Privacy Policy

At Alphabet, people's privacy is important to us. This document sets out the privacy policy of Alphabet (GB) Limited ("we" "us" and "our") and explains how we manage personal information.

Personal information includes any information about a person who can be identified from that information, which is recorded in some material form, including as part of a database. This ranges from basic personal details such as name, address, email address and telephone numbers to credit, health and other sensitive information, including information made as a consequence of providing products and services.

This policy (together with the Legal Notice on our website and any other documents referred to on it) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.

For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act), the data controller is Alphabet (GB) Limited of Alphabet House, Summit Avenue, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 0FB. Our nominated representative for the purpose of the Act is our Head of Compliance and Operational Risk, Vanessa Onyemem.

Our website

We try to keep our website secure. However, you recognise when providing your information to us through our website or when you send us or ask us to send you any of your confidential information by email, that the internet and email communications over the internet may not be secure. We cannot be responsible for any loss or unauthorised interception of information transmitted via the internet which is beyond our control. Any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Our website may, from time to time, contain links to and from other websites. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

Information we may collect from you

We may collect and process the following data about you:

  • information that you provide by filling in forms on our site www.alphabet.co.uk (our site). This includes information provided at the time of registering to use our site, subscribing to our services (including those provided by third parties), posting material to our site or requesting further services. We may also ask you for information when you enter a competition or promotion, and when you report a problem with our site;

  • information that you provide if you contact us or we contact you, we may keep a record of that correspondence (e.g. telephone calls and written communication);

  • we may also ask you to complete surveys that we use for research purposes, although you do not have to respond to them;

  • details of transactions you carry out through our site and of the fulfilment of your orders;

  • details of your visits to our site including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs and other communication data, whether this is required for our own billing purposes or otherwise and the resources that you access; and

  • information we receive from third party suppliers or learn from the way you use our products or services.

IP addresses

We may collect information about your computer, including where available your IP address, operating system and browser type, for system administration. This is statistical data about our users' browsing actions and patterns, and does not identify any individual.

Cookies

Information about our use of cookies

Our website uses cookies to recognise you and remember your preferences and enhance the performance of our website.

A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers which is downloaded to your computer or mobile device when you access a website. These can be stored on your computer so that the website will remember your computer and choices which you made in an earlier visit.

The types of cookies used in this website have been categorised using the ICC UK Cookie guide, as follows:

"Strictly necessary cookies": these are essential to enable you to move around the website and use its features and are required to deliver services which you have requested from us.

"Functionality Cookies"; these enhance the functionality of the website by storing your preferences.

"Performance cookies": these collect anonymous information which allows us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around the site when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.

"Session Cookies" these enable us to remember your choices for example the language you selected, for the duration of your visit to the site. These cookies are deleted from the website at the end of your user session.

Managing cookies in your browser

You may block cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our site. You can find Information on how to disable or enable cookies by visiting www.allaboutcookies.org

Except for essential cookies, all cookies will expire at the end of each session.

Where we store your personal data

The data that we collect from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area ("EEA"). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for us or for one of our suppliers. Such staff may be engaged in, among other things, the fulfilment of your order, the processing of your payment details and the provision of support services. By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.

Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

Uses made of the information

We may use your information (which we receive from you or third parties or learn from the way you use our products or services) for a variety of purposes, including:

  • to ensure that content from our site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer;

  • to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us;

  • to allow you to participate in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so;

  • to notify you about changes to our service;

  • to help us identify you when you contact us;

  • to help us improve the quality of our products and services;

  • to help us detect and prevent fraud and money laundering;

  • to help us recover debts;

  • to carry out analysis and customer profiling;

  • where you have consented to be contacted for such purposes, we and/or selected third parties may use your data to provide you with information about goods and services which may be of interest to you and we or they may contact you about these by post or telephone or by electronic means (e-mail or SMS) if you have consented to this; and

  • if you do not want us to use your data in this way, please see "Your Rights" below.

If you apply for finance from us, please also see the Guide to how Alphabet and Credit Reference and Fraud Reference Agencies will use your information both when you apply and during the course of your finance agreement appearing at the end of this policy.

Disclosure of your information

We may share your information for any of these purposes with:

  • any member of our group, which means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 1159 of the UK Companies Act 2006; and

  • our carefully chosen business partners who perform services on our behalf, such as motor dealers from which you collect vehicles provided by us or which carry out services in connection with those vehicles, insurers and other service providers, payment processors and data management firms. If any of these organisations is outside of the European Economic Area, we will make sure they agree to apply the same level of protection of your information as we are required to apply in the UK.

We may also disclose your personal information to third parties:

  • in the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets and transfer our rights under any customer agreement we have with you;

  • if Alphabet or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by it about its customers will be one of the transferred assets;

  • if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our terms of use or terms and conditions of supply of goods and/or services and other agreements, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Alphabet, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction; and

  • in relation to existing or future legal proceedings.

Your rights

You have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. We will usually inform you (before collecting your data) if we intend to use your data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your data. You can also exercise the right at any time by contacting us at alphabet@alphabet.co.uk or by telephone: 0370 505 0100.

Access to information

The Act gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Act. Any access request may be subject to a fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you.

Changes to our privacy policy

We may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure you are happy with any changes.

Contact

Telephone calls with us may be recorded and/or monitored for training purposes and as a record of our discussion.

Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to alphabet@alphabet.co.uk or by telephone: 0370 50 50 100.

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GUIDE TO HOW ALPHABET AND CREDIT REFERENCE AND FRAUD PREVENTION AGENCIES USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA WHEN YOU APPLY FOR FINANCE FROM ALPHABET

What we do when you apply to us for finance

We may check our own records and search at credit reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies for information, including credit details, on you and, if you have one, your financial associates (a financial associate is a person with whom you have, or have had, joint personal financial arrangements such as joint accounts or have made joint credit applications, for example a spouse or partner), other members of your family and if you are an owner, director or partner in a small business, your business.

We may pass information that is supplied to us to credit reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies. As well as the information you provide directly to us or to the dealer, we may receive information about you from our other group companies and carefully selected business partners who provide products and services under one of our brands and occasionally from other third parties who may lawfully pass to us information about you.

If you have any financial associates, we may link and record information about you both in our own records and at credit reference agencies and we, and others, will take their information into account. We may take both your and their information into account in future applications by either or both of you and continue this linking until your agreement ends and one of you notifies us that you are no longer linked. You must be sure that you have their agreement to disclose information about them.

We may obtain references and make enquiries about you from other persons and organisations. If we require any guarantee or other security in relation to your obligations under any proposed agreement, we may provide information about your application to the person you wish to provide the guarantee or other security.

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.

With the information that we obtain we may:

  • assess your application for credit;

  • check details on applications for credit and credit related or other facilities;

  • verify your identity and the identity of your spouse, partner or other directors / partners if applicable;

  • undertake checks for the prevention and detection of fraud and/or money laundering.

  • use scoring methods to assess this application and to verify your identity.

  • manage your personal and/or business account (if you have one) with ourselves,

  • undertake periodical statistical analysis or testing to ensure the accuracy of existing and future products and services; and

  • undertake market research.

Any or all of these processes may be automated. Credit reference agencies which we use may process personal information outside the EEA or use computer systems which are managed and maintained by persons outside the EEA.

What we do when you have a finance agreement with us

We may give details of your agreement and how you manage it to credit reference agencies.

If you do not repay us in full and on time, we may tell credit reference agencies and we may trace your whereabouts and recover payment.

We may make periodic searches of our group records, credit reference and fraud prevention agencies to manage your agreement with us, to take decisions regarding your identity and credit, including whether to make further credit available or to continue or extend existing credit. We may also check at fraud prevention agencies to prevent or detect fraud.

We may use your information to undertake periodic statistical analysis or testing to ensure the accuracy of existing and future products and services.

We may pass your information to third parties for legal or regulatory reasons, including in relation to any existing or proposed legal proceedings, or in the process of us transferring this agreement or our business to any person. If you fail to pay any licence fees, duties, fines, insurance premiums, congestion charges, or other sums which become due in respect of the Vehicle, we may pass your information to the authority or organisation which is demanding payment. We may also provide information about your agreement to any person who has provided any guarantee or other security in relation to your obligations under this agreement.

If you give us false or inaccurate information and we identify fraud, we will record this and may also pass this information to fraud prevention agencies and other organisations involved in fraud prevention to prevent fraud and money laundering.

What the Credit Reference and Fraud Prevention Agencies will do

They will place a search 'footprint' on your credit file whenever they receive a search from us. We will make a search when you apply for credit from us and we may also make searches during the period of any agreement you hold with us. If the search was for a credit application they will place a search 'footprint' on your file whether or not your application proceeds and 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.

They will link together your records and those of anyone that you have advised is your financial associate, including previous and subsequent names of you and any financial associates. Links between financial associates will remain on your and their files until such time as you and your financial associate successfully files for a disassociation with the credit reference agencies.

They will supply to us:

  • credit information such as previous applications and the conduct of accounts in your name and of your associates and/or your business accounts;

  • public information such as County Court Judgements and bankruptcies;

  • Electoral Register information; and

  • fraud prevention information.

If you have an agreement with us, credit reference agencies will record the details that we supply to them on your agreement and how you manage it. If you borrow and do not repay in full and on time, credit reference agencies will record the outstanding debt.

Records shared with credit reference agencies remain on file for 6 years after they are closed, whether settled by you or defaulted.

The information which we, other organisations and fraud prevention agencies provide to the credit reference and fraud prevention agencies about you, your financial associates and your business (if you have one) may be supplied by credit reference and fraud prevention agencies to other organisations and used by them and us to:

  • prevent fraud and money laundering by, for example, checking details on applications for credit and credit related or other facilities; checking details on proposals and claims for all types of insurance; checking details of job applications and employees;

  • verify your identity if you or your financial associate applies for other facilities including all types of insurance applications and claims;

  • assist other organisations to make decisions on credit and credit related services or other facilities, about you, your partner, other members of your household or your business;

  • trace your whereabouts and recover debts that you owe;

  • manage credit and credit related accounts and other facilities; and

  • undertake statistical analysis and system management and testing which may include access to such systems and personal data from outside the EEA.

Law enforcement agencies may also access and use this information. We and other organisations may access and use from other countries the information recorded by fraud prevention agencies.

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. They will charge you a small statutory fee. Their contact details are below:

Call Credit Consumer Services Team, PO Box 491, Leeds LS3 1WZ or call 0870 0601414

Equifax plc Credit File Advice Centre, PO Box 1140, Bradford BD1 5US or log on to www.myequifax.co.uk

Experian Consumer Help Service, The Sir John Peace Building, Experian Way, NG2 Business Park, Nottingham, NG80 1ZZ or call 0344 481 0800 or log on to www.experian.co.uk

Please contact us at alphabet@alphabet.co.uk or call us on 0370 50 50 100 if you want to receive details of the relevant Fraud Prevention Agencies.

Last Updated 16 December 2016