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What HBOS does
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 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 check 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 people together if they, themselves, state that 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 on 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 theft and fraud.
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 and the identity of your spouse, partner or other directors/partners and/or;
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 periodic 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 make periodic searches of our Group records, credit reference 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 or 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.
Further information:
What credit reference agencies do
Download the full HBOS Privacy Statement (PDF)
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