Important information
Credit decisions and also the prevention of fraud and money laundering.
We may use credit reference and fraud prevention agencies to help us make decisions. A short guide to what we do and how both
we and credit reference and fraud prevention agencies will use your information is detailed in the section called: A condensed guide to the
use of your personal and business information by ourselves and at credit reference and fraud prevention agencies. For details of
how your data may be used, also read carefully the ‘Using Your Personal Information’ notice provided with the terms and conditions of your
account and the ‘Your marketing preferences and consent declaration’ section in this application form.
By confirming your agreement to proceed you are accepting that we may each use your information in this way.
A condensed guide to the use of your personal and business information by ourselves and at credit reference
and fraud prevention agencies
1) When you apply to us to open an account, this organisation will check the following records about you and, where applicable, your business Partners
and anyone to whom you are linked financially:
a) Our own.
b) Personal and, where applicable, business records at credit reference agencies (CRAs). When CRAs receive a search from us they will place a search
footprint on your personal credit file and where applicable your business credit file that may be seen by other lenders. They supply both public
(including the electoral register) and shared credit and fraud prevention information.
c) Those at fraud prevention agencies (FPAs).
d) If you're a Director, we will seek confirmation, from credit reference agencies, that the residential address that you provide is the same as that
shown on the restricted register of Directors’ usual addresses at Companies House.
We will make checks such as assessing this application for credit and verifying identities to prevent and detect crime and money laundering. We may
also make periodic searches at CRAs and FPAs to manage your account with us.
2) If you are making a joint application or tell us that you have a spouse or financial associate, we will link your records together so you must be sure
that you have their agreement to disclose information about them. CRAs also link your records together and these links will remain on your and their
files until such time as you or your Partner successfully files for a disassociation with the CRAs to break that link.
3) Information on applications will be sent to CRAs and will be recorded by them, including, where applicable, information on your business and its
proprietors. The CRAs may create a record of the name and address of your business and its proprietors if there is not one already.
4) Where you borrow from us, we will give details of your account(s) and how you manage it/them to CRAs.
5) If you borrow and do not repay in full and on time, CRAs will record the outstanding debt. This information may be supplied to other organisations
by CRAs and FPAs to perform similar checks and to trace your whereabouts and recover debts that you owe. Records remain on file for six years after
they are closed, whether settled by you or defaulted.
6) If false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is identified, details including the names of the company Directors at the time of the fraud
will be passed to fraud prevention agencies. You undertake to inform all Directors of this notice.
7) Law enforcement agencies may access and use this information.
8) We and other organisations may also access and use this information to prevent fraud and money laundering, for example, when:
a) Checking details on applications for credit and credit-related or other facilities.
b) Managing credit and credit-related accounts or facilities.
c) Recovering debt.
d) Checking details on proposals and claims for all types of insurance.
e) Checking details of job applicants and employees.
9) If you have borrowed from us and do not make payments that you owe us, we will trace your whereabouts and recover debts.
10) We and other organisations may access and use from other countries, the information recorded by fraud prevention agencies.
11) Your data may also be used for other purposes for which you give your specific permission or, in very limited circumstances, when required by law or
where permitted under the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation.
How to find out more
You can contact the credit reference agencies currently operating in the UK; the information they hold may not be the same so it is worth contacting
them all.
• CallCredit, Consumer Services Team, PO Box 491, Leeds LS3 1WZ or call 0330 024 7579 or log on to www.callcredit.co.uk
• Equifax PLC, Credit File Advice Centre, PO Box 3001, Bradford BD1 5US or call 0844 335 0550 or log on to www.equifax.co.uk
• Experian, Consumer Help Service, PO Box 8000, Nottingham NG80 7WF or call 0344 481 8000 or log on to www.experian.co.uk
• If you want to receive details of the relevant fraud prevention agencies please contact us at The Co-operative Bank,
Fraud Management, Delf House, Skelmersdale WN8 6YL.
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