Privacy Policy

Data Protection Act 1998

A full and complete description of our obligations and your rights can be found here.

Your privacy is very important to us. Accordingly, we have developed this Policy in order for you to understand how we collect, use, communicate and disclose and make use of personal information. The following outlines our privacy policy.

Before or at the time of collecting personal information, we will identify the purposes for which information is being collected.
We will collect and use of personal information solely with the objective of fulfilling those purposes specified by us and for other compatible purposes, unless we obtain the consent of the individual concerned or as required by law.
We will only retain personal information as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.
We will collect personal information by lawful and fair means and, where appropriate, with the knowledge or consent of the individual concerned.
Personal data should be relevant to the purposes for which it is to be used, and, to the extent necessary for those purposes, should be accurate, complete, and up-to-date.
We will protect personal information by reasonable security safeguards against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification.
We will make readily available to customers information about our policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.
We are committed to conducting our business in accordance with these principles in order to ensure that the confidentiality of personal information is protected and maintained.

What we (Umbrella Loans Limited and other lenders to which your application is passed) may do when you apply:

We may search your record at credit reference and fraud prevention agencies and that of your ‘financial associate’ if you have one, i.e. a person with whom you have, or have had, joint personal financial arrangements such as joint accounts or have made joint credit applications. It may be your spouse or partner (not a business partner). We may also, in certain limited circumstances, check the record, including credit details, of other members of your family and, if you are a director or partner in a small business, we may also check on your business.

If you tell us that you have a financial associate, we may search, link and record information about you both at credit reference agencies. You must be sure you have your financial associate’s agreement to disclose their information.

If you give us false or inaccurate information and we identify fraud, we may record this with fraud prevention agencies. Law enforcement agencies may access and use this information.

We may use a scoring or other automated decision-making system to assess your application and to verify your identity.

What we may also do when you have an agreement with us:

We may 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 its terms and any change of name or address. Account information given to credit reference agencies remains on file for 6 years after the account is closed, whether settled by you or upon default.

What the credit reference agencies will do:

Whether or not your application proceeds, the credit reference agency will place a record of our search on your credit file. This record (but not our name) will be seen by other organisations when you apply for credit in the future. A large number of applications within a short period of time could affect your ability to obtain credit.

Whether or not your application proceeds, the agencies will link your records and those of your financial associate(s), including any previous and subsequent names. These links will remain on your and their files until you or they tell the agency you are no longer financially linked and the agency accepts this.

The agencies may supply us with credit information, such as previous applications, the conduct of accounts in your and your financial associate’s name, any business accounts you have, fraud prevention information and public information such as County Court Judgments, bankruptcies and the Electoral Register.

How we and others use the agency information:

Some information held by the credit reference and fraud prevention agencies will be disclosed to us and other organisations to, for example:

prevent fraud and money laundering, for example by checking details on applications for credit and credit-related or other facilities, proposals and claims for all types of insurance and job applications and employee records;
recover debts that you owe and trace your whereabouts;
manage credit accounts and other facilities;
verify your identity;
make decisions on credit, insurance and other facilities, about you, your financial associate(s), members of your household or your business; and
carry out statistical analysis to help with decisions about credit and account management.

The information held by these agencies 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 Data Protection Act 1998.

Please write to us if you want details of those credit reference and fraud prevention agencies from which we obtain, and to which we pass, information about you. You have a legal right to these details.