Important Information for AA Loans
Please read this before applying for an AA Loan.
Please print off and retain for your records a copy of these terms and conditions and any application form completed.
All loans are subject to regulations and conditions. Legal information relating to these regulations and conditions can be viewed here. We advise you to read this information fully before applying for a loan.
Information is available in large print, audio and Braille on request. You may contact us using a textphone – 0845 603 1393. Call charges may apply. You may contact us using Typetalk. Please call 0800 096 8485 for details.
Telephone calls may be recorded for security purposes and monitored under our quality-control procedures.
Last updated: August 2008
AA Loans
Loans are provided or arranged, subject to status, by Automobile Association Personal Finance Limited, registered in England No. 1772586. Registered Office: Trinity Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX1 2RG.
You must be at least 18, a UK resident (excluding the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) and in permanent employment to apply. The APR will vary depending on the amount of your loan, your personal circumstances, our credit assessment procedures and other related factors. APR and repayment details are correct at the time of the site going live. Certain purposes of loan may be excluded or have limited repayment periods, please ring for details. A guarantor may be required. Rates apply to Internet applications only and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. These rates are available for a limited time only.
Automobile Association Personal Finance is a joint venture company between Automobile Association Developments Limited and Bank of Scotland plc. Bank of Scotland plc is an HBOS plc Group company.
Automobile Association Personal Finance Limited is licensed under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 by the Office of Fair Trading. Further details of the Consumer Credit Public Register are available on www.oft.gov.uk (link opens a new window).
AA Creditcare
To qualify for AA Creditcare, you must be between 18 and 65, a UK resident and in permanent employment. 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 claims and complaints procedures. A copy of the policy is also available on request.
You will not receive advice or a recommendation on the suitability of AA Creditcare. You must read the information provided to help you decide whether AA Creditcare is suitable for your needs. AA Creditcare is arranged by Automobile Association Personal Finance Limited acting for the Insurers, St Andrew's Life Assurance plc (Registered No. 3104670) (England) and St Andrew's Insurance plc (Registered No. 3104671) (England) ('the Companies'), St Andrew's House, Portsmouth Road, Esher, Surrey KT10 9SA.
Automobile Association Personal Finance is an Appointed Representative of Bank of Scotland plc, Registered in Scotland No. SC327000. Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Bank of Scotland plc is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. FSA registered number is 169628.
Bank of Scotland plc is permitted by the Financial Services Authority to sell and administer general insurance contracts. You can check this on the FSA's register by visiting the FSA's website www.fsa.gov.uk/register (link opens a new window), or by contacting the FSA on 0845 6061234.
Automobile Association Personal Finance is a joint venture company between Automobile Association Developments Limited and Bank of Scotland plc. Bank of Scotland plc, St Andrew's Life Assurance plc and St Andrew's Insurance plc are all HBOS plc group companies.
St Andrew's Life Assurance and St Andrew's Insurance plc are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. You can check this on the FSA's register by visiting the FSA's website www.fsa.gov.uk/register (link opens a new window), or by contacting the FSA on 0845 6061234.
St Andrew's Life Assurance plc and St Andrew's Insurance plc are both HBOS plc group companies.
Telephone calls to St Andrew's may be monitored or recorded to assist with staff training and for quality control purposes. You may contact St Andrew's using Typetalk, call 18001 0870 905 2146. Call charges may apply.
Complaint handling
Our complaint handling procedures meet the standards required by the Financial Services Authority. A copy of these procedures is available on request.
If your loan is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, you can settle your loan agreement at any time by giving us written notice and paying 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, you may also be entitled to a part refund of the premium. You can cancel your cover within 30 days of receiving your policy, you will receive a full refund of any premium you have paid. If you were to cancel your cover at any point after 30 days you may be entitled to a refund of premiums provided you have not made a successful claim under your policy. Your refund will not be calculated on a strict pro rata basis. This is to take into account the cost of insurance during the early part of the loan while the balance is highest and the risk of an extended claim is greatest. For an illustrated example please refer to the General Provisions section of your policy conditions. If you want to cancel your cover please write to Bank of Scotland at the Customer Services Department Premier House, City Road, Chester CH88 3AN.
Security
All details in the online application are fully encrypted, no matter which browser or browser version you are using. Your application form will be sent to us through a 'secure session' using banking standards encryption. This is achieved with 128-bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), that encrypts your data, which is then transmitted securely over the Internet.
Data Protection Act:
Using your personal data
A service of quality
We, Automobile Association Personal Finance Limited, the AA, Bank of Scotland plc and other HBOS Group Companies, place paramount importance on customer service and aim to meet your expectations on every occasion. 'The AA' means any group company trading under the AA brand. To achieve this aim we need accurate personal information about you. Please help us take prompt and efficient action by informing us of any changes to your personal circumstances by writing to us.
Confidentiality
We will treat all your personal information as private and confidential (even when you are no longer a customer). Nothing about your accounts nor your name and address will be disclosed to anyone, other than in exceptional cases permitted by law. These are:
- when we are legally compelled to do so
- when there is a duty to the public to disclose
- where disclosure is required to protect our interests (this will not be used as a reason for disclosing information about you or your accounts, including your name and address, to anyone else for marketing purposes)
- where disclosure is made at your request or with your consent or as a result of your non-objection (This can be either as a result of an application for a product or service or by making an explicit declaration as part of the application or because you did not opt out when given an opportunity to do so. Consent does not need to be in writing.)
- where disclosure is required by appropriate regulatory and code of practice organisations
- where we are unable to offer you a loan on this occasion, it may be possible to refer your application to another lender. To do so, we may share your information with partners carefully selected by AA Personal Finance Ltd, who will contact you if they are able to find you a loan elsewhere. If you don't want your application details to be shared in this way, please tick the opt-out box on the final page of the application form.
Providing the service for which you have applied
Your details will be used in providing the service you applied for and for the ongoing administration of the service. If you are taking out insurance, your details will be passed to the insurers for this purpose. If you make a claim, any information you provide to the insurers may be put onto a register of claims through which insurers share such information to prevent fraudulent claims. A list of the participants and the address of the operator are available from the insurers.
Keeping you informed
By providing the requested data you consent to the Automobile Association Personal Finance Limited, the AA Group, Bank of Scotland plc and other HBOS Group Companies using it for administrative purposes and for the AA and Acromas Group of Companies, Bank of Scotland plc and other HBOS Group Companies to inform you of other products and services by letter, SMS, telephone and/or email from us and our carefully selected third parties. For full details see the AA privacy policy. We may use information we obtain from your account transactions in this decision-making process.
We may also use your information for research, statistical analysis and administration purposes. You are, of course, under no obligation to apply for any of the services or products offered. If you prefer not to receive any of this information from us, please write to us at AA Loans, Data Unit, Freepost NWW15306, City House, City Road, Chester CH88 3YZ.
Research and statistical analysis
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.
Cookies and how we use them
A 'cookie' is a small piece of information, which websites that you visit place into your Internet browser, and can retrieve later. Cookies cannot be read by any website other than that which originally placed the cookie.
We do not store any personal or traceable customer information in the cookies that we use. Additionally, all our cookie data is encrypted to prevent third parties from accessing the information they contain.
Some cookies last only as long as you are browsing a particular website and are deleted when you move on to another website. Other cookies are stored by your browser and are retrieved by the website when you visit it again. Typically, this type of cookie could deliver a personalised welcome message to a customer.
Our websites use cookies for tracking purposes. Cookies allow us to track which banner advertisements on external sites have led customers to our service. They also help to manage the rotation of advertisements that appear on your browser, preventing you from getting the same advert more than once. It is possible to disable the cookies when using this website, as this should cause no degradation of the content you can access or functionality you can use.
Our service uses Java server pages (JSP) to operate properly. It is important that your Internet browser is set to accept cookies when using our online service, otherwise you will not be able to use the site to the full. Cookies help you navigate around the site and fill in forms. Cookies also enable us to provide you with informative messages and to ensure your transactions are secure.
If you want to delete any cookies that are already on your computer, please refer to the instructions for your file management software to find the file or directory that stores cookies. If you want to stop cookies being stored on your computer in future, please refer to your browser manufacturer's instructions by clicking 'Help' in your browser menu.
Further information on deleting or controlling cookies is available at www.aboutcookies.org (link opens a new window).
Protecting our customers
We always try to protect you from entering into any agreement that may not be in your best interest. When you apply for credit we may use a process known as credit scoring. This will help us to assess your application and verify your identity to ensure that you are able to repay the borrowing comfortably and fulfil our duty to you as a responsible lender. Declined applications based on this automated technique can be reviewed manually on request.
In considering an application we will search your record at credit reference agencies. The agency also gives us other details and information from the electoral register to verify your identity. The agency will keep a record of the search type (credit or identification), whether or not your application proceeds. They will add to your credit file details of our search and your application.
Members of our group and other companies may use credit searches and other information supplied to us and/or the credit reference agencies about you and someone linked financially with you, to make credit decisions about you or other members of your household. Any of this information may also be used for identification purposes, debt tracing, preventing money-laundering and managing your account.
We may give details of your account and how you conduct it to credit reference agencies. If you borrow and do not repay in full and on time, we may tell credit reference agencies who will record the outstanding debt. We will check your details with fraud prevention agencies. If false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is identified or suspected, we will record this and details will be passed to fraud prevention agencies to prevent fraud and money-laundering. Further details explaining how the information held by fraud prevention agencies may be used, can be obtained by calling 08456 032 157.
We and other organisations may use and search these records to:
- help make decisions about credit and credit-related services for you and members of your household
- help make decisions on motor, household, credit, 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 furnish us with other satisfactory proof of identity
If you want to receive details of the fraud prevention agencies from whom we obtain and with whom we record information about our customers, you should contact our Fraud Helpline on 01244 692219.
The credit reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies will also use the records for statistical analysis about credit and about insurance and fraud.
If this application is in your sole name, information held about you by credit reference and fraud prevention agencies may be linked to records relating to any partner or partners of you. For the purpose of this application you may be treated as financially linked and your application assessed with reference to any 'associated' records.
If this is a joint application, an 'association' will be created at credit reference and fraud prevention agencies which will link your financial records until one of you successfully files a 'disassociation' at the credit reference or fraud prevention agencies.
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 credit reference agencies about each of you. You understand that an association will be created at the credit reference agencies, which will link your financial records.
If you have experienced problems obtaining credit we recommend you request a copy of your credit file from the credit reference agencies. They will charge for this service. Their addresses are below.
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 false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is identified or suspected, details will be passed to fraud prevention agencies. Law enforcement agencies may access and use this information. We and other organisations may also access and use this information to prevent fraud and money-laundering, for example, when:
- checking details on applications for credit and credit related or other facilities
- managing credit and credit related accounts or facilities
- recovering debt
- checking details on proposals and claims for all types of insurance
- checking details of job applicants and employees
Please telephone us on 08456 032 157 if you want details of those credit reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies from whom we obtain and with whom we record information about you. We and other organisations may access and use information from other countries recorded by fraud prevention agencies. You have a legal right to these details.
Anti 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. This information may be shared with other HBOS Group Companies. For more details about identity checks on account opening, please ask for our leaflet 'Your identity – how to help us prevent crime'.
In addition, the Inland Revenue has the statutory authority to audit our customers' accounts from time to time.
If you email us, or give us your email address, we will keep a record of it and may use it to email you about your application or if an application is terminated to check that is what you intended. We will not give your email address to any unauthorised third parties.
When emailing us, always use the email facility on our websites to make sure that the content of your email is secure. If you send us email in other ways, remember that it will be insecure and could be intercepted. If you do send us insecure email, please keep the amount of confidential information you include to a minimum. We will do likewise when we reply.
Introducers and affinity partners
If you were 'introduced' to us by a third party and/or have a relationship with or are supporting one of our affinity partners; we will give them your contact details and sufficient information about you to help with their accounting and administration. Introducers or affinity partners may use these details to contact you about products and services unless you have asked them not to do so.
Sensitive data
The Data Protection Act defines certain information 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 to use that information. Some transactions may cause sensitive or confidential details to appear on your statement, if so, we are entitled to believe that the details appear on your statement with your explicit consent.
The details we hold
These uses of your personal information are covered by our notification under the Data Protection Act. Under the terms of the Act, you have the right to obtain a copy of the information we hold about you, upon payment of the appropriate fee. Please be assured that we will actively review your personal information on a regular basis to ensure it is accurate. If you have any questions or concerns on the use of your personal information, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.
Credit reference agency addresses
If you would like a copy of your credit file, please write to the following, enclosing a cheque or postal order for £2. You will need to tell them your full name and address(es) for the last six years.
Experian Limited
Consumer Help Service
PO Box 8000
Nottingham NG1 5GX
Telephone: 0870 241 6212
www.experian.co.uk (link opens a new window)
Equifax plc
Credit File Advice Centre
PO Box 11 40
Bradford BD1 5US
Telephone: 0870 010 0583
www.equifax.co.uk (link opens a new window)
For our business customers
The Data Protection Act does not apply to companies in themselves but it does extend to sole traders and partnerships. When an application is received from a business, in addition to the above information, information may be sought from credit reference agencies on the company directors and/or partners as individuals.
Your declarations relating to personal data
In making an application for an AA Loan you make the following declarations:
- I confirm that I have read the information sheet 'Data Protection Act: Using your personal information' and agree that the information I have provided in my application, and any other information relating to my application and/or loan may be processed, used and disclosed for the purposes described.
- I agree that information on the performance of my account(s) may be shared with credit reference agencies and may be used by other lenders for credit assessment.
- I agree that any sensitive information obtained may be processed in order to provide the service requested.
- I am entitled to disclose information about any co-applicant or guarantor and/or anyone else referred to by me, and to authorise you to search and/or record information at credit reference agencies about each of us. I understand that an 'association' will be created at the credit reference agencies, which will link our financial records.