Information Notice

Overview

Sion Jones Commercials Ltd is a credit broker based at 1 The Portway, Porthcawl, CF36 3XB. We arrange van finance on behalf of businesses and individuals through a panel of FCA-authorised lenders.

This notice explains how we handle your personal data specifically in connection with a finance application. It sits alongside our Privacy Policy, which covers our wider use of data across the website and business.

Data controllers

Sion Jones Commercials Ltd, at 1 The Portway, Porthcawl, CF36 3XB, is the data controller for information you give us during an enquiry or finance application.

Once we submit an application to a lender on your behalf, that lender becomes a separate, independent controller of your data for their own processing. Credit reference agencies named below also act as controllers in their own right when they carry out checks and share information with lenders. Each of these organisations will have their own privacy and information notices, which we can point you to on request.

What personal data we collect

To quote and process a finance application we collect the following categories of personal data:

• Identification: name, date of birth, nationality and identity documents where required (for example driving licence or passport for anti-money-laundering checks).
• Contact: phone number, email address, current address and previous addresses where relevant.
• Employment: employer, job title, income, employment status and, for business applicants, trading history and company details.
• Financial: bank account details for direct debit, existing credit commitments and a summary of monthly outgoings.
• Vehicle information: the vehicle or specification you are interested in, finance type, monthly budget and preferred term length.
• Declarations: your consent to credit and identity searches, and your confirmation that the details you have given us are accurate.

Who we share your data with

We only share your data where it is necessary to process your application or where we have a legal duty to do so. Parties we may share with:

• FCA-authorised finance lenders on our broker panel.
• Credit reference agencies, specifically Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, for identity and credit checks.
• Fraud prevention agencies, including CIFAS, to help detect and prevent fraud.
• Insurance providers, only where you have opted in to a specific insurance quote.
• Legal and regulatory bodies where we are required to disclose information, for example the FCA, HMRC, courts, the police or other law-enforcement agencies.
• Our own service providers under written data-processing agreements, including IT hosting, email providers and our form-handling platform (Brevo).

Legal basis for processing

We rely on the following legal bases under UK GDPR:

• Contract: to take the steps needed before entering a finance agreement with you, and to process your application.
• Legal obligation: to meet anti-money-laundering, tax and FCA record-keeping rules.
• Legitimate interest: to prevent fraud, to introduce you to suitable lenders and to improve the service we offer.
• Consent: for marketing emails, which you can withdraw at any time by clicking unsubscribe in any email or by contacting us directly.

How long we keep your data

• Active applications: retained while the application is being assessed, typically 2 to 4 weeks.
• Completed or declined applications: archived for 6 years after the end of the relationship, in line with FCA record-keeping rules (SYSC).
• Data held by credit reference agencies: retained by those agencies for 6 years, in line with industry convention and their own policies.

Your data protection rights

Under UK GDPR you have the following rights:

• Access: ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure: ask us to delete your data where we no longer need it.
• Restriction of processing: ask us to pause our use of your data in certain circumstances.
• Portability: ask us to provide your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Objection: object to our processing where we rely on legitimate interest.
• Rights regarding automated decision-making: ask for human review of a decision made solely by automated means, including credit scoring.
• Withdraw consent: withdraw any consent you have given, for example to marketing, at any time.

Some of these rights are subject to limits where we have a legal obligation to keep data, for example FCA record-keeping. We will always tell you if that applies to your specific request.

Credit reference agencies and your credit file

When we quote you a finance option we usually carry out a soft search. A soft search does not leave a visible record on your credit file for other lenders to see and does not affect your credit score.

When we place a live application with a lender, that lender will typically carry out a hard search. A hard search leaves a visible record on your credit file and can be seen by other lenders. Repeated hard searches in a short period can affect your score.

The Credit Reference Agencies operate a joint statement known as the Credit Reference Agency Information Notice (CRAIN), which explains in detail how they use the data shared with them. A copy of CRAIN is available on the websites of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

How to exercise your rights

To exercise any of the rights above, email us at sales@sionjonescommercials.co.uk or write to us at 1 The Portway, Porthcawl, CF36 3XB. We will respond within 1 calendar month of receiving your request. If we need more information to confirm your identity before we release data, we will tell you promptly.

Questions or complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You can call the ICO on 0303 123 1113 or visit ico.org.uk.

For complaints about the service we have provided, rather than how we have handled your data, please see our complaints procedure.