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Privacy Policy

Saffron Building Society is a "data controller" of your personal information. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about you. We take the privacy and security of your data seriously and we have published this summary to ensure that you are fully informed about the ways in which we collect and handle information about you, together with your rights in respect of that information

This is a summary of our Privacy Notice. See the full Privacy Notice

You can also get a copy of the full Privacy Notice from any of our branches or you can ask us for a copy using the contact details at the end of this document.

What information do we collect and hold about you?

As well as the information we receive directly from you, we will also receive information from:

  • Third party credit reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies
  • Brokers or intermediaries if you have been introduced to us for a mortgage
  • Recording and monitoring of calls, emails and other communications

The types of information we collect about you is dependent on the products or services you apply for or use (e.g. the information collected and held about you for a mortgages is different from that for a savings account).

Please refer to our full Privacy Notice for detailed lists of the types of information that we process, the possible sources of that information and monitoring of personal information.

Why do we need your information?

We cannot provide you with mortgage or savings products or process your application without having personal information about you. Your personal information is required before you can enter into a contract with us; or it is required during the life of that contract, or it is required by laws that apply to us. If we already hold some of the personal information that we need, e.g. if you are already a customer, we may not need to collect it again when you make your application.

You should tell us if any of your personal information changes so that we can update our records.

How will we use your information?

We use your information for a number of purposes, including:

  • To provide you with products and services, including opening, administering and maintaining your accounts
  • To check your identity
  • For fraud prevention and detection
  • To keep you informed about other products and services we can offer
  • We may use profiling and automated processes to make decisions about you. We may use sensitive personal information about you to make sure you get the right service or products from us.

We will keep your data while you are a customer and for a further 6 years for savings accounts and a further 12 years where the data relates to a mortgage held with us.

When you use our public websites to send us information, we ensure that the information you send us is secured by encryption and can only be translated by us. We do this by using a Transport Layer Security (TLS). Communication by email is not always secure, we do not recommend that you send confidential or sensitive personal information to us in this way. If you do use email to communicate with us, your information may not be securely protected, we will not be able to guarantee that it will remain confidential whilst in transit to us and cannot accept any responsibility for any consequential disclosure.

Everything we do with your data must have a legal basis for processing. Please refer to our full Privacy Notice for details of the legal grounds for processing your information and for further information about how long we retain your information.

Who else will see my information?

We share information with:

  • Credit Reference Agencies and Fraud Prevention Agencies
  • Brokers or intermediaries (if you have been introduced to us)
  • Governmental bodies, law enforcement, regulators and payment and savings providers
  • Other organisations and businesses who provide service to us

As part of this, we may transfer personal information to other countries outside of the UK, but only when suitable safeguards of your data are in place.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with fraud prevention agencies who will use it to prevent fraud and money-laundering. If fraud is detected, you could be refused certain services, finance or employment.

Please refer to our full Privacy Notice for further details of who your personal information is shared with, including sharing it with Credit Reference Agencies and Fraud Prevention Agencies and about transferring your information outside the UK.

Mortgage customers - Important information

We will supply your personal information to credit reference agencies (CRAs) and they will give us information about you, such as about your financial history. We do this to assess creditworthiness and product suitability, check your identity, manage your account, trace and recover debts and prevent criminal activity.

We will also continue to exchange information about you with CRAs on an ongoing basis, including about your settled accounts and any debts not fully repaid on time. CRAs will share your information with other organisations. Your data will also be linked to the data of your spouse, any joint applicants or other financial associates.

Please refer to our full Privacy Notice for a full explanation of the identities of the CRAs, the ways in which they use and share personal information and links to their information notices.

Your rights

Data Protection laws provide certain rights to all individuals:

  • The right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal information
  • The right to request access to your personal information and information about how we process it (you can make a request by using the post or email contact details at the end of this notice)
  • The right to have inaccurate personal information rectified and to have incomplete information completed.
  • The right to have your personal information erased (also known as ‘the right to be forgotten’)
  • The right to restrict processing of your personal information
  • The right to data portability, which allows you to move, copy or transfer your personal information
  • The right to object to processing of your personal information and to object to receiving direct marketing
  • Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling which has a legal effect or significantly affects you.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office which enforces data protection laws: https://ico.org.uk/.

These rights do not apply in all circumstances. Please refer to our full Privacy Notice for more information. You can also contact our Data Protection Officer using the contact details below.

Contact us features

If you contact Saffron Building Society via email or any of the online forms available on our websites, we will only use any information you send us to answer your enquiry or deal with your request.

Contact Us

Please contact us if you have any questions about this Privacy Summary or our full Privacy Notice.

Phone

0800 072 1100

Email

dataprotectionofficer@saffronbs.co.uk

Post

Data Protection Officer
Saffron Building Society,
Saffron House,
1A Market Street
Saffron Walden,
Essex Cb10 1HX