Your Mortgage Needs Ltd. Privacy Policy
Introduction
1. Introduction
This Privacy Policy outlines how Your Mortgage Needs Ltd. ("we", "us", "our", or "the Company"), a mortgage brokerage licensed in Alberta and British Columbia, collects, uses, discloses, and protects personal information in connection with our website at www.yourmortgageneeds.ca (the "Site") and the mortgage brokerage services we provide.
Your Mortgage Needs Ltd. is committed to protecting the privacy of individuals we interact with. This Privacy Policy is designed to comply with Canada's federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), and all applicable provincial and federal privacy legislation governing mortgage brokerages in Canada.
By using our Site or engaging with our services, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to read it carefully.
2. Accountability
Your Mortgage Needs Ltd. is responsible for the personal information under its control. We have designated a Privacy Officer who is accountable for our compliance with this Privacy Policy and applicable privacy legislation.
Questions or concerns about our privacy practices may be directed to our Privacy Officer at:
Your Mortgage Needs Ltd. – Privacy Officer
Email: renee@yourmortgageneeds.ca
Website: www.yourmortgageneeds.ca
Alberta, Canada
3. Why We Collect Personal Information
We collect personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances, and only to the extent necessary to fulfill those purposes. The primary purposes for which we collect personal information include:
• Processing mortgage applications and facilitating access to mortgage products and lenders on your behalf
• Verifying your identity and assessing your creditworthiness in accordance with lender requirements
• Communicating with you regarding your mortgage application, renewal, or inquiry
• Providing ongoing mortgage brokerage services throughout the term of your mortgage
• Meeting our legal, regulatory, and compliance obligations as a licensed mortgage brokerage
• Responding to your inquiries submitted through our Site or by other means
• Sending you relevant updates, industry information, or service communications (with your consent where required)
• Improving our website and services through aggregated, non-identifiable analytics
We will identify the purpose for collecting personal information at or before the time of collection wherever possible.
4. Consent
We obtain your meaningful consent before or at the time we collect personal information, except where the law permits or requires collection without consent. The form of consent we seek may vary depending on the sensitivity of the information and the circumstances.
Express Consent
For sensitive personal information, such as financial details, credit history, and income information required for mortgage processing, we will obtain your express written or electronic consent before collecting, using, or disclosing that information.
Implied Consent
For less sensitive information, or where the purposes for collection are obvious given the nature of our services, we may rely on your implied consent. For example, by submitting a mortgage inquiry through our Site, you consent to us contacting you to discuss that inquiry.
Withdrawing Consent
You may withdraw your consent for certain uses and disclosures of your personal information at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Please be aware that withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide you with certain services. To withdraw consent, contact our Privacy Officer at the address listed in Section 2 above.
5. What Personal Information We Collect
The personal information we collect will vary depending on the nature of your interaction with us. It may include:
Contact and Identity Information
• Full name, date of birth, and government-issued identification
• Mailing address, email address, and telephone number
Financial and Employment Information
• Employment status, employer name, and income details
• Bank account information, assets, liabilities, and net worth
• Credit history and credit score (obtained with your consent through authorized credit bureaus)
• Details of the property being financed, including purchase price and property address
Technical and Site Usage Information
• IP address and device identifiers
• Browser type, operating system, and language preferences
• Pages visited, links clicked, and time spent on the Site
• Geographic location data (country and city level, derived from IP address)
We do not collect sensitive personal information beyond what is necessary to provide mortgage brokerage services or as required by law. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under the age of 18.
6. How We Collect Personal Information
We collect personal information through the following means:
• Directly from you when you submit an inquiry, application, or other form on our Site
• Directly from you during telephone, email, or in-person consultations
• From credit bureaus, with your express consent, as part of the mortgage application process
• From lenders, financial institutions, and other parties involved in your mortgage transaction, with your consent
• Automatically through cookies and similar technologies when you use our Site (see Section 10)
• From publicly available sources where permitted by law
7. Use, Disclosure, and Retention of Personal Information Use
We use your personal information only for the purposes identified at the time of collection, or for purposes that a reasonable person would consider compatible with those purposes. We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information to third parties.
Disclosure
We may disclose your personal information to third parties in the following circumstances:
• To mortgage lenders, banks, credit unions, and financial institutions to facilitate your mortgage application or renewal
• To credit bureaus to obtain your credit report, with your consent
• To appraisers, lawyers, notaries, and other professionals involved in your mortgage transaction
• To service providers who assist us in operating our business, such as technology providers and document management services, who are bound by confidentiality obligations
• To government authorities, regulators (including the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) and applicable BC regulators), or law enforcement when required by law or to protect our legal rights
• To a successor organization in the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of our business, subject to equivalent privacy protections
We do not disclose personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes without your express consent.
Retention
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, and to comply with applicable legal, regulatory, and business requirements. As a licensed mortgage brokerage, we are subject to record-keeping requirements under applicable provincial legislation and RECA bylaws. In general, mortgage-related records are retained for a minimum of seven (7) years following the completion of a transaction, after which personal information is securely destroyed or anonymized.
8. Accuracy
We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we use is accurate, complete, and up to date for the purposes for which it is to be used. If you become aware that the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate or outdated, please contact us so we can correct it.
9. Safeguarding Your Information
We protect personal information with security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. These safeguards include:
• Physical security measures for files and records containing personal information
• Organizational practices, including limiting access to personal information to employees and contractors who need it to perform their duties
• Technological safeguards, including secure data storage, encrypted communications, and access controls
While we implement these safeguards, no security system is completely impenetrable. We cannot guarantee that unauthorized parties will never be able to overcome our measures. In the event of a privacy breach that poses a real risk of significant harm, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (or applicable provincial authority) as required by law.
10. Cookies and Website Analytics
Our Site uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience and help us understand how the Site is being used.
Types of Cookies We Use
• Session cookies: Temporary cookies that expire when you close your browser, used to support normal site functionality
• Persistent cookies: Cookies that remain on your device for a set period, used to remember your preferences for future visits
• Third-party cookies: Set by trusted service providers, such as analytics platforms, to help us understand site usage
Cookies do not, by themselves, contain personal information. However, where personal information you have provided to us can be associated with cookie data, that combination is treated as personal information under this Privacy Policy.
Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics to collect aggregated, non-identifiable information about how visitors use our Site, including pages visited, time on site, and general geographic location. This information helps us improve the Site and our services. Google Analytics does not identify individual users. You can learn more about Google's privacy practices and opt-out options at https://policies.google.com/privacy.
Managing Cookies
You may disable cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Site.
11. Openness and Transparency
We make information about our privacy policies and practices readily available to individuals upon request. This Privacy Policy is posted on our Site and can be provided in other formats upon request. We will respond to questions or complaints about our privacy practices in a timely and transparent manner.
12. Your Rights Regarding Your Personal Information
Under PIPEDA and PIPA (Alberta), you have the following rights with respect to your personal information:
• Right of access: You may request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you, and request access to that information
• Right to correct: You may request that inaccurate or incomplete personal information be corrected
• Right to withdraw consent: You may withdraw consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information, subject to legal or contractual limitations
• Right to complain: You may file a complaint with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta (OIPC Alberta) or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if you believe your privacy rights have been violated
To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Privacy Officer in writing at the contact information provided in Section 2. We will respond to access requests within 30 days, or advise you in writing if an extension is required under applicable law.
Please note that we may charge a minimal fee for providing access in certain circumstances, and we may be unable to provide access to some information where permitted or required by law.
13. Questions, Concerns, and Complaints
If you have questions or concerns about our privacy practices, or if you wish to make a complaint, please contact our Privacy Officer in writing at the details provided in Section 2 of this Policy. We take all privacy concerns seriously and will investigate and respond to complaints in a timely manner.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to contact:
• Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta (OIPC): www.oipc.ab.ca
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: www.priv.gc.ca
14. Third-Party Websites
Our Site may contain links to third-party websites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those external sites, and we are not responsible for their privacy practices. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.
15. Updates to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Modified" date at the top of this Policy and post the revised version on our Site. Your continued use of our Site or services following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Policy. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.
16. SMS Terms of Service
By opting into SMS from a web form or other medium, you are agreeing to receive SMS messages from Your Mortgage Needs Ltd. This includes SMS messages for conversations (external). Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. See privacy policy at https://www.yourmortgageneeds.ca/privacy. Message HELP for help. Reply STOP to any message to opt out.