Meridian Finance Partners Ltd treats the privacy of its customers and website users very seriously and we take appropriate security measures to safeguard your privacy. This policy explains how we protect and manage any personal data you share with us and that we hold about you, including how we collect, process, protect and share that data.
Information provided by you
You provide us with personal data either by phone or via an online application. This includes your residential details, business details, bank details and financial details. We use this information for the sole purpose of assessing your affordability for the provision of a finance agreement.
We may also keep information contained in any correspondence you may have with us by post or by email.
Information provided to us by third parties.
We may receive your details from a third party, such as a car dealer where you have requested finance or have provided them with details for a finance application. This information will only be obtained from reputable third-party companies that operate in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You will have already submitted your personal data to these companies and specifically given permission to allow them to pass this information to other companies that provide similar or complementary products and services to those we offer.
We use your personal data specifically for assessing your suitability for a car finance agreement and to stay in contact with you to help with any queries you have regarding any finance agreement that we have administered on your behalf.
Do we use your personal data for marketing purposes?
Any information you choose to give us will not be used for marketing purposes by us. We will hold your personal data only for the purpose of administering and managing any finance agreements we have provided to you via our third party finance associates.
We will keep information about you confidential and we will only share this information with the finance companies we transact business with for the sole purposes of assessing your affordability to enter into a financial agreement.
Transfer of your personal data outside of the European Economic Area (EEA)
We do not currently transfer your personal data outside the EEA. If in the future we transfer your personal data, in accordance with the terms of this policy outside of the EEA, we will make sure that the received agrees to provide the same s similar protection as we do and that they only use your personal data in accordance with our instructions.
How long do we keep this information about you?
We keep information in line with the length of time that we need to keep your personal information in order to manage and administer your finance agreement(s) that we have provided through our panel of finance companies. Your personal information will be reassessed on a regular basis and information which is no longer required will be disposed of. We may retain your information for a period of 7 years to comply with money laundering regulations.
Credit reference agencies (CRA’s)
The finance companies that we transact business with use a number of credit reference agencies in order to assess your affordability to enter into a financial agreement with them. You can read more details about how CRA’s use and process your information here: https://www.experian.co.uk/legal/crain/
Subject access requests
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) grants you the right to access particular personal data that we hold about you. This is referred to as a subject access request. We shall respond promptly, and certainly within one month from the point of receiving the request and all necessary information from you. Our formal response shall include details of the personal data we hold about you, including the following:
Sources from which we acquired the information;
The purposes for processing the information; and
Persons or entities with whom we are sharing the information.
Right to rectification
You shall have the right to obtain from us, without undue delay, the rectification of inaccurate personal data we hold concerning you. Taking into account the purposes of the processing, you shall have the right to have incomplete personal data completed, including by means of providing a supplementary statement.
Right to erasure
You shall have the right to obtain from us the erasure of personal data concerning you without undue delay.
Right to restriction of processing
You shall have the right to obtain from us restriction of processing where one of the following applies:
The accuracy of the personal data is contested by you, and is restricted until the accuracy of the data has been verified;
The processing is unlawful and you oppose the erasure of the personal data and instead request the restriction of its use;
We no longer need the personal data for the purposes of processing, but it is required by you for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims;
You have objected to processing of your personal data pending the verification of whether there are legitimate grounds for us to override these objections.
Notification obligation regarding rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing
We shall communicate any rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing as described above to each recipient to whom the personal data has been disclosed, unless this proves impossible or involves disproportionate effort. We shall provide you with information about those recipients if you request it.
Right to data portability.
You shall have the right to receive your personal data, which you have provided to us, in a structured commonly used and machine-readable format and have the right to transmit this data to another controller, without hindrance from us.
Right to object
You shall have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to the processing of personal data concerning you, unless this relates to processing that is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or an exercise of official authority vested in us. We shall no longer process the personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing, which overrides the interest, rights and freedoms of you, or for the establishment exercise or defence of legal claims.
Right to have data processing with human intervention
A number of the lenders that we transact with use automated decisioning programs in their underwriting procedure to evaluate a consumer’s suitability for a credit agreement. You have the right to request that your application is also considered by a human underwriter.
Invoking your rights
If you would like to invoke any of the above data subject rights with us, please write to the Data Protection Officer at Meridian Finance Partners Ltd, The Stables, Bulrushes Business Park, Coombe Hill Road, East Grinstead, RH19 4LZ or email customercare@meridian-finance.co.uk.
Accuracy of information
In order to provide the highest level of customer service possible, we need to keep accurate personal data about you. We take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of any personal data or sensitive information we obtain. We ensure that the source of any personal data or sensitive information is clear and we carefully consider any challenges to the accuracy of the information. We also consider when it is necessary to update the information, such as name or address changes and you can help us by informing us when these changes occur.
Questions and queries
If you have any questions or queries which are not answered by this privacy policy, or have any potential concerns about how we may use the personal data we hold, please write to the Data Protection Officer at Meridian Finance Partners Ltd, The Stables, Bulrushes Business Park, Coombe Hill Road, East Grinstead, RH19 4LZ or email customercare@meridian-finance.co.uk.
If you have a complaint
If you have a complaint regarding the use of your personal data or sensitive information the please contact us by writing to the Data Protection Officer at Meridian Finance Partners Ltd, The Stables, Bulrushes Business Park, Coombe Hill Road, East Grinstead, RH19 4LZ or email customercare@meridian-finance.co.uk.
If you are dissatisfied with our use of your information or our response to any exercise of these rights you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office which regulates the processing of personal data in the UK. Their website is here: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ and our ICO reference number is Z1659858.