TERMS & CONDITIONS
Data Protection
A guide to the use of your personal data by Channel Island Finance Limited (CIF) and its Trading Names FLEXI-LOANS – FLEXI-LOAN – Credit Reference and Fraud Prevention Agencies.
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 organisations 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 activity. 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 CIF not only will we 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 from Local Authorities.
County Court Judgments from Registry Trust and Royal Court, Magistrate Court Judgements from the Greffe.
Bankruptcy (and other similar orders) from the Insolvency Service.
Fraud information may also come 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 application data is to be supplied. The next section of this leaflet will tell you how, when and why we will search at CRAs and FPAs and what we will do with the information we obtain from them. We will also tell you if we plan to send payment history information on you or your business, if you have one, to CRAs. You can ask at any time the name of CRAs and FPAs.
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 and, by using up to date information, provided electronically, we are able to make the most reliable and fair decisions possible
Q: Who controls what such 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 Information Commissioner’s Office and the Guernsey Data Protection 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.
Please read this section very carefully, it will vary from lender to lender.
What we do
When you apply to us for a loan this organisation will:
a) Check our own records for information on:-
Your personal accounts;
and, if you have one, your financial associates’ personal accounts;
if you are an owner, director or partner in a small business we may also check on your business accounts.
b) Search at credit reference agencies for information on:-
Your personal accounts:-
and, if you are making a joint application now or have ever done the following we will check your financial associates’ personal accounts as well:-
previously made joint applications
have joint account(s);
are financially linked;
if you are a director or partner in a small business we may also check on your business accounts;
c) Search at fraud prevention agencies for information on you and any addresses at which you have lived and on your business (if you have one)
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 are making a joint application or tell us that you have a spouse or financial associate, we will:-
Search, link and/or record information at credit reference agencies about you both.
Link any individual identified as your financial associate, in our own records
Take both your and their information into account in future applications by either or both of you.
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.
d) If you give us false or inaccurate information and we suspect or identify fraud we will record this and may also pass this information to fraud prevention agencies and other organisations involved in crime and fraud prevention. d) Your data may also be used by us 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.
With the information that we obtain we will:
a) Assess this application for credit and/or;
b) Check details on applications for credit and credit related or other facilities
c) Verify your identity and the identity of your spouse, partner or other directors/partners and/or;
d) Undertake checks for the prevention and detection of crime, fraud and/or money laundering.
e) We may use scoring methods to assess this application and to verify your identity.
f) Manage your personal and/or business account (if you have one) with ourselves.
g) Undertake periodic statistical analysis or testing to ensure the accuracy of existing and future products and services.
h) Any or all of these processes may be automated.
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 make periodic searches of our own group records and at credit reference agencies to manage your account with us, including whether to make credit available or to continue or extend existing credit. We may also check at fraud prevention agencies to prevent or detect fraud.
d) If you have borrowed from us and do not make payments that you owe us, we will trace your whereabouts and recover debts.
What Credit Reference and Fraud Prevention Agencies do
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 the 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 time as you or your partner successfully files for a disassociation with the credit reference agencies.
Supply to us:
c) 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).
d) Public information such as County Court Judgments (CCJs) and bankruptcies.
e) Electoral Register information.
f) Fraud prevention information.
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 any previous and subsequent names that have been used by the accountholders and how you/they 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 are closed, whether settled by you or defaulted.
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.
How your data WILL be used by credit reference agencies:
a) The information which we and other organisations 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:
Prevent crime, fraud and money laundering by, for example checking details provided on applications for credit and credit related or other facilities.
Check the operation of credit and credit-related accounts
Verify your identity if you or your financial associate applies for other facilities.
Make decisions on credit and credit related services about you, your partner, other members of your household or your business.
Manage your personal, your partner’s and/or business (if you have one) credit or credit related account or other facilities.
Trace your whereabouts and recover debts that you owe.
Undertake statistical analysis and system testing.
How your data may be used by fraud prevention agencies:
a) The information which we provide to the fraud prevention agencies about you, your financial associates and your business (if you have one) may be supplied by fraud prevention agencies to other organisations and used by them and us to:-
Prevent crime, fraud and money laundering by, for example;
checking details provided on applications for credit and credit related or other facilities
Managing credit and credit related accounts or facilities
Cross Checking details provided on proposals and claims for all types of insurance.
Checking details on applications for jobs or when checked as part of employment) Verify your identity if you or your financial associate applies for other facilities including all types of insurance proposals and claims.
b) Trace your whereabouts and recover debts that you owe.
c) Conduct other checks to prevent or detect fraud
d) Undertake statistical analysis and system testing.
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.
Your data may also be used to offer you other products, but only where permitted. How to find out more:
You can contact the CRAs currently operating in Guernsey and 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.
- CallCredit, Consumer Services Team, PO Box 491, Leeds, LS3 1WZ or call 0870 060 1414 or log on to www.callcredit.co.uk
- Equifax, Credit File Advice Centre, PO Box 1140, 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 0844 481 8000 or log on to www.experian.co.uk
- Channel Island Data Services Limited, admin@offshorecreditcheck.com or call 01481 713050
[1] A financial associate will be someone with whom you have a personal relationship that creates a joint financial unit in a similar way to a married couple. You will have been living at the same address at the time. It is not intended to include temporary arrangements such as students or rented flat sharers or business relationships.
[2] A small business is defined as an organisation which might be sole trader, partnership or a limited company that has three or less partners or directors.
[3] 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 people together if they, themselves, state that they are financially linked.
[4] Financial associates (see 1 a) iii) may “break the link” between them if their circumstances change such that they are no longer a financial unit. They should apply for their credit file from a credit reference agency and file for a “disassociation”.
POLICY SUMMARY
Personal Data collected for the following purposes and using the following services:
ANALYTICS
Google Analytics
Personal Data: Cookies; Usage Data
CONTACTING THE USER
Contact form
Personal Data: address; city; company name; country; date of birth; email address; field of activity; first name; last name; phone number; profession; various types of Data; ZIP/Postal code
OWNER AND DATA CONTROLLER
CONTACTING THE USER
CHANNEL ISLAND FINANCE, PO Box 695, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 7ST
Owner contact email: apply@cifinance.co.uk
FULL POLICY
Owner and Data Controller
CHANNEL ISLAND FINANCE, PO Box 695, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 7ST
Owner contact email: apply@cifinance.co.uk
Types of Data collected
Among the types of Personal Data that this Website collects, by itself or through third parties, there are: Cookies; Usage Data; first name; last name; phone number; email address; date of birth; company name; profession; address; country; ZIP/Postal code; various types of Data; city; field of activity.
Complete details on each type of Personal Data collected are provided in the dedicated sections of this privacy policy or by specific explanation texts displayed prior to the Data collection.
Personal Data may be freely provided by the User, or, in case of Usage Data, collected automatically when using this Website.
Unless specified otherwise, all Data requested by this Website is mandatory and failure to provide this Data may make it impossible for this Website to provide its services. In cases where this Website specifically states that some Data is not mandatory, Users are free not to communicate this Data without consequences to the availability or the functioning of the Service.
Users who are uncertain about which Personal Data is mandatory are welcome to contact the Owner.
Any use of Cookies – or of other tracking tools – by this Website or by the owners of third-party services used by this Website serves the purpose of providing the Service required by the User, in addition to any other purposes described in the present document and in the Cookie Policy, if available.
Users are responsible for any third-party Personal Data obtained, published or shared through this Website and confirm that they have the third party’s consent to provide the Data to the Owner.
Mode and place of processing the Data
Methods of processing
The Owner takes appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, modification, or unauthorized destruction of the Data.
The Data processing is carried out using computers and/or IT enabled tools, following organizational procedures and modes strictly related to the purposes indicated. In addition to the Owner, in some cases, the Data may be accessible to certain types of persons in charge, involved with the operation of this Website (administration, sales, marketing, legal, system administration) or external parties (such as third-party technical service providers, mail carriers, hosting providers, IT companies, communications agencies) appointed, if necessary, as Data Processors by the Owner. The updated list of these parties may be requested from the Owner at any time.
Legal basis of processing
The Owner may process Personal Data relating to Users if one of the following applies:
Users have given their consent for one or more specific purposes. Note: Under some legislations the Owner may be allowed to process Personal Data until the User objects to such processing (“opt-out”), without having to rely on consent or any other of the following legal bases. This, however, does not apply, whenever the processing of Personal Data is subject to European data protection law;
provision of Data is necessary for the performance of an agreement with the User and/or for any pre-contractual obligations thereof;
processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the Owner is subject;
processing is related to a task that is carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Owner;
processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Owner or by a third party.
In any case, the Owner will gladly help to clarify the specific legal basis that applies to the processing, and in particular whether the provision of Personal Data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract.
Place
The Data is processed at the Owner’s operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located.
Depending on the User’s location, data transfers may involve transferring the User’s Data to a country other than their own. To find out more about the place of processing of such transferred Data, Users can check the section containing details about the processing of Personal Data.
Users are also entitled to learn about the legal basis of Data transfers to a country outside the European Union or to any international organization governed by public international law or set up by two or more countries, such as the UN, and about the security measures taken by the Owner to safeguard their Data.
If any such transfer takes place, Users can find out more by checking the relevant sections of this document or inquire with the Owner using the information provided in the contact section.
Retention time
Personal Data shall be processed and stored for as long as required by the purpose they have been collected for.
Therefore:
Personal Data collected for purposes related to the performance of a contract between the Owner and the User shall be retained until such contract has been fully performed.
Personal Data collected for the purposes of the Owner’s legitimate interests shall be retained as long as needed to fulfil such purposes. Users may find specific information regarding the legitimate interests pursued by the Owner within the relevant sections of this document or by contacting the Owner.
The Owner may be allowed to retain Personal Data for a longer period whenever the User has given consent to such processing, as long as such consent is not withdrawn. Furthermore, the Owner may be obliged to retain Personal Data for a longer period whenever required to do so for the performance of a legal obligation or upon order of an authority.
Once the retention period expires, Personal Data shall be deleted. Therefore, the right to access, the right to erasure, the right to rectification and the right to data portability cannot be enforced after expiration of the retention period.
The purposes of processing
The Data concerning the User is collected to allow the Owner to provide its Service, comply with its legal obligations, respond to enforcement requests, protect its rights and interests (or those of its Users or third parties), detect any malicious or fraudulent activity, as well as the following: Analytics and Contacting the User.
For specific information about the Personal Data used for each purpose, the User may refer to the section “Detailed information on the processing of Personal Data”.
Detailed information on the processing of Personal Data
Personal Data is collected for the following purposes and using the following services:
ANALYTICS
The services contained in this section enable the Owner to monitor and analyze web traffic and can be used to keep track of User behavior.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS (GOOGLE IRELAND LIMITED)
Google Analytics is a web analysis service provided by Google Ireland Limited (“Google”). Google utilizes the Data collected to track and examine the use of this Website, to prepare reports on its activities and share them with other Google services.
Google may use the Data collected to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network.
Personal Data processed: Cookies; Usage Data.
Place of processing: Ireland – Privacy Policy – Opt Out.
CONTACTING THE USER
CONTACT FORM (THIS WEBSITE)
By filling in the contact form with their Data, the User authorizes this Website to use these details to reply to requests for information, quotes or any other kind of request as indicated by the form’s header.
Personal Data processed: address; city; company name; country; date of birth; email address; field of activity; first name; last name; phone number; profession; various types of Data; ZIP/Postal code.
The rights of Users
Users may exercise certain rights regarding their Data processed by the Owner.
In particular, Users have the right to do the following:
Withdraw their consent at any time. Users have the right to withdraw consent where they have previously given their consent to the processing of their Personal Data.
Object to processing of their Data. Users have the right to object to the processing of their Data if the processing is carried out on a legal basis other than consent. Further details are provided in the dedicated section below.
Access their Data. Users have the right to learn if Data is being processed by the Owner, obtain disclosure regarding certain aspects of the processing and obtain a copy of the Data undergoing processing.
Verify and seek rectification. Users have the right to verify the accuracy of their Data and ask for it to be updated or corrected.
Restrict the processing of their Data. Users have the right, under certain circumstances, to restrict the processing of their Data. In this case, the Owner will not process their Data for any purpose other than storing it.
Have their Personal Data deleted or otherwise removed. Users have the right, under certain circumstances, to obtain the erasure of their Data from the Owner.
Receive their Data and have it transferred to another controller. Users have the right to receive their Data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and, if technically feasible, to have it transmitted to another controller without any hindrance. This provision is applicable provided that the Data is processed by automated means and that the processing is based on the User’s consent, on a contract which the User is part of or on pre-contractual obligations thereof.
Lodge a complaint. Users have the right to bring a claim before their competent data protection authority.
Details about the right to object to processing
Where Personal Data is processed for a public interest, in the exercise of an official authority vested in the Owner or for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Owner, Users may object to such processing by providing a ground related to their particular situation to justify the objection.
Users must know that, however, should their Personal Data be processed for direct marketing purposes, they can object to that processing at any time without providing any justification. To learn, whether the Owner is processing Personal Data for direct marketing purposes, Users may refer to the relevant sections of this document.
How to exercise these rights
Any requests to exercise User rights can be directed to the Owner through the contact details provided in this document. These requests can be exercised free of charge and will be addressed by the Owner as early as possible and always within one month.
Cookie Policy
This Website uses Trackers. To learn more, the User may consult the Cookie Policy.
Additional information about Data collection and processing
Legal action
The User’s Personal Data may be used for legal purposes by the Owner in Court or in the stages leading to possible legal action arising from improper use of this Website or the related Services.
The User declares to be aware that the Owner may be required to reveal personal data upon request of public authorities.
Additional information about User’s Personal Data
In addition to the information contained in this privacy policy, this Website may provide the User with additional and contextual information concerning particular Services or the collection and processing of Personal Data upon request.
System logs and maintenance
For operation and maintenance purposes, this Website and any third-party services may collect files that record interaction with this Website (System logs) use other Personal Data (such as the IP Address) for this purpose.
Information not contained in this policy
More details concerning the collection or processing of Personal Data may be requested from the Owner at any time. Please see the contact information at the beginning of this document.
How “Do Not Track” requests are handled
This Website does not support “Do Not Track” requests.
To determine whether any of the third-party services it uses honor the “Do Not Track” requests, please read their privacy policies.
Changes to this privacy policy
The Owner reserves the right to make changes to this privacy policy at any time by notifying its Users on this page and possibly within this Website and/or – as far as technically and legally feasible – sending a notice to Users via any contact information available to the Owner. It is strongly recommended to check this page often, referring to the date of the last modification listed at the bottom.
Should the changes affect processing activities performed on the basis of the User’s consent, the Owner shall collect new consent from the User, where required.
DEFINITIONS AND LEGAL REFERENCES
PERSONAL DATA (OR DATA)
Any information that directly, indirectly, or in connection with other information — including a personal identification number — allows for the identification or identifiability of a natural person.
USAGE DATA
Information collected automatically through this Website (or third-party services employed in this Website), which can include: the IP addresses or domain names of the computers utilized by the Users who use this Website, the URI addresses (Uniform Resource Identifier), the time of the request, the method utilized to submit the request to the server, the size of the file received in response, the numerical code indicating the status of the server’s answer (successful outcome, error, etc.), the country of origin, the features of the browser and the operating system utilized by the User, the various time details per visit (e.g., the time spent on each page within the Application) and the details about the path followed within the Application with special reference to the sequence of pages visited, and other parameters about the device operating system and/or the User’s IT environment.
USER
The individual using this Website who, unless otherwise specified, coincides with the Data Subject.
DATA SUBJECT
The natural person to whom the Personal Data refers.
DATA PROCESSOR (OR DATA SUPERVISOR)
The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes Personal Data on behalf of the Controller, as described in this privacy policy.
DATA CONTROLLER (OR OWNER)
The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of Personal Data, including the security measures concerning the operation and use of this Website. The Data Controller, unless otherwise specified, is the Owner of this Website.
THIS WEBSITE (OR THIS APPLICATION)
The means by which the Personal Data of the User is collected and processed.
SERVICE
The service provided by this Website as described in the relative terms (if available) and on this site/application.
EUROPEAN UNION (OR EU)
Unless otherwise specified, all references made within this document to the European Union include all current member states to the European Union and the European Economic Area.
COOKIE
Cookies are Trackers consisting of small sets of data stored in the User’s browser.
TRACKER
Tracker indicates any technology – e.g Cookies, unique identifiers, web beacons, embedded scripts, e-tags and fingerprinting – that enables the tracking of Users, for example by accessing or storing information on the User’s device.
LEGAL INFORMATION
This privacy statement has been prepared based on provisions of multiple legislations, including Art. 13/14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation).
This privacy policy relates solely to this Website, if not stated otherwise within this document.
Channel Island Finance Limited is a company registered in Guernsey, Channel Islands. Reg No. 66557. Registered Address: La Sergentee Cottage, Route du Cobo, Castel, Guernsey, GY5 7RU. Trading Address: Admiral House, Place du Commerce, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 3UD. Guernsey Data Protection Registration NO: DPA4244. Jersey Data Protection Registration NO: 63471. Information Commissioner’s Office Registration ZB014045. Registered with the Guernsey Financial Services Commission No. 2738173.
Latest update: October 21, 2021