Privacy Policy

Updated 7/9/2006

We are committed to the protection of your personal information. We have in place policies and procedures designed to ensure that personal information is protected. We recognise the concern our customers have about what information is collected from them and what we do with that information.

This statement is to provide you with reassurance and information about our use of your information.

What information do we collect from you and why?

The types of personal information that we collect from you depends on the service you are accessing. You could be asked at various times to provide information such as your name, email address or information about what you like and do not like. Where you purchase items online we may request your credit card number to conclude the transaction or your mailing address to ensure proper delivery. We request this information to deliver to you the best service we can.

In addition, we use the information collected from you to maintain accurate accounts, provide and change services and billing, perform credit reference checking and debt collection, answer your inquiries, market our services and products, and generally to help make our services useful to you. We may perform these activities with the assistance of external agencies from time to time.

You should be aware that if you elect to have your telephone number listed in a directory, we will provide your relevant details to BT who may provide such information to marketing companies. This will take place even if you have elected not to receive marketing information from third parties on your order form and you may receive marketing information from BT or such companies. Our telephone service is capable of allowing you to prevent the transmission of your telephone number to a person you call. You should note that unless you correctly follow our instructions relating to this functionality your number may be visible to any person you call.

The use of cookies is an industry standard and most major websites use them. We also use cookies. A Cookie is a message given to a Web browser by a Web server, which it stores for later use. We use the information gathered from cookies to improve our products and services. Cookies can make using the Bulldog website easier by storing information about your preferences on a particular website. Cookies generally enhance your internet experience, however if you would rather not receive cookies you can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, giving you the chance to decide whether to accept it. Most internet browsers are pre-set to accept cookies.

Whenever a page is requested from our web server, we record the time, date and URL of the request, along with information on the browser software that is being used. This information is used to improve our structure and performance and is not used in any way to uniquely identify a user.

Disclosure of your Information

We are required by law not to share, disclose or sell any personally identifiable information collected at our site with third parties, unless we have your consent to do so. The only time we would disclose information is where:

• we are required by law;
• we believe it is necessary to protect our rights or property, a customer or a member of the public; or
• it is permitted under this policy and our terms of service.

In order to provide services to you we may process your information, including without limit, transferring it outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”) and disclosing it to carefully selected third parties, to the extent permitted by law. If you do not wish for us to transfer your data outside the EEA please let us know in writing, by sending an email to bulldogcustomerservice@pipex.net.

Accessing or Updating Your Personal Information

You can contact us at any time to obtain details of the personal information we may hold about you. Please quote your name and address. Please note that we will take all reasonable steps to confirm your identity before providing you with details of any personal information we may hold about you.

We may charge £10 to cover the administrative costs involved.

Only authorised persons have access to your personal information, which is kept in a secure environment. If you need to access your personal information or change this information, contact bulldogcustomerservice@pipex.net.

Your responsibilities

Please keep in mind that no information transmitted over the internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or receive from our online products or services. These activities are conducted at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best effort to ensure its security.

Also please remember that you are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your username and passwords and/or any account information. Please be careful and responsible whenever you are using the internet and the Bulldog website. You are also responsible for making sure that the information we hold about you is up to date.

Your Personal Information & Credit Decisions

Important - Data Protection - A Guide to the use of your personal data by Pipex Internet Limited and Credit Reference Agencies.

Read this section very carefully, it will vary from organisation to organisation. What we do:

1. When you apply to us to open an account, we will:

• Check our own records for information on:
  
  

  (a) your personal accounts;
  (b) if you have one, your spouse/(personal) partner’s personal accounts; and
  (c) if you are a director or partner in a small business we may also check on your business accounts.

• Search at credit reference agencies for information on:

  
  

  (a) your personal accounts:

  (b) and, if you have ever done the following we will check your financial associate’s personal accounts as well:

  
  

  (i) made a joint application now;

  (ii) previously made joint applications;

  (iii) have joint account(s);

  (iv) are financially linked;

  (v) if there is insufficient information to enable us to assist you, we may also check other members of your family;

  (vi) 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:

Information that is supplied to us will be sent to the credit reference agencies.

If you tell us that you have a spouse or (personal) partner, we will:

• Search, link and/or record information at credit reference agencies about you both.
• Link joint applicants and/or any individual identified as your spouse or partner, in our own records.
• Take both your and their information into account in future applications by either or both of you.

  
  

  1 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.

  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.

• 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.

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.

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:

• Assess this application for credit;
• Verify your identity and the identity of your spouse, partner or other directors/partners and/or
• Undertake checks for the prevention and detection of fraud and/or money laundering.
• We may 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 periodic statistical analysis or testing to ensure the accuracy of existing and future products and services.

Any or all of these processes may be automated.

4. What we do when you have an account:

• 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.
• If you borrow and do not repay in full and on time, we will tell credit reference agencies.
• 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.
• If you have borrowed from us and do not make payments that you owe us, we will trace your whereabouts and recover payment.

What Credit Reference agencies do:

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

• 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.
• 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.

6. Supply to us: -

• 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).
• Public information such as County Court Judgments (CCJs) and bankruptcies.
• Electoral Register information.
• Fraud prevention information.

7. When information is supplied by us, to them, on your account(s):

• Credit reference agencies will record the details that are supplied on your personal and/or business account (if you have one) including previous and subsequent names of parties to the account and how you manage it/them.
• 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.

8. How your data will NOT be used by credit reference agencies:-

It will not be used to create a blacklist.

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:

• The information which we, other organisations and fraud prevention agencies 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: -

  
  

  (a) Verify your identity if you or your financial associate applies for other facilities including all types of insurance applications and claims.

  (b) Assist other organisations to make decisions on credit, credit related services and on motor, household, life and other insurance proposals and insurance claims, about you, your partner, other members of your household or your business.

  (c) Trace your whereabouts and recover payment if you do not make payments that you owe.

  (d) Conduct checks for the prevention and detection of crime including fraud and/or money laundering.

  (e) Manage your personal, your partner’s and/or business account (if you have one).

  (f) Manage your personal, your partner’s and/or business insurance policies (if you have one/any).

  (g) 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 if you have given your permission.

How to find out more

You can contact the 3 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.

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.