HOME TRUST COMPANY PRIVACY NOTICE/PRIVACY CODE for Creditworx/Home Owner Merchant Express

Transcription

1 HOME TRUST COMPANY PRIVACY NOTICE/PRIVACY CODE for Creditworx/Home Owner Merchant Express This Privacy Notice and Privacy Code detail how Home Trust Company ( Home Trust, we, us, our ) collects, uses and discloses personal information of customers ( you and your ) provided by a Merchant submitting applications on behalf of customers. As used in this Privacy Notice and Privacy Code, the term Customer refers to an individual consumer whose personal information we collect. The term personal information means information about an identifiable Customer. It includes information that a merchant provides or that we collect from the Customer or other sources, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization when used for business purposes related to your application for financing. Merchants must obtain informed consent for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information the Merchant provides to Home Trust Company through Creditworx/Home Owner Merchant Express. It is the Merchant s responsibility to make Customers from whom you collect personal information, with their prior consent, aware that their personal information will be disclosed to Home Trust Company and credit reporting services for the purposes listed herein. Why We Collect, Use and Disclose Personal Information There are a number of reasons why we collect and use your personal information. Most of these relate to the day-to-day operations of the Company and facilitate the delivery of services and products we provide to you. When you apply for, or provide a guarantee in respect of, any of our personal financial products or services and while you are our customer, you agree that we may collect your information in order: To identify you and to understand your needs To determine the suitability of our products and services for you To determine your eligibility for our products and services To inform you about products and services that may meet your needs To provide ongoing service To comply with legal requirements and regulations You also agree that we may use information about you, including the way in which you use our products and services, to tell you about our products and services, including giving information to our affiliates where permitted by law. We will make sure that you are aware of these purposes when you apply for any of our products or services. Self-evident purposes should be clear but if you have any questions, just ask us. If a new purpose for using your personal information should develop, we will ask you for your consent before using it.

2 Additionally, we will not keep any of your personal information if it is no longer required to fulfill these purposes or to comply with legal or regulatory requirements. Personal Information We Collect Personal information we collect consists of personal information you provide to the Merchant in your application for Financing and information generated by the Merchant and Financial Institutions in the course of evaluating that application. This information includes: name, address, telephone number and other personal contact information; credit and financial information; your Social Insurance Number ( SIN ) if you choose to provide your SIN; and personal information provided by the references you list in support of your application. We may otherwise collect personal information with your consent or as permitted or required by law. Applying For A Personal Credit Facility When you apply for, accept or guarantee a loan or credit facility, as well as during the course of the loan or credit facility, we may use, give to, obtain, verify, share and exchange credit and other information about you with others including credit bureaus, creditor insurers, registries and other persons with whom you may have financial dealings, as well as any other person as may be permitted or required by law. You also authorize any person whom we contact in this regard to provide such information to us. During the term of the loan or credit facility, you may not withdraw your consent to our ongoing collection, use or disclosure of your personal information in connection with the loan or other credit arrangement you have with us or have guaranteed. We can continue to disclose your personal information to credit bureaus even after the loan or credit facility has been retired, and you may not withdraw your consent to our doing so. We do this to help maintain the accuracy, completeness and integrity of the credit reporting system. The 10 Principles There are 10 principles that govern our privacy code. 1. Accountability Maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information is the responsibility of every employee at the Company and every supplier that we work with. All employees are required to sign a confidentiality agreement, which prohibits them from disclosing or otherwise using your information without your consent. This applies even after they no longer work for the Company. In addition, employees and our suppliers are informed about, and must comply with, the policies and procedures we have in place surrounding the collection, use and storage of your information.

3 2. Why We Collect Your Information We collect your personal information in order to identify you as our customer and to provide you with products and services. Your information helps us to determine your needs, what products and services would suit you and your eligibility, as well as to provide you with information on other products and services (provided by us or by our affiliates) that you might be interested in. This could involve direct marketing telephone, mail, electronic mail or other means. We also collect your information to comply with laws and regulations and to maintain both your interests and our own. 3. Consent We will make a reasonable effort to make sure customers understand why they are providing us with personal information and what we can or will do with that information. You can express your consent to us orally (such as over the telephone), in writing (on an application) or electronically (via the internet). We can collect, use and disclose your personal information without your consent in limited cases for legal, security or processing purposes. You can have your name deleted from our direct marketing and shared information lists if you do not wish to receive our direct marketing service or not have your personal information shared with any affiliate. You can refuse to provide us with personal information or withdraw your consent if you have already provided us with information provided the consent does not relate to a credit product. However you must give us reasonable notice of the withdrawal of your consent and provide us with your request in writing. We require at least sixty days notice. This withdrawal may affect our ability to provide you with certain products. We can collect, use or disclose personal information without your knowledge and consent in a limited number of instances, in order to: Detect and/or prevent criminal activity Collect overdue accounts Comply with legal requirements Carry out routine banking functions like data processing or the printing of credit cards 4. Limits On Collecting Information

4 We collect your personal information directly from you for the purposes listed above. We may also collect information from external sources such as credit bureaus, employers and other lenders. We ask for your consent for this external collection and for the ongoing reporting of your information to credit bureaus in order to maintain the integrity of the credit-granting system and the accuracy and completeness of information held by credit bureaus. 5. How We Use, Disclose And Store Your Information We will use or disclose your personal information only for the reasons it was collected as mentioned above in this code. Disclosure involves providing specific information about you from our records to a third party. When you apply for credit from the Company you are expressing your consent to the terms outlined on the application and the disclosure document outlining the uses of your information. If a new purpose is developed in the future we will notify you and request your consent to use your information for this new purpose. We will keep personal information as long as necessary for the identified purposes, even if you cease to be a customer. 6. Keeping Your Information Accurate The Company strives to maintain the accuracy, completeness and relevance of your personal information. It is your responsibility to notify us if there is any change to your information so that we may update your files. You may challenge the accuracy and completeness of your personal information and we will make any necessary amendments that we feel are appropriate. If the information has been provided to third parties with your consent, we will convey any corrected information to them as necessary. 7. Keeping Your Information Secure We ensure the physical, organizational and electronic security of your personal information. For that reason we contract with key suppliers that have a proven track record. For greater certainty, we conduct periodic reviews of all our key suppliers to ensure their compliance. Physical access to areas where information is collected, stored or processed is restricted to authorized employees and agents only. Also, controls exist over computer systems and data processing procedures that are reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure compliance with our privacy code. We destroy, erase or make anonymous any personal information that is no longer required to meet legal requirements or serve our stated purposes.

5 8. Openness We make information about our policies and procedures available to customers. This information is made available in a manner that uses simple language and is easy to understand. Through our documentation you will be able to find out: The title and office address of the person at the Company who is responsible for responding to your requests about the privacy of your information How to access information in our control What type of information is in our control, and what it is used for For any inquiries regarding our policies and procedures, please contact the Company s Privacy Officer at the address listed in the contacts section below. 9. Your Access To Your Information When you request it, we will tell you what personal information we have, what it is being used for, from whom it was collected and to whom it has been disclosed. This is your right. We will provide the personal information in a timely manner, and for a reasonable cost. We will also provide you with access, upon request, to your own personal information, except in certain situations. We will explain the reason for this lack of access when you make your request. We will not provide the personal information if it: Is too costly to retrieve Contains references to other persons Is subject to solicitor-client or litigation privilege Contains our own "proprietary information." For example, we may use a scoring formula, form an assessment of risk or make a collection recommendation that is confidential to us Cannot be disclosed for legal reasons Is used for the detection and prevention of criminal activity and dealings in proceeds of crime We will not record in your individual files when personal information was disclosed to third parties for routine purposes, like: Reporting to the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (T5 and other reports) Regular updating of credit information to credit bureaus Indicating to third parties when cheques are returned for NSF (not sufficient funds) If we deny your request for access to personal information, we will tell you why. You may then challenge our decision. See Principle 10.

6 You may also challenge the reasonableness of the cost of providing personal information. 10. Dealing With Your Concerns And Questions The Company has policies and procedures to receive, investigate and respond to customers complaints and questions. We will deal with your questions and concerns as quickly and as comprehensively as possible. All inquiries should be sent to the Company s Privacy Officer at the address supplied in the contact section below. Contact The security and confidentiality of your personal information is a high priority for the Company. We hope that this privacy code is informative and useful to you. If you have any concerns regarding this privacy code or have any further questions, you may bring them to our attention as follows: Chief Privacy Officer Corporate Compliance 145 King St. W., Suite 2300 Toronto, Ontario M5H 1J8 privacy@hometrust.ca Telephone: ext (in Toronto ) If the Company is unable to answer your questions or satisfy your concerns regarding this Privacy Code, you may refer to our Customer Complaint Procedures (available in branches or on our website) for further guidance.