Important information

Loans are provided, subject to status, by Sainsbury's Bank plc, City House, City Road, Chester, CH88 3AN. Written quotations are available on request. To apply, you must be at least 18 and a UK resident (excluding the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man). APR and repayment details are correct at the time of print.

Information is available in large print, audio and Braille on request. You may contact us using a textphone on 0800 096 0407.

Creditcare

As with all insurance schemes there are some limitations but these have been kept to a minimum. All insured customers will receive a copy of the policy, which contains full policy details, exclusions and details of the complaint procedures. A copy of the policy is also available on request. The Companies will choose English law as the law, which applies to the insurance (unless you ask for another law and they agree to this before the commencement date).You can at any time ask for detailed information about their compensation arrangements if they go into liquidation and cannot pay their debts. St Andrew's Life Assurance plc, St Andrew's Insurance plc and Sainsbury's Bank plc are connected companies as the ultimate parent company of St Andrew's Life Assurance plc and St Andrew's Insurance plc also have shares in Sainsbury's Bank plc. If your agreement is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 you can settle your loan agreement at any time by giving us written notice and paying to us the amount you owe under the loan which may be reduced by a rebate. If you have taken out payment protection insurance, provided that you have not made a successful claim, there may also be a part refund of the premium calculated in accordance with the Rule of 78. This will be used to reduce the settlement figure for your loan. If you would like examples of how much premium may be refunded please write to us.

Data protection act

• If you make an application, the information you provide will be held on computer and used in a credit scoring process. An enquiry will be made with Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs), who will record this fact so that it can be viewed by other Agency users. You understand that information held about you by the CRAs may already be linked to records relating to one or more of your partners. For this application you will be treated as financially linked and your application will be assessed with reference to any 'associated' records, including previous and subsequent names of parties to an account. Your information will also be checked with fraud prevention agencies and if fraud is suspected we will record this and those details will be shared with other subscribing organisations.
• You must be entitled to disclose information about any co-applicant or guarantor and anyone else referred to by you, and to authorise us to search and record information at CRAs about each of you. You understand that an "association" will be created at the CRAs, which will link your financial records.
• If you apply for insurance your information will be passed to the insurers to enable them to provide the facility. They may also use your information for marketing, statistical analysis and administration purposes. The insurers may make similar fraud prevention checks to those described above.
• Any sensitive information obtained will only be processed in order to provide the service requested.
• Your personal data will be treated in confidence and will not be disclosed to any third parties other than those mentioned below. Your personal details (other than financial information) may be shared with Sainsbury's Supermarkets Limited or any company from time to time forming part of the Sainsbury's Group for market research, statistical analysis, and so that you can be contacted with details of special offers and products that may be of interest. Where appropriate, details relating to your Nectar card and the number of points earned on it will be passed, via Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, to LMUK Ltd so that they can administer the Nectar programme. If you wish to receive further information on the companies with whom your information may be shared please write to us. Your data may also be disclosed where permitted by law or where you have given your consent. You may be contacted by mail, telephone, fax (if you give your consent), email or other reasonable method with details of products or services offered by ourselves, one of the above or a selected third party. If you do not want your details to be used for marketing please write to: Data Unit, Sainsbury's Bank, FREEPOST NWW275A, City House, City Road, Chester CH88 3YE. Under the terms of the Act you have the right to obtain a copy of the information held about you upon payment of the appropriate fee.

If you do not want your details to be used for marketing, or you do not wish to receive further information on the companies with whom your information may be shared, please write to us.

Uses of data

A service of quality

We place paramount importance on customer service and aim to meet your expectations on every occasion.

To achieve this aim we need accurate personal information about you.

We have a legal obligation under the Data Protection Act to ensure that all information held and processed about you complies with the principles of the Act.

The data protection act

The Data Protection Act puts obligations on users of personal information and lays down principles for its use. One principle states that information has to be processed fairly and lawfully. This means that you are entitled to know how we intend to use any information you provide. You can then decide whether you want to give it to us.

To provide outstanding customer service we need accurate customer information. You can help by informing us whenever your circumstances change.

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 Commissioners office at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF (Tel 01625 545745, Fax 01625 524510). Alternatively, see the Commissioner's web site www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.

How do we use your personal information?

Our main use of your personal information is to look after your account or to provide the specific service you require. Some details we obtain elsewhere - from credit reference agencies or your employer for instance.

If you apply to us for insurance we will pass your details to the insurer. If you make a claim, any information you give to us, or to the insurer, may be put onto a register of claims and shared with other insurers to prevent fraudulent claims. A list of the participants is available from the insurer.

Your contact details may be used by us and other parts of the J Sainsbury plc Group, including Sainsbury's energy and phone services, to keep their records up to date and administer your relationship with them, and for market research and statistical analysis. Occasionally we, and other parts of the J Sainsburys plc Group may contact you by letter, telephone, e-mail, SMS (text message) or MMS to inform you about other products, services and special offers that may interest you. Where appropriate details relating to your Nectar card and the number of points earned on it will be passed, via Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, to LMUK so that they can administer the Nectar programme. We try to limit our customer contact programme to acceptable levels, but if you wish to exercise your right to opt out, simply write to us at Data Unit, Freepost NWW275A, City House, City Road, Chester CH88 3YE.

Remember, however, that opting out could stop us contacting you about any of our products or services that may benefit you. For example, you may not hear about a new savings or mortgage product that offers you a better rate or saves you money.

Unless you have given us your consent, we will not provide information about you to companies outside our group to use for their own marketing purposes. We disclose information about our customers only with their consent, or if we are required to do so by law. Sometimes we need to give information to our agents and subcontractors so that they can provide a particular service for us. Sometimes, these companies may be located abroad in countries that do not have data protection laws. In these circumstances we always take great care to ensure that your personal information is kept safe and secure.

We will use your details to assist us in understanding individual needs and business trends in order to improve the products and services we offer.

We are also committed to meeting the standards set by the Banking and Mortgage Codes, copies of which are available on request. Occasionally, the Banking and Mortgage Code compliance review bodies audit a sample of our customer records to assess our compliance with the Codes. Whenever this happens, strict confidentiality conditions are always imposed.

Under the Data Protection Act you have the right of access to information we hold about you on our records. The Act allows us to charge a fee of £10 for this service. If anything is inaccurate or incorrect, please let us know and we will correct it.

If you do not want to receive unsolicited mail from other companies, you can prevent this by registering with the Mailing Preference Service. In addition, the Telephone and Fax Preference Services enable you to object to receiving unsolicited marketing phone calls or faxes from other companies. To register, simply telephone the appropriate number i.e.

Mailing Preference - 020 7291 3310
Telephone Preference - 020 7291 3320
Fax Preference - 020 7291 3330

For more details about all the Preference Services, please see the Direct Marketing Association's web site www.dma.org.uk.

Credit referencing

If you apply for any of our credit-based products (e.g. mortgage, personal loan or credit card), we will perform a search with a Credit Reference Agency. The agency will keep a record of the search. After you open a credit based product, we will provide the agency with regular information about how you use it. Other lenders may use this to make decisions on future applications for credit. It may also be used for tracing debtors and to prevent fraud.

When opening accounts we may search public records such as the Electoral Roll that are available from Credit Reference Agencies to help us verify your identity.

Occasionally we search credit and fraud prevention agency records, as well as our own records, to manage your account and take credit decisions such as whether to offer credit or continue to offer existing credit. These searches are not seen or used by other lenders to assess your ability to obtain credit.

'Associations' linking your financial records may be created on Credit Reference Agency records when you apply for accounts in joint names. Your financial records, and those of anyone financially associated with you, may be considered in any future applications you make.

You have the right to apply to the Credit Reference Agencies for a copy of your credit file. If there is anything incorrect on your credit file, you have the right to ask the agencies to add a Notice of Correction.

We mainly use Experian Limited, although occasionally we use Equifax plc or Callcredit plc. The agencies' addresses are:

If you have been refused credit you can get advice from your local Trading Standards Department, Citizens Advice Bureau or Consumer Advice Centre. The Information Commissioner also produces a useful leaflet entitled 'No Credit?'. You can obtain a free copy on the Commissioner's website or by telephoning 0870 44 21 211.

Credit scoring

When you apply to us for a credit-based product, the details you provide, the information we already have and information from credit reference agencies are used to assess credit risk using a technique called 'credit scoring'. Various factors in all these details help us to assess the risk. A score is given to each factor and a total credit score obtained. If your score is above a confidential pre-set pass score, the application is likely to succeed. For more details please ask for our 'Credit Scoring' leaflet.

Crime prevention and detection

We have systems that protect our 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 to:

• Make decisions about credit and related services for you and members of your household.
• Make decisions on motor, 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.

Money laundering and statutory obligations

To comply with money laundering regulations, and to help stop criminals using financial products or services to launder money, there are times when we need to confirm (or reconfirm) the name and address of our customers. We may need to do this whether you are applying to be a new customer or have been one for some time. For more details about identity checks on account opening, please ask for our leaflet 'Your Personal Details - How to help us prevent crime'.

Some Acts of Parliament oblige us to disclose information about our customers to certain bodies with statutory powers. For example, we must give information to authorised benefit fraud investigators where fraudulent benefit claims are suspected. In addition, the Inland Revenue has the statutory authority to audit our customers' accounts from time to time.

E-mail

If you e-mail us, or give us your e-mail address, we will keep a record of it. We, and other parts of the J Sainsbury Group, may use it to contact you occasionally about other products and services which may interest you, unless you ask us not to do so (as detailed above). We will not give your e-mail address to any unauthorised third parties.

When e-mailing us, always use the e-mail facility on our website to make sure that the content of your e-mail is secure. If you send us e-mail in other ways, remember that it will be 'insecure' and could be intercepted. If you do send us 'insecure' e-mail, please keep the amount of confidential information you include to a minimum. We will do likewise when we reply.

Telephone calls

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.

Responsibility for customer confidentiality

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.

Sensitive information

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). If you apply to us for insurance, a pension, health insurance or life assurance, we may ask you for some 'sensitive' details. We will only use this information to provide the service you require and we will ask for your explicit consent.Some transactions that you (or an additional cardholder) make on a card account may cause sensitive or confidential details to appear on your statement. If your card is used for such transactions, we believe that the details appear on your statement with your explicit consent.

Additional needs

We are committed to meeting the needs of all our customers. If you have a hearing or speech impairment, you can use Typetalk whenever you contact us. For the visually impaired we can provide documents in large print, Braille or on audio cassette.

Sainsbury's Bank is a registered Trademark of Sainsbury's Bank plc.

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