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
The information you provide will be retained on our system
and used by us for the purposes of assessing your application.
It will be submitted to a lender (s) who will use it for
the same purpose. In considering your application both we
and the lenders will search your record at one or more Credit
Reference Agency. They will add to your record details of
our search and your application and this will be seen by
other organisations that make searches.
Information held about you by the Credit Reference Agencies
may already be linked to records relating to one or more
of your partners. For the purposes of this application you
may be treated as financially linked and your application
will be assessed with reference to any "associated"
records.
If you are a joint applicant or if you have told us of some
other financial association with another person you must
be sure that you are entitled to;
· disclose information about your joint applicant
and anyone referred to by you
· authorise us to search, link or record information
at Credit Reference Agencies about you and anyone referred
by you
An "association" between joint applicants and
between you and anyone you tell us is your financial partner
will be created at credit reference agencies. This will
link your financial records, each of which will be taken
into account in all future applications by either or both
of you. This will continue until one of you successfully
files a disassociation at the Credit Reference Agencies.
We may use a credit scoring or other automated decision
making system when assessing your application. It is important
you give us accurate information. We will check your details
with fraud prevention agencies and if you provide false
or inaccurate information and fraud is suspected, this will
be recorded.
If we are unable to accept your application we may pass
this onto other members of our group or selected third parties
who may also search your records at credit reference agencies.
A record of these searches will also be kept and seen by
other organisations that make searches. The other group
members or selected third parties to whom we pass your application
may also use automated systems and carry out the checks
referred to above for the purposes set out below.
Your records will be shared with other organisations and
used by us and them to;
· Help make decisions about credit and other credit
related services for you and members of your household and
· Trace debtors, recover debt, prevent money laundering
and fraud and for statistical analysis about credit, insurance
and fraud
Fraud Prevention Agency records will also be shared with
other organisations to help make decisions on motor, household,
credit, life insurance and other insurance proposals and
insurance claims, for you and other members of your household.
Please telephone the Data Protection Commissioner on 01625
545700 if you would like to have details of those Credit
Reference and Fraud Prevention Agencies from whom we obtain
and to whom we pass information about you.
You have a right to this information.
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
