Privacy Policy

Your Privacy is Important

1. How we use your personal information


1.1 Smooth Financial Consultants Ltd is required to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 ("DPA") in relation to the personal data which we collect from you and otherwise obtain about you. The DPA puts in place certain obligations on how we may use the information which you provide to us in order to protect your personal details. This policy therefore has been put together to take the DPA into account and it gives you important information about how we will use and treat your personal information.

1.2 At various pages on our website as well as when we speak to you over the telephone, you are invited to provide us with certain personal information about yourself and in some cases to provide us with personal information about other people. Personal information or personal data includes any information about you or any other person. It includes basic information such as your name and contact information but will also include information about your credit history, employment status and income and financial and bank details.

1.3 The personal data which we collect from you is used by Smooth Financial Consultants Ltd to deal with your enquiry and to properly administer the services which we provide to you, including enabling us to locate financial product and service providers for you.

1.4 We will hold your personal details on our records and will also pass that information onto those third party providers of financial products and services which we feel are most appropriate depending on the requirements which you have and the products and services which you are looking for.

1.5 We may also use carefully selected third parties to provide services to us for example our IT systems providers. In providing those services to us, it may also be necessary for us to allow those service providers to have access to your personal details.

1.6 We will also hold your personal details on our marketing database and from time to time we may send to you information about other products and services which you may be interested in. This may involve us sending information to you about products and services offered by other websites. You will be asked at the time of providing your personal details to us whether or not you wish to receive information about other products and services so if you do not wish to receive such information then please let us know.

1.7 As part of the service which we offer in locating providers of financial products and services, we will need to pass your personal details onto those third party product and service providers. Those companies will hold your details on their own records and will use your information to deal with your enquiry, process your application and manage your relationship with that company. Those providers may also use your information to contact you about other products and services which they or other members of their group of companies may offer.

2. Sensitive personal data

2.1 Some of the information which we collect from you whether via this website or otherwise also includes what is known as "sensitive personal data". This is information about you which relates to matters including for example, whether you have committed an offence or have been alleged to have committed any offences. It may also include information about any CCJs and information about your marital status.

3. Your agreement to us using your personal details

3.1 By providing us with your personal information, including any sensitive personal data, you specifically agree to us using and holding your personal details on our records and agree to us using those details as described in this privacy policy including for the disclosure of your information to our third party product and service providers even where you may not purchase a product or service from that provider.

3.2 If you provide us with details about any other person, for example a joint applicant for a financial product or service, then you must ensure that you have the express permission of that person to pass their personal details on to us and for us to use those details in accordance with this privacy policy. You should bring this privacy policy to their attention.

4. Your rights

4.1 You may at any time ask us to update and correct any personal details which we hold about you in order to correct any out of date information or inaccuracies. Please let us know if your circumstances change and if the details which we hold become out of date. You can do this by contacting us. You may also ask for your details to be removed from our marketing database at any time by contacting us.

4.2 You also have the right to receive from us a copy of the personal details which we hold about you. We may charge an administration charge of up to £10 to cover our costs for this and we may ask you for proof of identity.

5. Cookies and Other tracking devices

5.1 This website uses cookies to track the use which you make of this website and to assist the functions of this site. A cookie is a small file of text which is downloaded onto your computer when you access this website. Cookies allow us to understand who is using our website, to recognise you as a user of our website and to remember certain information such as passwords. Therefore like cookies used on many other websites, they are a useful device. They can also be used to help us find out about the number of visitors we get to our website. You can change you browser settings to provide access to or restrict the number of cookies which are used. You can find out more about how to do this by clicking the "Help" menu on your browser.

6. In applying for a loan, lenders may use credit-scoring or other automated systems to assess your application and verify your identity.

6.1 They will search your records through credit reference agencies who will supply credit information as well as information from the Electoral Register. They will always record details of this search.

6.2 They will and/or other companies may use these records and other information to make credit and insurance related decisions about you, and help manage your account.

6.3 The records may also be used to make credit decisions about your current spouse, partner or any other individual identified as being financially associated with you.

6.4 We will check your details with fraud prevention agencies. Should you provide false or inaccurate information and we suspect fraud, we will record this and the information may be used by law enforcement agencies. They and other organisations may use these records and information recorded by fraud prevention agencies in other countries to prevent fraud and money laundering.

6.5 Further details can be sent to you by the lenders explaining how your information may be used.

6.6 By making this application you grant your permission for the lenders and credit agencies to perform such a search either now or in the future.

6.7. In applying with smoothfinancial.co.uk you recognise that Smooth Financial Consultants Ltd is a profit making organisation.

6.8. Information on this website is presented for general information only. No part of this site should be used as an alternative to specialist debt advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss incurred because decisions are made or action taken based on information contained on the site.