Privacy policy

Why we need your information and where we obtain it

Our main use of your personal information is to look after your account or to provide the specific service you require. Some details we obtain elsewhere – from credit reference agencies or your employer for instance. If you apply to us for insurance, we will pass your details to the insurer.

If you make a claim, any information you give to us, or to the insurer, may be put onto a register of claims and shared with other insurers to prevent fraudulent claims. A list of the participants is available from the insurer. We may also disclose your information to our agents and other insurers to investigate or prevent fraud.

We may record phone conversations to offer you additional security, resolve complaints and improve our service standards. Conversations may also be monitored for staff training purposes.

Our employees are personally responsible for maintaining customer confidentiality. We provide training and education to all our staff to remind them about their obligations. Our policies and procedures are regularly audited and reviewed.

How we use your information

The Data Protection Act puts obligations on users of personal information and lays down principles for its use. One principle states that information has to be processed fairly and lawfully. This means that you are entitled to know how we intend to use any information you provide. You can then decide whether you want to give it to us.

Organisations must lodge a notification with the Information Commissioner describing the purposes for which they process personal information. The details are publicly available from the Commissioner's office at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF (Tel 01625 545745. Fax 01625 524510). Alternatively, see the Commissioner's website (www.ico.gov.uk).

We are also committed to meeting the standards set by the Banking Code, copies of which are available in branches of Halifax or on their website (www.bba.org.uk). Occasionally, the Banking Code Standards Board's compliance monitoring body audits a sample of our customer records to assess our compliance with the Code. Whenever this happens, strict confidentiality conditions are always imposed.

Some Acts of Parliament oblige us to disclose information about our customers to certain bodys with statutory powers. For example, we must give information to authorised benefit fraud investigators where fraudulent benefit claims are suspected. In addition, the Inland Revenue has the statutory authority to audit our customers' accounts from time to time.

If you email us or give us your email address, we will keep a record of it. We may use it to contact you occasionally about other products and services which may interest you, unless you ask us to not do so. Each email that we send you will give you the opportunity to opt-out of emails. We will not give your email address to any unauthorised third parties.

The Data Protection Act defines certain information as 'sensitive' (racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health, sexual life, criminal proceedings and offences). If you apply to us for insurance, a pension, health insurance or life insurance, we may ask you for some 'sensitive' details. We will only use this information to provide you with the service you require and we will ask you for your explicit consent. As a customer there may be times when you give us sensitive information. We may share it with other parts of the HBOS group and our subcontractors to keep your records up to date. Some transactions that you (or an additional cardholder) make on a card account may cause sensitive or confidential details to appear on your statement. If your card is used for such transactions, we believe that the details appear on your statement with your explicit consent.

Your choices & how to contact us

We may use your account details, transactions and information provided to us by third parties in our customer contact programme. Occasionally, members of our group of companies may contact you by letter, telephone, email and text message or otherwise to inform you about other products and services that may interest you. We try to limit our customer contact programme to acceptable levels, but if you wish to exercise your right to opt out, simply contact our customer services on 0845 601 0436*.

Remember however, that opting out could stop us contacting you about any of our products or services that may benefit you.

Under the Data Protection Act you have the right of access to your personal data. The Act allows us to charge a fee of £10 for this service. If anything is inaccurate or incorrect, please let us know and we will correct it.

If you do not want to receive unsolicited mail from other companies, you can prevent this by registering with the Mailing Preference Service. In addition, the Telephone and Fax Preference Services enable you to object to receiving unsolicited marketing phone calls or faxes from other companies. To register, simply telephone the appropriate number below:

Mailing Preference - 020 7291 3310
Telephone Preference - 020 7291 3320
Fax Preference - 020 7291 3330

Alternatively you can register online. For more details about all the Preference Services, please see the Direct Marketing Association's website (www.dma.org.uk).

Credit referencing and fraud prevention

If you apply for an aqua credit card, we will perform a search with a credit reference agency. From then on, we will also give the agency regular information about how you use your card. Other lenders may become aware of our search.  If you apply for credit in future, lenders may use its existence in their decision making process.

Credit reference agencies may give us information about you, which may be linked to someone with whom you have had a financial association, such as a joint bank account. We may treat you as being financially linked when assessing your application for an aqua card. (This association will remain until one of you successfully files a "notice of disassociation" at the credit reference agencies, when it is no longer appropriate for your finances to be linked.)

If false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is identified, details will be passed to fraud prevention agencies to prevent fraud and money laundering.

Q: What is a credit reference agency?
A: Credit reference agencies (CRAs) collect and maintain information on consumers' and businesses' credit behaviour, on behalf of lenders in the UK.

Q: What is a fraud prevention agency?
A: Fraud Prevention Agencies (FPAs) collect, maintain and share information on known and suspected fraudulent. Some CRAs also act as FPAs.

Q: Why do you use them when I have applied to your organisation?
A: Although you have applied to aqua and we will check our own records, we will also contact CRAs to get information on your credit behaviour with other organisations. This will help us make the best possible assessment of your overall situation before we make a decision.

Q: Where do they get the information?
A: Publicly available information:
- The Electoral Register at Local Authorities
- County Court Judgments from Registry Trust
- Bankruptcy information from the Insolvency Service
- Fraud information from fraud prevention agencies
- Credit information comes from information on applications to banks, building societies, credit card companies etc. and also from the conduct of those accounts

Q: How will I know if my information is to be sent to a CRA or FPA?
A: You will be told when you apply for an account if your data will be supplied. The next section tells you how, when and why we will search at CRAs and what we will do with the information we obtain from them. We will also tell you if we plan to send payment history on you or your business, if you have one, to CRAs. You can ask at any time for the name of the CRAs and FPAs used by HBOS.

Q: Why is my data used in this way?
A: We and other organisations want to make the best possible decisions we can, in order to make sure that you or your business will be able to repay us. Some organisations may also use the information to check your identity. In this way we can ensure that we all make responsible decisions. At the same time we also want to make decisions quickly and easily using up to date information provided electronically, allowing us to make the most reliable and fair decisions possible.

Q: Who controls what credit reference agencies are allowed to do with my data?
A: All organisations that collect and process personal data are regulated by the Data Protection Act 1998, overseen by the Office of the Information Commissioner. All credit reference agencies are in regular dialogue with the Commissioner. Use of the Electoral Register is controlled under the Representation of the People Act 2000.

Q: Can just anyone look at my data held at credit reference agencies?
A: No, access to your information is very strictly controlled and only those that are entitled to do so, may see it. Usually that will only be with your agreement or (very occasionally) if there is a legal requirement.

What we do

1. When you apply to us to open an account, we will:

a) Check our own records for information on:
i) Your personal accounts
ii) And, if you have one, your spouse/(personal) partner's personal accounts (A personal partner will be someone with whom you have a relationship that creates a joint financial unit in a similar way to a married couple. You will normally, but not necessarily, be living at the same address. It is not intended to include temporary arrangements such as students or flat sharers)
iii) If you are a director or partner in a small business we may also check on your business accounts (A small business is defined as an organisation, which might be a sole trader, partnership or a limited company that has three or less partners or directors)

b) Search at credit reference agencies for information on:
i) Your personal accounts
ii) And, if you have ever done the following we will chek your financial associate's personal accounts as well:
- Made a joint application now
- Previously made joint applications
- Have joint account(s)
- Are financially linked (credit reference agencies may link together the records of people that are part of a financial unit. They may do this when people are known to be linked, such as being married or have jointly applied for credit or have joint accounts. They may also link together people if they themselves state they are financially linked.)
- If there is insufficient information to enable us to assist you, we may also check other members of your family
- If you are a director or partner in a small business we may also check your business accounts
- Search at fraud prevention agencies for information on you and other members of your household and your business (if you have one)

2. What we do with the information you supply to us as part of the application:

a) Information that is supplied to us will be sent to the credit reference agencies

b) If you tell us that you have a spouse or  (personal) partner, we will:
i) Search, link and/or record information at credit reference agencies about you both
ii) Link joint applicants and/or any individual identified as your spouse or partner in our own records
iii) Take both your and their information into account in future applications by either or both of you
iv) Continue this linking until the account closes, or is changed to a sole account and one of you notifies us that you are no longer linked

So you must be sure that you have their agreement to disclose information about them.

c) If you give us false or inaccurate information and we suspect fraud, we will record this and may also pass this information to financial and other organisations involved in fraud prevention to protect us, them and our respective customers from fraud and theft

d) Your data may also be used by this organisation to offer you other products, but only if you have given your permission

3. With the information that we obtain we will:

a) Assess this application for credit and/or

b) Verify your identity

c) Undertake checks for the prevention and detection of fraud and/or money laundering

d) We may use scoring methods to assess this application and to verify your identity

e) Manage your personal and/or business account (if you have one) with us

f) Undertake periodical statistical analysis or testing to ensure the accuracy of existing and future products and services

g) Any or all of these processes may be automated

4. What we do when you have an account:

a) Where you borrow or may borrow from us, we will give details of your personal and/or business account (if you have one), including names and parties to the account and how you manage it/them to credit reference agencies

b) If you borrow and do not repay in full and on time, we will tell credit reference agencies

c) We may take periodic searches of our Group records, credit referene and fraud prevention agencies to manage your account with us, to take decisions regarding your identity and also credit, including whether to make credit available or to continue to extend existing credit

d) If you have borrowed from us and do not make payments that you owe us, we will trace your whereabouts and recover payment

What credit reference agencies do

5. When credit reference agencies receive a search from us they will:

a) Place a search 'footprint' on your credit file whether or not this application proceeds. If the search was for a credit application the record of that search (but not the name of the organisation that carried it out) may be seen by other organisations when you apply for credit in future

b) Link together the records of you and anyone that you have advised is your financial associate including previous and subsequent names of parties to the account. Links between financial associates will remain on your and their files until such a time as you or your partner successfully files for a disassociation with the credit reference agencies.

6. Supply to us:

a) Credit information such as previous applications and the conduct of the accounts in your name and of your associate(s) (if there is a link between you - see 1b above) and/or your business accounts (if you have one)

b) Public information such as County Court Judgments (CCJs) and bankruptcies

c) Electoral Register information

d) Fraud prevention information

7. When information is supplied by us, to them, on your account(s):

a) Credit reference agencies will record the details that are supplied on your personal and/or business account (if you have one) including previous and subsequent names of parties to the account and how you manage it/them

b) If you borrow and do not repay in full and on time, credit reference agencies will record the outstanding debt

c) Records shared with credit reference agencies remain on file for 6 years after they close, whether settled by you or defaulted

8. How your data will NOT be used by credit reference agencies:

a) It will not be used to create a blacklist

b) It will not be used by the credit reference agency to make a decision

9. How your data WILL be used by credit reference agencies:

a) The information which we, other organisations and fraud prevention agencies provide to the credit reference agencies about you, your financial associates and your business (if you have one) may be supplied by credit reference agencies to other organisations and used by them to:
i) Verify your identity if you or your financial associate applies for other facilities including all types of insurance applications and claims
ii) Make decisions on credit, credit related services and on motor, household, life and other insurance proposals and insurance claims, about you, your partner, other members of your household or your business
iii) Trace your whereabouts and recover payment if you do not make payments that you owe
iv) Conduct checks for the prevention and detection of crime including fraud and/or money laundering
v) Manage your personal, your partner's and/or business account (if you have one)
vi) Manage your personal, your partner's and/or business insurance policies (if you have one/any)
vii) Undertake statistical analysis and system training

b) 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 Data Protection Act 1998

c) Your data may also be used to offer you other products, but only if you have given your permission. That will be on the front of any form that you have completed

How to find out more

You can contact the three agencies currently operating in the UK; the information they hold may not be the same so it is worth contacting them all. They will charge you a small statutory fee.

Call Credit
Consumer Services Team
PO Box 491
Leeds
LS3 1WZ
Tel 0870 060 1414*
http://www.callcredit.co.uk

Equifax PLC
Credit File Advice Centre
PO Box 3001
Bradford
BD1 5US
Tel 0870 010 0583*
http://www.myequifax.co.uk

Experian
Consumer Help Service
PO Box 8000
Nottingham
NG80 7WF
Tel 0870 241 6212*
http://www.experian.co.uk

If you have been refused credit you can get advice from your local Trading Standards Department, Citizens Advice Bureau or Consumer Advice centre and the agencies' websites. The information Commissioner also produces a useful leaflet entitled 'Credit Explained'. You can obtain a free copy on the Commissioner's website (www.ico.gov.uk) or by telephoning 08456 306060*.

Fraud prevention agencies

We have systems that protect our customers and ourselves against fraud and other crime. Customer information can be used to prevent crime and trace those responsible. If false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is identified, details will be passed to fraud prevention agencies. Law enforcement agencies may access and use this information. We and other organisations may also access and use this information to prevent fraud and money laundering, for example, when:

• Checking details on applications for credit and credit related or other facilities
• Managing credit and credit related accounts or facilities
• Recovering debt
• Checking details on proposals and claims for all types of insurance
• Checking details of job applications and employees

Please contact us on 0845 601 0436* if you want to receive details of the relevant fraud prevention agencies. We and other organisations may access and use from other countries the information recorded by fraud prevention agencies.