We place paramount importance on customer service and aim to meet your expectations on every occasion.
To achieve this aim we need accurate personal information about you. Please
help us take prompt and efficient action by informing us of any changes to your
personal circumstances by writing to us.
We have a legal obligation under the Data Protection Act to ensure that all information held and processed about you complies with the principles of the Act.
The Act requires all personal information to be treated in the strictest confidence and to be used only for purposes of which you are aware.
We will treat all your personal information as private and
confidential (even when you are no longer a customer). Nothing about your accounts
nor your name and address will be disclosed to anyone, other than in exceptional
cases permitted by law. These are:
• where we are legally compelled to do so;
• where there is a duty to the public to disclose;
• where disclosure is required to protect our interest;
(This will not be used as a reason for disclosing information about you or your accounts, including your name and address, to anyone else for marketing purposes.)
• where disclosure is made at your request or with your consent.
(This can be either as a result of an application for a product or service or by signing an explicit declaration as part of the application. Consent does not need to be in writing if the service is provided over the telephone.)
• where audit is required by appropriate regulatory and code of practice organisations
From time to time we will employ agents and sub-contractors to process your information on our behalf. The same duty of confidentiality and security will apply to our agents and sub-contractors and all processing will only be carried out under our instruction and will be supported by written contract. Sometimes, these companies may be located abroad in countries that do not have data protection laws. In these circumstances we always take great care to ensure that your personal information is kept safe and secure.
Your details will be used in providing the service you applied for and for the ongoing administration of the service. If you are taking out insurance, your details will be passed to the insurers for this purpose. If you make a claim, any information you provide to the insurers may be put onto a register of claims through which insurers share such information to prevent fraudulent claims. A list of the participants and the address of the operator are available from the insurers.
There may be times when we feel that a service or product offered by us or a selected third party may benefit you. We may use information we obtain from your account transactions in this decision-making process. To make you aware of the service or product we may contact you by mail, telephone, fax, e-mail or other reasonable method to give you further details so that you can make an informed choice.
You are, of course, under no obligation to apply for any of the services or
products offered. If you prefer not to receive any of this information, please
write to us at Data Unit, Freepost NWW15306, City House, City Road, Chester
CH88 3YZ. We will only contact you by fax where you have given us your explicit
consent.
We will use your details to assist us in understanding individual needs and business trends in order to improve the products and services we offer.
We always try to protect you from entering into any agreement
that may not be in your best interest. When you apply for credit we use a
process known as Credit Scoring. This will help us to assess your application
to ensure that you are able to re-pay the borrowing comfortably and fulfil
our duty to you as a responsible lender. Declined applications based on this
automated technique can be reviewed manually on request.
In considering an application we will search your record at a Credit Reference
Agency. They will add to your credit file details of our search and your application
and this will be seen by other organisations that make searches. We will also
add to your record with the Credit Reference Agencies details of your agreement
with us, the payments you make under it, any default or failure to keep to
its terms and any change of address you fail to tell us about where a payment
is overdue. It is important that you give us accurate information.
If you have experienced problems obtaining credit we recommend you request a copy of your credit file from the Credit Reference Agencies. They will charge for this service. Their addresses are shown below.
We have systems that protect our customers and ourselves against fraud and
other crime. Customer information can be used to prevent crime and trace those
responsible. We may check your details with fraud prevention agencies. If
false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is identified, details
will be passed to fraud prevention agencies. Law enforcement agencies may
access and use this information. We and other organisations may also access
and use this information to prevent fraud and money laundering, for example,
when:
• Checking details on applications for credit and credit related or other
facilities;
• Managing credit and credit related accounts or facilities;
• Recovering debt;
• Checking details on proposals and claims for all types of insurance;
• Checking details of job applicants and employees.
Please telephone us on 0845 604 5494* if you want details of those credit
reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies from whom we obtain and with
whom we record information about you. We and other organisations may access
and use from other countries the information recorded by fraud prevention
agencies. You have a legal right to these details.
If you were ‘introduced’ to us by a third party and/or have a relationship with or are supporting one of our affinity partners, we will give them your contact details and sufficient information about you to help with their accounting and administration. Introducers or affinity partners may use these details to contact you about products and services unless you have asked them not to do so.
The Data Protection Act defines information about the following as ‘sensitive’ (racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health, sexual life, criminal proceedings and offences). If you apply to us for insurance, we may ask you for some ‘sensitive’ details. We will only use this information to provide the service you require and we will ask for your explicit consent. Some transactions that you (or an additional cardholder) make on a card account may cause sensitive or confidential details to appear on your statement. If your card is used for such transactions, we believe that the details appear on your statement with your explicit consent.
These uses of your personal information are covered by our notification under the Data Protection Act. Under the terms of the Act, you have the right to obtain a copy of the information we hold about you, upon payment of the appropriate fee.
We hope that you have found the information contained in
this leaflet of interest. Please be assured that we will actively review your
personal information on a regular basis to ensure it is accurate.
If you have any questions or concerns on the use of your personal information, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.
If you would like a copy of your credit file, please write to the following, enclosing a cheque or postal order for £2. You will need to tell them your full name and address(es) for the last six years.
Experian Ltd |
Equifax plc |
Callcredit plc |
The Data Protection Act does not apply to companies in themselves but it does extend to sole traders and partnerships. When an application is received from a business, in addition to the above information, information may be sought from credit reference agencies on the company directors and/or partners as individuals.
All details in the online application are fully encrypted, no matter which
browser or browser version you are using.
Every application is encrypted using a Java based 128-bit
encryption - the latest and most powerful encryption technology available.
All Java enabled browsers (Netscape 3 and Internet Explorer 3 or better,
for example) support this method of 128 bit encryption.
A cookie is a small piece of information, which web sites that you visit place into your Internet browser, and can retrieve later. Cookies cannot be read by any web site other then that which originally placed the cookie.
We do not store any personal or traceable customer information in the cookies that we use. Additionally, all our cookie data is encrypted to prevent third parties from accessing the information they contain
Some cookies last only as long as you are browsing a particular web site and are deleted when you move on to another web site. Other cookies are stored by your browser and are retrieved by the web site when you visit it again. Typically, this type of cookie could deliver a personalised welcome message to a customer.
Our web sites use cookies for tracking purposes. Cookies allow us to track which banner advertisements on external sites have led customers to our service. They also help to manage the rotation of advertisements that appear on your browser, preventing you from getting the same advert more than once. It is possible to disable the cookies when using our web site, as this should cause no degradation of the content you can access or functionality you can use.
If you want to delete any cookies that are already on your computer, please refer to the instructions for your file management software to find the file or directory that stores cookies. If you want to stop cookies being stored on your computer in future, please refer to your browser manufacturer's instructions by clicking 'Help' in your browser menu. Further information on deleting or controlling cookies is available at www.aboutcookies.org.
Our service uses Microsoft Active Service Pages (ASP), which need cookies to operate properly. It is important that your internet browser is set to accept cookies when using our online service, otherwise you will not be able to use the site to the full.
Cookies help you navigate around the site and fill in forms. Cookies also enable us to provide you with informational messages and to ensure your transactions are secure.
Telephone calls may be recorded for security purposes and monitored under our quality control procedures. Our complaint handling procedures meet the standards required by the Financial Services Authority or Finance and Leasing Association (as applicable). A Copy of these procedures are available on request.
We are committed to meeting the needs of all our customers. If you have a hearing or speech impairment, you can use Typetalk whenever you contact us. For the visually impaired we can provide documents in large print, Braille or on audiocassette. Please Contact for details.