Harcourts Rata & Co [ACN 616 647 539] is committed to respecting your right to privacy and provides you with this Policy so you will know how it manages your personal information.
The kinds of personal information which we collect and hold from you
Typically this will be your name, addresses and contact details. It may also include your date of birth, gender, occupation, bank account and other financial and account information, credit card details, and, if you are applying to be added to our Approved Tradespersons List, professional indemnity insurance information.
If we provide you with services, we may also ask you from time to time to respond to questions about them and provide us with your views on them and your preferences when being provided with our services.
If we ask you to provide your personal information in connection with providing services and you decline to do so, the main consequences for you may be that we are unable to adequately provide you with an effective service.
How we collect and hold your personal information
Mostly we collect your personal information from you. In some circumstances we may also collect it from other sources other than you.
We hold your personal information and, if collected, your sensitive information either in hard copy or electronic form, or both.
The purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information
We collect, use, and disclose your personal information in connection with or in relation to –
- your application for tenancy
- providing you with services
- telemarketing calls
- direct marketing
- providing services to the real estate industry
- responding to enquiries that you have made
- the business activities of Harcourts Rata & Co and other companies related to Harcourts Rata & Co
- fulfilling our legal obligations
If you are a member of the public and you provide us with your personal information or your personal information is provided to us by someone other than yourself or if you provide us with your sensitive information we will hold, use, and disclose it only in connection with or in relation to the matter for which it was provided to us.
Dealing with us anonymously or by use of a pseudonym
If you are a member of the public, you may wish to deal with us anonymously or by a pseudonym in relation to a particular matter.
If it is impractical for us to deal with you in relation to a particular matter on that basis, we will advise you. For example, if you are ordering goods or services, it is impractical for us to deal with you anonymously or by a pseudonym.
If you are a member of the public making a complaint about a staff member, it is impractical for us to deal with you anonymously or by a pseudonym as we and the staff member, who is the subject of the complaint, are entitled to know both what your complaint is about and who is actually making it.
How you may access your personal information and seek correction of it
You may access your personal information by contacting us between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. Alternatively, you can write to us.
Our telephone number is (03) 9465 7766. Our facsimile number is (03) 9464 3177. Our email address is info@rataandco.com.au. Our postal address is: Harcourts Rata & Co, 219 High Street, Thomastown, Victoria, 3074.
We will ask you to confirm your identity, before we provide you with access to your personal information.
Generally there will be no cost to you in accessing your personal information. If, however, your request is complex or will involve us in providing extensive resources, we may ask you to pay a reasonable charge. We will tell you the amount of it, so you can agree to pay it before going ahead.
Disclosing your personal information to overseas recipients
We may transfer your personal information to overseas countries in performing one or more of our functions or activities. If we do so we will take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient does not breach the Privacy Principles in relation to your personal information.
We may also rely on third party suppliers to provide us with web hosting, cloud computing technologies, and data storage services. If your personal information is provided to third party suppliers so they can perform contracts with us, we will us our best endeavours to ensure they handle your personal information as required by the Privacy Principles. We will also request they provide privacy undertakings and enter into confidentiality agreements.
Complaint Handling & Dispute Resolution
How to make a complaint
Harcourts Rata & Co aims to make it easy for you to bring any problems or complaints to our attention.
You should first raise your issue with the agent, representative or property manager who is handling your business.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can make a complaint to us by:
- telephone (during business hours): call 9465 7766 and ask to speak to Tony Lombardi
- email: tony.lombardi@harcourts.com.au
- fax: 9464 3177 attention to Tony Lombardi
- post: 219 High Street, Thomastown VIC 3074
Please provide as much detail as possible about your complaint, including the outcome you would like.
If you need help to describe or send your complaint, or if you would like to discuss your concerns informally first, please feel free to contact us.
How we will handle your complaint
Our complaints officer will oversee the complaints process. This person is responsible for working with you and relevant agency staff, to ensure that the issues you raise are fully examined and that your complaint is handled in accordance with this process.
We will treat the process, and all the details of your complaint, in strict confidence. If we need to discuss any issues arising from your complaint with someone outside of the agency, we will notify you first.
We will always try to give you a fair opportunity to explain your case. You should make your initial complaint as clear as possible. Sometimes we may want to meet you in person to discuss your concerns and try to find a satisfactory solution.
How long will it take?
We will try to resolve your complaint as soon as possible. However, how long this takes will depend on the nature and complexity of the issues you have raised.
We will send you acknowledgment of receipt of the complaint within two business days. We will give you an estimate of how long it may take us to deal with the matter once we have received a detailed explanation of your complaint. We will try to finalise the matter within five business days, however as mentioned above this will be dependent on the nature and complexity of the issue, and this timeframe may vary.
What action will we take in response to your complaint?
If we decide that your complaint is justified, we will then decide what action we should take in response. We will always try to match our response to the nature of your complaint and your desired outcome, but this may not always be possible.
Some of the things we might do include:
- take steps to rectify the problem or issue you have raised
- give you additional information or advice so you can understand what happened or how we have dealt with it
- take steps to change our policies or procedures if your complaint identifies a problem in the way we are doing things.
What if you’re still unhappy?
Sometimes it will not be possible to resolve a complaint to everyone’s satisfaction, and you might want to escalate the matter.
CAV can deal with enquiries and complaints about real estate agents and offers information, advice and dispute resolution services on real estate issues.
You can telephone CAV on 1300 73 70 30, Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm to discuss your complaint.
Should you wish to make a complaint regarding the handling of your private information, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001
Email – enquiries@oaic.gov.au
Phone – 1300 363 992
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