How we use personal information
An explanation of our use of your personal information and a guide to your rights.
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Protecting your privacy and ensuring that any personal information provided by you is secure is extremely important to us.
The information below summarises how we will use the personal information you provide to us and which we obtain from third parties.
Data protection law puts obligations on users of personal information and lays down principles for its use. You are entitled to know how we intend to use any information you provide. To find out more view a copy of our full privacy notice.
You are entitled to ask to see any personal information we hold about you. If you feel that any of the information is wrong you can ask us to correct it.
You also have the right to ask us to:
- Delete information about you
- Stop using your personal information for certain purposes
- Move, copy or transfer your personal information (“data portability”)
- Stop making decisions about you in an entirely automated way.
The above rights do not apply in all circumstances. Read more about Your Data Protection Rights.
Further information on data protection is publicly available from the Information Commissioner's Office website or by phone on 0303 123 1113.
The main ways in which information that you provide can be used are shown below:
- To assist us in assessing any application you make and, if it is accepted, to assist us in providing the account or service for which you have applied.
- To assist us in making credit decisions and establishing identity, where necessary
- For fraud prevention and detection and/or to prevent money laundering.
- To share with other organisations and businesses who provide services to us such as valuer panel managers and insurers.
- To help develop and improve the products and services offered to you and to other customers.
- If the law permits or it is in the public interest.
- Information entered on our website, when you enquire about a product or service provided by a partner organisation, will be passed through to them.
With your consent, information about you will be provided to selected companies whose names will be advised to you when you open an account, take out a mortgage or ask for another product from us.
- Equifax Limited, Customer Service Centre, PO Box 10036, Leicester, LE3 4FS
- TransUnion International UK Limited, One Park Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS31EP
- Experian, Sir John Peace Building, Experian Way, NG2 Business Park, Nottingham, NG80 1ZZ, UK.
You have the right to apply to Equifax, TransUnion or Experian for a copy of your credit file.
If there is anything on your credit file which is inaccurate, you have the right to ask the agency to add a Notice of Correction.
We will share information about you and your account(s) with the Credit Reference Agency. The information held by the Credit Reference Agency may be used by us and other subscribers to make decisions on future applications and for debt tracing and fraud prevention.
If we are unable to verify your identity by this method we will advise you of the additional documentation required.
Like other financial organisations, we are legally obliged to collect and record information confirming customer identity. In situations where we consider an application or a transaction to be suspicious we are also required to report these details to the National Crime Agency.
Some Acts of Parliament require us to disclose information about our customers to certain bodies with statutory powers. HM Revenue & Customs, for example, has the statutory power to audit customers' accounts from time to time.
Before making information available to anyone, we will protect your confidentiality by checking that they have the right to receive it. For example, we may ask you to prove your identity when you telephone us about your account(s) and we will ask you to provide written authority before making information available to third parties.
Our policies and procedures ensure strict compliance with data protection law so that your personal information remains confidential. Training, regarding data protection law and customer confidentiality, is given to each member of our staff to ensure that their obligations are understood.
Privacy notice
How we look after your personal information, including what you tell us about yourself, how we use that information, and what communications we may send you.