Privacy Policy

Top Notch Home Inspections Ltd.

Effective Date: April 20, 2026

Top Notch Home Inspections Ltd. ("Top Notch," "the company," "we," "us," or "our") respects the privacy of clients, prospective clients, website visitors, referral partners, and other individuals whose personal information is collected in the course of business. This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is collected, used, disclosed, retained, and protected when a person visits the company website, requests information, books an inspection, receives an inspection report, or otherwise interacts with the business. This policy is intended to support compliance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and related guidance from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Accountability

The company is responsible for personal information under its control and has designated a privacy contact to oversee compliance with this policy and applicable privacy requirements. Questions, requests, and complaints about privacy practices may be directed to:

Privacy Contact
Mark Newman
Top Notch Home Inspections Ltd.

PO Box 1855
Bay Roberts, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, A0A 1G0
Email: privacy@topnotchhomeinspections.ca
Phone: 709-680-7168

The company remains accountable for personal information transferred to third-party service providers used to operate the business and seeks contractual or other reasonable measures to require comparable protection from those providers.

What personal information may be collected

Depending on the interaction, the company may collect the following categories of personal information:

Contact information, such as name, phone number, email address, mailing address, property address, and realtor contact details.
Service details, such as requested inspection type, preferred appointment dates, occupancy details, and communications relating to an inspection booking.
Transaction and report information, such as agreements, invoices, receipts, payment status information received through payment processors, inspection findings, photographs, thermal images, drone images, notes, and completed inspection reports stored in Spectora.
Technical and website usage information, such as IP address, browser type, device information, approximate location, referring pages, and on-site activity collected through cookies, Google Analytics, or similar technologies on the Wix platform.
Marketing and communications preferences, such as whether a person has requested newsletters, follow-up contact, reminders, or promotional communications.
Accounting and expense information for internal business use, such as vendor details and transaction summaries from accounting software.

The company limits collection to personal information that is reasonably necessary for identified business purposes.

How personal information is collected

Personal information may be collected directly from the individual, from a person authorized to act on that individual's behalf, or from business partners involved in the transaction, such as a real estate agent, where appropriate and lawful for the identified purpose. Information may also be collected automatically through the website by cookies, Google Analytics, embedded content, security tools, booking forms, and other technologies used to operate and improve the site.

Most customer and realtor contact information, inspection reports, invoices, receipts, and email communications are collected, stored, and managed through Spectora, the company's home inspection reporting and management platform. Email hosting is provided by Web Hosting Canada (WHC). Accounting software handles internal business expenses and records.

Purposes for collection, use, and disclosure

Personal information may be collected, used, or disclosed for the following purposes:

To respond to inquiries, provide estimates, schedule appointments, confirm bookings, and communicate about services via Spectora and WHC-hosted email.
To perform home inspection services, prepare and deliver reports via Spectora, maintain inspection records, and provide related customer support.
To verify instructions, identities, authorizations, and transaction details connected to an inspection file.
To process payments, issue invoices and receipts via Spectora, and maintain accounting and tax records in accounting software.
To operate, maintain, troubleshoot, secure, and improve the Wix website and business systems.
To understand website traffic and visitor behaviour through Google Analytics.
To send service-related communications and, where permitted and consented to, marketing communications.
To comply with legal, regulatory, insurance, contractual, safety, recordkeeping, and dispute-resolution requirements.

If personal information is to be used for a new purpose not previously identified, additional consent will be obtained where required by law.

Consent

Consent is generally obtained for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information, except where applicable law permits or requires otherwise. Consent may be express or implied, depending on the sensitivity of the information and the reasonable expectations of the individual, but express consent is used where information is sensitive, where uses are outside reasonable expectations, or where there is meaningful residual risk of significant harm.

By submitting a contact form on the Wix website, requesting a quote via Spectora, booking an inspection, signing a service agreement, accepting terms through Spectora, or otherwise providing information in circumstances where the purpose is reasonably clear, an individual may be deemed to consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information for the identified purposes. An individual may withdraw consent, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, but doing so may limit the company's ability to provide requested services.

Website cookies, analytics, and similar technologies

The Wix website uses cookies, pixels, server logs, and similar technologies to remember preferences, measure traffic, improve performance, and support security and marketing functions. Google Analytics collects and processes information about website interactions, including device and usage data, and may set cookies or similar identifiers for measurement purposes.

Visitors can usually manage cookies through browser settings, browser extensions, device settings, or available cookie controls on the Wix website, although disabling certain technologies may affect site functionality. Third-party services embedded on the Wix website, such as maps, videos, scheduling widgets, payment tools, review tools, chat features, or social media features, may also collect information according to their own privacy practices.

Third-party service providers and apps

The company uses third-party products and services to run the business, including:

Spectora: For inspection reports, customer and realtor contact storage, invoicing, receipts, and email communications.
Web Hosting Canada (WHC): For email hosting.
Wix: For website hosting and platform services.
Google Analytics: For website analytics.
Accounting software: For internal business usage, expenses, and records.

These providers may process personal information on the company's behalf for functions such as website hosting, form handling, analytics, appointment scheduling, report delivery, invoicing, payment processing, cloud storage, email, customer relationship management, digital signatures, image storage, or business communications. An organization remains accountable for personal information transferred to a third party for processing and should use contractual or other means to provide comparable protection.

Where personal information is processed by service providers outside Newfoundland and Labrador or outside Canada (e.g., U.S.-based providers like Wix, Google, or Spectora), the information may be subject to the laws of those other jurisdictions and may be accessible to courts, law enforcement, or national security authorities in those jurisdictions. The company seeks to limit disclosure to what is reasonably necessary for the relevant service and to work only with providers considered appropriate for business operations.

When information may be disclosed

Personal information may be disclosed:

To third-party providers engaged to support business operations and service delivery, such as Spectora, WHC, Wix, Google, and accounting software.
To clients and persons authorized by the client to receive inspection communications or reports via Spectora.
To payment processors, insurers, legal advisers, accountants, and auditors where reasonably necessary.
Where disclosure is required or authorized by law, court order, subpoena, regulatory requirement, or lawful investigative request.
In connection with debt collection, fraud prevention, business restructuring, or protection of legal rights where lawful and appropriate.

The company does not sell personal information.

Inspection reports, photos, thermal images, and drone images

Inspection services may involve the creation and retention of inspection notes, checklists, photographs, thermal images, drone images, videos, and reports related to a property and transaction, stored in Spectora. These materials may contain personal information where they are linked to identifiable individuals, property occupants, contact information, or transaction details, and are handled as part of the inspection file.

Reports and related files may be shared with the client and others authorized by the client, such as a real estate professional, lawyer, or other advisor, in accordance with instructions, contract terms, and applicable law. The company is not responsible for subsequent handling, storage, or onward disclosure by recipients once information has been lawfully provided to them.

Retention and destruction

Personal information is retained only as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and longer where required or justified for legal, insurance, tax, dispute, quality assurance, business continuity, or evidentiary reasons. The company seeks to securely destroy, delete, anonymize, or de-identify personal information that is no longer required.

Accuracy

The company seeks to keep personal information as accurate, complete, and up to date as necessary for the purposes for which it is used. Individuals are encouraged to notify the company promptly of any corrections needed to contact, billing, booking, or file information.

Safeguards

The company uses safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including administrative, physical, and technological measures intended to protect against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, modification, or destruction. Depending on the circumstances, these safeguards may include role-based access restrictions, passwords, multi-factor authentication where available, encryption, secure service-provider platforms, locked devices, secure disposal practices, and staff confidentiality expectations.

No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, so absolute security cannot be guaranteed.

Individual access and correction requests

Subject to limited legal exceptions, an individual may request access to personal information held about that individual, request correction of inaccuracies, or ask for more information about how the information has been used or disclosed. Access requests should generally be answered as quickly as possible and no later than 30 days after receipt, subject to limited extensions permitted by PIPEDA.

Requests should be submitted to Mark Newman at 709-680-7168 or the email above. The company may request sufficient information to verify identity before providing access or making changes.

Complaints and challenges to compliance

Questions, concerns, or complaints about the company's privacy practices should first be directed to Mark Newman so that the matter can be reviewed and addressed. PIPEDA also gives individuals the ability to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada regarding the handling of personal information by organizations subject to the Act.

Breach response

If the company determines that a breach of security safeguards involving personal information creates a real risk of significant harm, the company will take steps required by applicable law, which may include containment, assessment, recordkeeping, notification to affected individuals, and reporting to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

External websites

The Wix website may contain links to third-party websites or services. The company is not responsible for the privacy practices, statements, content, or security of websites or services not controlled by the company.

Changes to this policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, technology, business operations, or third-party service providers. The version posted on the website will indicate the effective date of the current policy.