Student loans for UK students

Personal data and security information for Sallie Mae UK loans

Sallie Mae UK Ltd ("Sallie Mae UK"/"We") respects your privacy. This document sets out the ways in which your personal information, provided to us at any time, may be used and disclosed. Please read this document carefully before applying for a loan or as a guarantor.

 

Data Protection Act

The Data Protection Act imposes obligations on Sallie Mae UK in relation to using and sharing your personal information. Sallie Mae UK is, for example, obliged to process your information fairly and lawfully and ensure that your information is accurate and held securely. Sallie Mae UK's processing of personal information is covered by its notification with the UK Information Commissioner. By submitting an application, you agree that your information can be used and disclosed as described below. 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 as follows:

From time to time we may employ agents and sub-contractors to process your information on our behalf. The same duty of confidentiality and security will apply to our agents and sub-contractors and all processing will only be carried out on our instruction and will be supported by written contract. Sometimes these companies may be located abroad in countries that do not have data protection laws. We may also transfer your information to Sallie Mae Inc. in the U.S. for storage and business continuity and underwriting purposes, for auditing, data analysis and aggregation purposes, and to facilitate management of the Sallie Mae group. In these circumstances we always take great care to ensure that your personal information is kept safe and secure.

Using your personal information

Your details may be used in assessing your application and administering any loan provided. Your information may also be used by Sallie Mae UK, its agents, affiliates and carefully chosen partners to inform you (including by post, email and telephone) about additional products and services offered by them that may be of interest to you unless you have told us that you prefer not to receive this information. We may use information about any application by you or any loan or other service provided to you (or guaranteed by you) including your account transactions for these purposes. We may also use your information for research, statistical analysis and administration purposes and to help understand individual needs and business trends in order to improve the products and services that we or third parties may offer.

We may also use your information for the purposes of enforcing or obtaining settlement of the loan agreement or guarantee and may share your information with any agent, for these purposes. We may also share your information with a proposed assignee, transferee or chargee of our interest under the loan agreement, and their insurers and advisors.

We may share your information with and you agree to the disclosure of your information by your referees, guarantor and educational institution as well as our affiliates and agents and any UK credit reference agency or fraud prevention agency and, if you are the guarantor, also with and by the borrower, including to verify and assess your application, administer any loan provided, and to enforce or obtain settlement of the loan agreement or any guarantee. We may, for example, share your information with these parties to determine your eligibility for a requested loan or to act as guarantor and your whereabouts in the event collection activities commence. We may also tell these parties whether or not your application has succeeded and the associated reasons (for example, we may tell the borrower that the proposed guarantor has not met the required eligibility or credit standards).

In particular, where you are the borrower, you agree to the disclosure by your educational institution to us and/or verification by your educational institution of your information, from time to time including information relating to your name, date of birth, address, credit history experience, enrolment and course, tuition fees and estimated cost of living information, period for which the loan is needed, typical payment dates and other information pertinent to your loan and to the disclosure to your education institution of the loan amount. Please note we may disclose your information to your education institution for this purpose including where the education institution is located in a country which does not have data protection laws.

Protecting our customers

When you apply for a loan or offer to guarantee a loan, we will want to assess your application and verify your identity to ensure you are able to repay it in order to fulfil our duty to you as a responsible lender. We use a process called Credit Scoring to do this. We may therefore search our records and those of credit reference and fraud protection agencies to assess your application. The agencies give us both public information (including information from the Electoral Register) and shared credit and fraud prevention information to verify your identity. Declined applications based on automated credit scoring can be reviewed manually on request.

The credit reference agency we use will keep a record of the search type (credit or identification) whether or not your application proceeds and will place a "search footprint" on your credit file that may be seen by other lenders. We will also add to your record with the credit reference agency details of your agreement with us, the payments you make under it, any default or failure to keep to its terms and any change of address you fail to tell us about where a payment is overdue. If you have borrowed from us and do not make payments that you owe us, we will trace your whereabouts and recover debts and we may use credit reference and other agencies and supply your information to these agencies for these purposes. We may also inform our credit reference agency of these circumstances which may inform other agencies and lenders as well. Records held by credit reference agencies remain on file for six years after they are closed, whether settled by you or defaulted.

It is also important that you give us accurate information. We will check your details with credit reference and fraud prevention agencies and if you give us false or inaccurate information and we suspect fraud, we will record this and pass this to credit reference and fraud prevention agencies and other organisations involved in crime and fraud prevention. We and other organisations may use and search these records to:

If you want to receive details of the credit reference and fraud prevention agencies from whom we obtain and with whom we record information about you, customers should contact Sallie Mae UK at the address provided at the bottom of this page. We and other organisations may access and use from other countries the information recorded by credit reference and fraud prevention agencies. The credit reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies will also use the records for statistical analysis about credit and about insurance and fraud.

If you are making a joint application or tell us that you have a spouse or financial associate, we may link your records together. 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 to break the link. For the purpose of this application your application may be assessed with reference to any such ‘associated’ records. You must be entitled to disclose information about any Guarantor, spouse, financial associate, referees and anyone else referred to by you, and to authorise us to search and record information at credit reference and fraud prevention agencies about each of you.

If you have experienced problems obtaining credit, we recommend you request a copy of your credit file from the credit reference agencies, which may charge for this service. The agencies' addresses are shown below.

Please note we also make periodic searches at credit reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies to manage your account with us.

Anti-money laundering and statutory obligations

To comply with anti-money laundering laws and 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, date of birth, address and other details of our customers and their circumstances. We may need to do this whether you are applying to be a new customer or guarantor or have been one for some time. This information may be shared with other Sallie Mae group companies. Some UK laws and regulations 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 HM Revenue & Customs has the statutory authority to audit our customers’ accounts from time to time. If at any time you do not provide us with satisfactory information about you or your circumstances required to comply with anti-money laundering laws and regulations, we may not be able to provide, or continue to provide, service to you.

Email

If you email us or give us your email address, we will keep a record of it, and you agree to communications being sent to you at that address. We will not give your email address to any unauthorised third parties. However, if you send us email, please 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.

Online forms

If you choose to use our secure website to complete and/or save a loan application form, you may be assigned a User ID and password to access your loan application form on the website. You agree that we may use the email address you provide to send you the password. We will store the information you provide for your loan application, when you elect to Submit or Save for Later the application form. You agree to keep all User IDs and passwords safe at all times and to not disclose them to anyone. We have no responsibility or liability in the event a third party obtains and uses, through your disclosure or negligence, your User ID and password. You agree to tell us immediately if you have lost your User ID or password, or if you believe a third party may have obtained either piece of information or have gained unauthorised access to the website. You acknowledge that we will only consider your loan application finally submitted when you have printed off, signed and sent to us in hard copy your loan application form.

Information security

Our online loan application submission site is maintained using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and encryption. All of our systems are maintained in compliance with the corporate information security policies of Sallie Mae, Inc.

Information monitoring

We may monitor or record calls, emails, text messages or other communications in accordance with English law. Such recording or monitoring may take place for business purposes such as quality control and training, prevention of unauthorised use of our telecommunication systems and website, ensuring effective systems operation, prevention or detection of crime, and protection of your personal data.

Sensitive data

Certain information collected may be classified as sensitive and we can only use such data where we have your explicit consent or otherwise in compliance with the Data Protection Act. This data relates to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health, sexual life, criminal proceedings and offences.

The details we hold

Under the Data Protection 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 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 address

If you would like a copy of your credit file, please write to the following. You will need to tell them your full name and address(es) for the last six years.

Please contact us at the address below if you want to receive details of the relevant fraud prevention agencies.

Sallie Mae UK
PO Box 61726
Haymarket House
London SW1Y 4UZ
United Kingdom

Phone  0845 602 0315
Fax       0845 602 0316
Email    studentloan@salliemae.co.uk