid subject access request within one month.
If you believe any personal data we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to correct it.
You have the right to ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances — for example, if we no longer need it for the purpose it was collected, or if you withdraw your consent. This right is not absolute and may not apply where we are required to retain data for legal reasons.
You have the right to ask us to restrict how we use your data in certain circumstances, for example while a complaint or accuracy dispute is being resolved.
Where we process your data based on consent or for the performance of a contract, and where processing is carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.
You have the right to object to us processing your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our legal basis. We will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, or unless the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
Where we rely on your consent to process your data (for example, adding you to a WhatsApp group), you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at john@johnratchford.com. We will respond within one month. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.
Our website and services are not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it promptly.
Our website may contain links to third-party websites. This Privacy Policy applies only to johnratchford.com. If you follow a link to another website, you should read their privacy policy. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version will always be available at johnratchford.com. We will indicate the date it was last updated at the top of the policy. Where changes are significant, we will take reasonable steps to bring them to your attention.
Your continued use of the website after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact:
John Ratchford Property & Land
Email: john@johnratchford.com
Website: johnratchford.com
Whether you're looking to invest, sell, explore land opportunities or work together as a professional partner — fill in the form and John will get back to you directly.
