Privacy
and legal.
Before
you apply for you UK Personal Loans Personal Loan, please take
a moment to read the following information.
Disclosure & Use Of Your Information.
It is important you read the following information, this explains
how your data will be used. Data Protection - updated 1/12/00.
In simple terms the Data Protection Act requires companies and
individuals who process and retain information about their customers
to tell the customer how the information will be used and to what
purposes it will be put.
The act does not restrict itself only to information kept on a
computer, it is relevant to any ordered filing system, If you
have applied to a FISA company the information below describes
how your data will be processed. If your information is to be
processed differently the trader will tell you.
Credit Brokers
If you have applied to a credit broker they will use the information
you have provided to:
· Process the application you have made;
· Make, or cause a search to be made, at a credit reference
agency (see the note further on) - this search will be shown in
any other searches which are made in connection with applications
made by yourself and other members of your household. The disclosure
of multiple searches may adversely affect your credit profile
and may make credit harder for you to obtain.
The broker may also use the information:
· To offer you other products which they make available;
· To pass your details on to a lender or lenders they feel
may be willing to lend you money;
· To pass on your details to another broker, if your broker
is not able to arrange finance for you;
· To write to you in the future with a view to offering
you products they feel may be of interest to you;
· To pass your details to another broker in the future
with a view to them offering you products they feel may be of
interest to you;
· To permit access to your information by the FISA or other
regulatory bodies to ensure that the broker is processing information
correctly and complying with regulatory requirements.
The broker may keep the information for several years. You can
ask for the information not to be used to offer you other products.
Any other broker or lender to whom the information is passed during
processing your application may use it in the same way. Every
company or person who processes or keeps data has a duty to keep
that information up to date and accurate.
Lending Companies
Use of information when application is being processed.
Lenders to whom the application is passed will make wider use
of the information than the broker. If you have received any lender
documents, they should include a statement telling you what they
will do with the information, or telling you where to look to
find out what use they will make of it. This statement will usually
be near any signature box, or clearly placed on the front page.
If the information is not by the signature box there may be an
'information padlock' sign (like the one above) drawing your attention
to where the information is.
Almost all lending companies will check the information supplied
on loan or mortgage applications with data held by credit reference
agencies. Every time a search is made it is recorded by the agency
and disclosed to other organisations on any later searches. Lenders
will use the information obtained in the credit reference search
to help them assess the application and they may use the result
of any search in a credit scoring system.
A credit scoring system is a system by which points are given
for various factors like your age, your job or even for information
obtained from a credit reference agency, such as how you have
repaid previous or existing credit. Lenders use different methods
of scoring depending upon their interpretation of the importance
of different factors and the level of risk they are willing to
accept.
You should be told if a lender is going to use a credit scoring
system.
The lender may check your details with the credit reference agency
or with other agencies (see pages 24 and 25) to satisfy itself
that all the details on the application are true, and that the
application has really been made by you. If it suspects information
is false or inaccurate it may report it to a fraud prevention
agency. Please ensure the information you give is true as lending
companies will check with fraud prevention agencies and if you
give false or inaccurate information, and the lender suspects
fraud, it will record this.
NOTE - OTHER AGENCIES SEARCHED
As well as the credit reference agencies, there are agencies dealing
specially with the checking of application details to identify
possible fraud. This is a protection for honest applicants, although
it can sometimes cause delays. Details of these other agencies,
and a brief outline of their purpose, are given further on in
this text.
Nobody has a right to receive a loan. Loans are always granted
at the discretion of the lending company.
What if my
loan application is not accepted?
Sometimes a lender may not wish to lend. This may be for a number
of reasons.
The lender may think you cannot afford the loan. If it is a secured
loan, your property may not be of sufficient value.
A lender does not have to tell you exactly why you have been refused
a loan but you can ask them for the name and address of any credit
reference agency used and they will supply this information free
of charge.
If you are refused credit because of a computerised credit scoring
system you can ask the lender for an explanation of how their
credit scoring works (this applies only if the decision has been
made on the basis of a computerised system alone.)
The lender may charge a small fee for providing this information,
You also have the right to require a personal, non automated,
review of the decision.
Use of information once a loan has been made
All lending companies keep information about their customers in
their own records. This will include all the initial information
given by you, and extra information about how your account has
been run and any other dealings between you and the lender.
Lenders will record the conduct of any loan throughout its duration,
including how punctually the payments are made and other information,
with one or more of the credit reference agencies. This enables
them, and others to make decisions about credit and credit-related
services for you and members of your household including decisions
on motor and household credit, life and other insurance proposals
and insurance claims.
Information may also be provided to the other agencies mentioned
further on. These will help lenders and other subscribers to those
agencies to trace debtors, recover debt, prevent fraud and to
check your identity to prevent money laundering. In particular,
any difference between the information given by you or your broker
and any later information discovered by the lender is likely to
be noted.
Lenders may also use your information for statistical analysis
about credit, insurance and fraud. This may be done by them or
by third parties contracted to do the work by them. If they use
a contractor, they are obliged to ensure that your data is properly
secure. Many lenders will also need to give information about
you and your account to their bankers, other providers, insurers
and re-insurers of funding for their lending or any other product
they have offered to you.
If your broker or lender intends to use your information for any
purposes not included above, it will explain this in its documents.
Brokers and lenders are under a legal duty to keep all the information
they hold accurate and up to date.
Credit Reference Agencies
The two main credit reference agencies are:
Equifax Plc
Credit File Advice Service
PO Box 3001
Glasgow, G81 2DT
Experian Limited
Consumer Help Service
PO Box 8000
Nottingham, NG1 5GX
All the FISA lending companies use one or both of these agencies.
The agencies do not keep 'blacklists' nor do they give any opinion
about whether or not credit should be granted. They do have a
duty to keep information up to date and accurate.
Credit reference agencies keep a wide range of information. This
includes information from the electoral roll (sometimes known
as the voters roll) and records of most county court judgements
and bankruptcies. They also retain information relating to previous
and existing credit and a record of searches made against the
file. The lenders share information through the agencies providing
a history of how punctually payments are being made or have been
made. Loan information is usually held on file for 6 years. Details
of the voters roll may be held for much longer. Information about
credit searches is kept for up to two years.
Other Agencies
CIFAS
Reports from CIFAS relating to fraud and fraud avoidance are also
available to its members (most lenders) - these contain information
indication that fraud, or attempted fraud, has been notified by
a lender. The information might not directly relate to you, it
might relate to someone who has tried to impersonate you. Data
available to members of CIFAS, may also be used to help make decisions
on motor, household, credit, life and other insurance proposals
for you and members of your household.
CML Repossession Register
The Council of Mortgage Lenders, Repossession Register is available
to its members through the main credit reference agencies. If
you have had a property repossessed or have given it up voluntarily
this will show on the register.
GAIN
A file may also show a 'gone away' marker indicating that a member
of the ' Gone Away Information Network' has reported that they
cannot trace a customer who is in arrears with payments. Alternatively,
the marker may indicate a new address which the 'gone away' has
been traced to.
HUNTER
Files in this register contain detailed information on applications
made and loans given. It is aimed at tracing fraudsters who use
different combinations of information to obtain credit dishonestly.
It checks and counter checks information given on application
forms.
If your broker or lender used any of the above agencies they will
be able to confirm their contact addresses.
All Agencies, Brokers and Lenders
You are able to see what information any of the above hold about
you. You can ask them for a copy at anytime. They must also tell
you where the information was obtained. You will need to write
and they may charge a small fee (£10 maximum). The firm
will have to reply within 40 days from receipt of their fee.
If you wish to see the information contained on a credit reference
agency file you can do so by writing to the relevant agency. The
agency must respond within 7 working days. There is a small fee
of £2 required. If your credit reference file contains information
about other people with whom you have no financial connection
or if it contains information which is incorrect you can ask for
the entry to be corrected, removed, or have a note put on the
file explaining why you think the information is wrong. The agency
will not remove correct information.
The Data Protection Commissioner provides a useful leaflet which
explains how to request changes to your credit reference file.
The easy to read leaflet includes examples of letters and details
of various actions you may take to amend a file.
You can obtain copy of the free leaflet by writing to:
No Credit Leaflet, PO Box 99, Nelson, BB9 8GS.
Information is also available at www.dataprotection.gov.uk
Apply online for a Low Cost Personal
Loan today.
