Privacy Policy
The Northern Rock Group includes Northern Rock plc ('Northern Rock', 'us', 'we', 'our') and any of its associated companies.
Northern Rock is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This privacy policy (together with our terms of use) sets out how we collect, use, share, process and protect your information provided to us when you use this site. By accessing any part of this site or providing any information to us, you consent to the use and transfer of your information on the terms set out in this privacy policy. We reserve the right to revise or supplement this privacy policy from time to time at our sole discretion and you agree to revisit this page regularly to ensure that you are familiar with the most current version. By continuing to access or use this site you consent to any such changes.
Use the following links to find out more about our privacy policy:
Information we may collect from you
We may collect and process the following information about you:
- If you contact us, we may keep a record of that correspondence.
- Details of your visits to this site and the resources that you access.
If you are registered as a customer of Northern Rock, the way in which your information is held and used would have been communicated to you at the time the information was collected, and will be set out in the terms and conditions of the product or service which you hold. Under Data Protection legislation, you can obtain personal information we hold about you and may ask us to make changes to ensure that it is accurate and up to date. If you wish to do this, please write to the following address:
The Data Protection Officer,
Northern Rock plc,
Freepost NT 45
PO Box 2
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE3 4PL
We are entitled to charge an administrative fee (up to a maximum of £10) in order to provide you with the information which we hold.
topUse of information collected
We and others included in the Northern Rock Group, may use information you provide, or which we collect, in order to:
- Provide services to you and manage your account.
- Check your identity.
- Assess lending and insurance risks.
- Prevent and detect money laundering, fraud and other crimes.
- Satisfy legal obligations placed upon us.
- Statistical analysis, system testing and research, with the aim of improving our services.
- Debt tracing and recovery.
- Any other purposes for which you have given permission.
We retain your information for as long as permitted for legitimate business purposes.
topSharing your information
We will not share your personal information with anyone outside of the Northern Rock Group except:
- Where you have given your consent.
- Where we are under a duty to disclose or share your information in order to comply with any legal or regulatory obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our terms of use [LINK] or terms of a product or service which you hold, and other agreements.
- To protect the rights, property and safety of Northern Rock, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of preventing fraud and money laundering (for example, credit reference and fraud prevention agencies and other organisations that may record, use and issue information to lenders and insurers). The information may be used in connection with assessments for credit, insurance and tracing of debt.
- To our appointed agents, advisors and others, which administer accounts and services for us (and which are subject to strict confidentiality obligations).
- In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may share your information with the prospective seller or buyer.
- If we, or substantially all of our assets, are acquired by a third party, your information will be one of the transferred assets.
- If there is a duty to the public to reveal the information.
- Where required by law.
If we transfer your information to any of the third parties described above, and that third party is outside of the UK, we will make sure that they agree: (1) to apply the same levels of protection as we are required to apply to your information; and (2) to use your information strictly in accordance with our instructions.
topInformation submitted to our site
In accessing this site you accept that any electronic mail passing over the Internet may not be free from interference by third parties. Although steps have been taken to secure Northern Rock's systems Northern Rock cannot guarantee the privacy or confidentiality of any information relating to you as it passes over the Internet.
topYour conduct
You are responsible for the content and information which you provide to us via this site, including the lawfulness, truthfulness and accuracy of such information. In particular, but without limitation, you are prohibited from posting or transmitting any unlawful, threatening, defamatory, libellous, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, profane or obscene material or any material that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offence, give rise to a civil liability or otherwise violate any law.
Northern Rock will cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity of anyone posting any such information or material.
It is your responsibility to ensure that no viruses enter your computer systems. Northern Rock assumes no responsibility in this respect.
topSecurity
Northern Rock recommends that you note the following tips in order to help you safeguard your account and personal information:
- Always take reasonable steps to keep your account details and other security information secure and never give them to anyone else.
- Take care when storing and disposing of your account information. Take simple steps such as shredding printed material.
- Contact us immediately if you suspect or discover that your details have been lost or stolen.
- If your account has a card and Personal Identification Number (PIN): choose your PIN carefully and never write it down, remember your PIN and destroy the notice immediately and keep your card receipts and other account information safe and destroy them carefully.
- Keep your PC secure by using up to date anti-virus and spyware software and a personal firewall.
- Treat e-mails you receive with caution and be wary of e-mails or calls asking you to reveal any security details. Neither the police nor Northern Rock will ever contact you to ask you to reveal your on-line banking and password details.
Use of Cookies
This site uses cookies which allow our system to 'remember' information about your computer settings. Personal information about you is not collected through the use of cookies, and we will not attempt to personally identify you from your computer’s settings unless required to as a matter of law or regulation or in order to protect our, or our other customers’, rights. Cookies, which are used by many major websites, are harmless text files that are stored on your computer hard drive. These files are not computer programs, and cannot cause any damage to your computer. They form an essential part in the creation of good user experience on our site and help us deliver a better and more personalised service.
Most Internet browsers are initially enabled to automatically accept cookies. You can set your browser options so that you will not receive cookies and you can also delete existing cookies from your browser. However, if you disable cookies, you may not be able to access certain parts of the site.
If you would like to find out more information about cookies please visit the All about cookies website.
Tracking and Monitoring
We use site tracking and monitoring to collect information about how our websites and applications are being used, such as the number of page views that occur on the website, the number of visitors and common ways of arriving on or leaving the site and our applications. This in turn helps us identify issues and to improve our services and provide you with a better experience.
This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics uses "cookies", which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyse how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google's behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.
topLinks to other websites
Our websites may contain links to sites operated by persons outside the Northern Rock Group. This privacy policy does not apply to those websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or the product and services provided through those sites. We do not accept any responsibility for any such third party websites, including without limitation for their accuracy, security, the products or services which they offer or for any information which is collected through them. You are responsible for reviewing and abiding by the privacy policies and website terms and conditions of such third party websites.
top