Data Protection

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 ScottishPower Energy Retail Limited 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 CRAs get the information?

A: Publicly available information: -

• The Electoral Register from Local Authorities
  County Court Judgments from Registry Trust.
  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 pay 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. All CRAs 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

What we do

1. When you apply to us to open an account, this organisation will: -

      a) check our own records for information on:

          i. any personal accounts you may have with us;
          ii. any personal accounts in the name of your financial associates 1;
          iii. if you are an owner, director or partner in a business we may also check on your business accounts.

      b) search at credit reference agencies for information on:

          i. Your personal accounts:
          ii. 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 linked2 ;
          iii. very occasionally if there is insufficient information to enable us to assist you, we may also use information about other members of your family;
          iv. if you are a director or a partner in a 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).

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 one or more credit reference agencies.

      b) if you are making a joint application or tell us that you have a spouse or financial associate, we will:

          i. search, link and/or record information at credit reference agencies about you both;
          ii. link any individual identified as your financial associate in our own records;
          iii. take both your and their information into account in future applications by either or both of you; and
          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 of 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.

3. With the information that we obtain we will: -

      a) assess your application; and/or

      b) check details on applications for credit, credit-related or other facilities; and/or

      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; and/or

      e) sometimes use scoring methods to assess your application and to verify your identity; and/or

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

      g) any or all of these processes may be automated.

4. What we do when you have an account: -

      a) where you receive products and/or services from us, we may 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 do not repay in full and on time the charges payable under the Agreement, 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 existing credit. We may also check at fraud prevention agencies to prevent or detect fraud.

      d) If you have received products and/or services 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

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

      a) place a search “footprint” on your credit file whether or not your application proceeds. If the search was for a product or service supplied on credit, 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 any financial associates 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.

6. Credit Reference Agencies will 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 account (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 any previous and subsequent names that have been used and how you manage it/them.

      b) If you do not repay in full and on time the charges payable under the Agreement, 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.

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 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:

          i) Prevent crime, fraud and money laundering by, for example checking details provided on applications for credit and credit-related or other facilities;
          ii) Check the operation of credit and credit-related accounts;
          iii) Verify your identity if you or your financial associate applies for other facilities;
          iv) Make decisions on credit and credit-related services about you, your partner, other members of your household or your business;
          v) Manage your personal, your partner’s and/or your business (if you have one) credit or credit-related account or other facilities;
          vi) Trace your whereabouts and recover debts that you owe; and
          vii) Undertake statistical analysis and system testing.

10. 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: -

          i. Prevent crime, fraud and money laundering by, for example: checking details provided on applications for credit and credit-related or other facilities;
          ii. managing credit and credit-related accounts or facilities;
          iii; cross checking details provided on proposals and claims for all types of insurance;
          iv. checking details on applications for jobs or when checked as part of employment.

      b) Verify your identity if you or your financial associate applies for other facilities including all types of insurance proposals and claims;

      c) Trace your whereabouts and recover debts that you owe;

      d) Conduct other checks to prevent or detect fraud;

      e) Undertake statistical analysis and system testing.

11. 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.

      How to find out more

      You can contact the CRAs 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.

          CallCredit, Consumer Services Team, PO Box 491, Leeds, LS3 1WZ or call 0870 0601414
          Equifax PLC, Credit File Advice Centre, PO Box 3001, Bradford, BD1 5US or call 0870 010 0583 or log on to www.myequifax.co.uk.
          Experian, Consumer Help Service, PO Box 8000, Nottingham NG80 7WF or call 0870 241 6212 or log on to www.experian.co.uk.

Or you can contact us at DataProtection@scottishpower.com