The Data Protection Act puts obligations on users of personal information and lays down principles for its use. The Act states that information has to be processed fairly and lawfully. This means that you're entitled to know how we intend to use any information you provide, or that we may obtain from other sources eg. credit reference agencies. You can then decide whether you want us to have that information.

To provide the highest level of customer service we need accurate customer information. You can help by informing us whenever your circumstances change, either by phone, post or while you are logged in on our website.

Organisations must lodge a notification with the Information Commissioner, describing the purposes for which they process personal information. The details are publicly available from the Commissioner's Office at:

Alternatively, see the Commissioner's website at http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.

A 'cookie' is a small piece of information which a website places into your browser and can retrieve later. It cannot be read by any website other than that which placed the cookie. We use cookies for several reasons. For example, we can store your preferences for certain kinds of information, or keep track of your progress through our site.

Intelligent Finance uses Microsoft Active Service Pages which need cookies to operate properly. It is important that your browser is set to accept cookies, otherwise you will only be able to access our marketing site.

The way in which you can set your browser to accept or disable cookies varies slightly according to exactly what browser (and operating system) you are currently using.

Below are full instructions for changing your browser settings to accept or disable cookies

• From the menu bar select Tools (View in IE4), and then Internet Options.
• On the Security tab, select Internet Zone at the top.
• Click Custom Level at the bottom of the dialog box.
• From the list that appears you can choose Enable or Disable Cookies.
• Click OK.

• From the menu bar select Edit, and then Preferences.
• In the list on the left select Advanced.
• In the cookies section at the lower right you can choose to Accept all cookies or Disable all cookies.
• Click OK.

Our systems protect customers and ourselves against fraud and other crime. Customer information can be used to prevent crime and trace those responsible. We may check your details with fraud prevention agencies.

If you give us false or misleading information and we suspect fraud, we will record this. We and other organisations may use and search these records to help us:

• make decisions about credit and related services for you and members of your household
• make decisions on household, life and other insurance proposals and insurance claims for you and members of your household
• trace debtors, recover debt, prevent fraud and to manage your accounts or insurance policies
• check your identity to prevent money laundering unless you provide us with other satisfactory proof of identity

If you email us, or give us your email address, we'll keep a record of it. We may use it to contact you occasionally about our products and services - unless you ask us not to do so. We'll not give your email address to any unauthorised third parties. When emailing us, always use the email facility on our website to make sure that the content of your email is secure. If you send us email in other ways, remember that it will be 'unsecure' and could be intercepted. If you do send us 'unsecure' email, please keep any confidential information in it to a minimum. We'll do the same when we reply.

We may record telephone conversations to offer you additional security, resolve complaints and improve our service standards. Conversations may also be monitored for staff training purposes.

All our employees are personally responsible for maintaining customer confidentiality. We provide training and education to all our staff to remind them about their obligations. Our policies and procedures are regularly audited and reviewed.

The Data Protection Act defines information about the following as 'sensitive': racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health, sexual life, criminal proceedings and offences.

The Intelligent Finance website contains links to sites operated by persons outside the HBOS Group. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or the product and services provided through those sites.

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