Condensed Guide to the use of your Personal and Business Information
- When you apply to us to open an account, GAS will check the following records about you (and your business partners where applicable)
- Our own internal records.
- Personal and, if applicable, business records at credit reference agencies (CRAs). When CRAs receive a search from us they will place a search footprint on your credit file that may be seen by other lenders. They supply to us both public (including the electoral register) and shared credit and fraud prevention information.
- Those at fraud prevention agencies (FPAs).
- Information on applications will be sent to CRAs and will be recorded by them. Where you borrow from us, we may give details of your accounts and how you manage it/them to CRAs. If you borrow and do not repay in full and on time, CRAs may record the outstanding debt. This information may be supplied to other organisations by CRAs and FPAs to perform similar checks and to trace your whereabouts and recover debts that you owe. Records remain on file for 6 years after they are closed, whether settled by you or defaulted.
- 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 FPAs and other organisations involved in crime and fraud prevention.
- If you have borrowed from us and do not make payments that you owe us, we will trace your whereabouts and recover debts.
- 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.
We will make checks such as: assessing this application for credit and verifying identities to prevent and detect crime and money laundering. We may also make periodic searches at CRAs and FPAs to manage your account with us.
