Privacy & cookies notice

Privacy and Cookie Policy

Contents

Use the links below to take you directly to the section of the notice you wish to read:
 

Introduction – About this privacy and cookie notice

This Privacy and Cookies Policy (the “Policy”) applies when you visit Our website at https://www.pragroup.co.uk/ (the “Website”) (regardless of where you visit it from) or contact Us through the Website, by email, letter or telephone.  We respect your privacy and so the security and privacy of your personal information are important to Us. We are committed to safeguarding and preserving your privacy when you visit and use the Website or you communicate electronically or otherwise with Us. 

If you are also a customer of PRA Group (UK) Limited and/or PRA Group UK Portfolios Ltd, which appointed Us as a servicer, you will have also received a copy of the relevant data controller’s Fair Processing Notice when your account was acquired by the legal owner of your debt. The Fair Processing Notices set out how each of PRA Group (UK) Limited or PRA Group UK Portfolios Ltd process your personal data to manage your account, while this Policy sets out how We process your personal data when you visit the Website or you communicate with Us.

This Policy, (together with the Website use Terms and Conditions, the Fair Processing Notices of PRA Group ( UK) Limited and PRA Group UK Portfolios Ltd) sets out the basis upon which any personal information We collect from you, from third parties, or that you provide to Us, shall be processed by Us. It also explains the purposes for which We process your personal data, with whom We may share your personal data and the rights to which you may be entitled.

Please note that where you intend to make a payment using the Website, please ensure you have read the Website Use Terms and Conditions as well as this Policy.

We may decide or may be legally obliged to amend and update this Policy from time to time so please ensure you read this Policy every time you use the Website or communicate with us.

About Us

The Website is operated by PRA Group (UK) Limited, Level 11, Riverside House, 2A Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 9HA (“PRA UK”).   In this Policy, PRA UK, itself, may be referred to as ‘We’ or ‘Us’ or ‘Our’ or together with any member of its group as “PRA Group“.

When you use Our Website or you communicate with Us PRA UK is the “data controller” and responsible for your personal data.

If you have any questions about this Policy, including any requests to exercise your legal rights or you wish to contact Our Data Protection Officer, you can us by email privacy@pragroup.co.uk or by post to PO Box 26249, Kilmarnock, KA3 1HA.

We have appointed PRA Group Polska Holding Sp. z o.o., a company incorporated in Poland under company registration number 0000537397  with its registered office at Prosta 68, 00-838 Warszawa (Warsaw) to act as Our representative in data protection matters for consumers from the EU / EEA.  Contact details for our European Representative are as follows:

Email: eu_uk-dprepresentative@pragroup.eu

Information we may collect from you

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data) and we are not able to identify a person either directly or indirectly.

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you that is provided to Us by you or a third party, authorised to do so on your behalf, when you or they contact Us, and when making a payment, completing forms, responding to surveys, and any other responses to requests for information on the Website or when We communicate with each other. 

We have grouped this personal data as follows:

  • Identity Data includes first name, maiden name, last name, username or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth and gender.
  • Contact Data includes billing address, email address and telephone numbers.
  • Financial Data includes bank account and payment card details, information from your credit file, income and expenditure and further information allowing you to manage your account.
  • Transaction Data includes details about payments you have made to Us.
  • Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access the Website.
  • Profile Data includes your username and password, your feedback and survey responses.
  • Usage Data includes information about how you use the Website, including, but not limited to, traffic, click tracking, location, weblogs and other such data, and the resources that you access from the Website and Information you provide when you report a problem with the Website.
  • Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing communications from Us and Our third parties and your communication preferences.
  • Experience Information includes information about your experience with us that you may discuss with us when communicating with us.

Special Categories of Personal Data

    • Under certain circumstances, We may require you to provide us with or you may volunteer, information about you which is deemed “special categories of personal data” (“Special Category Data”), for example, information about your physical or mental health. 

    • This may be because We think you may be considered vulnerable, and as such, We may need this additional information to comply with Our obligations to manage your account in the most appropriate manner, having regard to your circumstances. We will only use this Special Category Data to exercise forbearance in collecting your debt, and to manage your account and circumstances appropriately.

    • Where We have no other legal grounds for processing Sensitive Personal Data, We will seek your consent to process your Special Category Data, in accordance with applicable laws. We may share any of your Special Category Data with other members of PRA Group, or relevant third parties for such purposes only. We will only ever share your Special Category Data if We are required or permitted to do so under applicable laws, or if We have obtained your consent.

How is your personal data collected?

We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:

  • Direct interactions. You may give us your Identity, Contact and Financial Data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email, SMS, Live Chat or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:
    • log into your account on Our websites, speak to an agent on the phone, SMS, or chat
    • request marketing to be sent to you.
    • complete a form or survey.
    • give Us feedback or contact Us.
  • Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with the Website, We will automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies server logs and other similar technologies. We may also receive Technical Data about you if you visit other websites employing Our cookies. Please see our cookie section for further details.
  • Third parties or publicly available sources. We will receive personal data about you from various third parties and public sources as set out below:
    • Technical Data from the following parties:

(i) analytics providers such as Google based outside the UK;

(ii) advertising networks such as Google outside the UK; and

(iii) Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) such as Experian, Equifax and TransUnion based inside the UK and sometimes outside the UK.

    • Contact, Financial and Transaction Data from providers of technical, payment and delivery services such as Sage Pay (Opao) and Barclays Smartpay based inside the UK.
    • Identity and Contact Data from data brokers or aggregators such as Lexis Nexis and GB Group based inside the UK.
    • Identity and Contact Data from publicly available sources such as Companies House, the Electoral Register, fraud prevention agencies and law enforcement agencies, based inside the UK.
  • Information from the previous creditor.
    • When your account is transferred to us, as part of the new contractual agreement, we receive information from your creditor to create your account. This allows you to manage your account online and continue to make payments towards your debt. Data includes: Your Identity, Contact and Account Information including outstanding balance, payment history and detail of defaults and missed payments.

What we do with your information

We use information We collect about you in the following ways:

  • To collect your debt and to assist you in managing your account, including setting up of an affordable payment plan and assessing the affordability of such plan
  • To ensure that content from the Website is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer, this will include performing tests on our Website to improve your experience on our Website
  • To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from Us or which We feel may interest you, and where you have consented to be contacted for such purposes
  • To allow you to participate in interactive features of Our service, when you choose to do so
  • To notify you about changes to Our service
  • To allow you to make payments safely and securely on the payments page of the Website
  • For research and analysis purposes, including assessment of your likelihood to make payments to your account
  • To prevent fraud, money laundering and any other criminal activity
  • To discuss your experience of PRA UK as a result of feedback you have provided.
  • For other purposes as set out in Our Fair Processing Notice
 

Where you have requested that We contact you, and you provide Us with your name, together with your address, telephone numbers or e-mail address for this purpose, you consent to being contacted by these methods, for these purposes.  Where you have contacted Us to discuss and provide feedback on your experience of PRA UK, you consent to being contacted by the contact information provided to Us for these purposes.

If you try to login to the payment area of the Website using your mobile phone number, and you are unsuccessful, We will get in touch with you on that number, to help you to log in successfully, and make a payment. By inputting your mobile number, you consent to Us using it to get in touch with you, where your login attempt failed.

Change of purpose

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which We collected it, unless We reasonably consider that We need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please Contact Us.

If We need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, We will notify you and We will explain the legal basis which allows Us to do so.

Please note that We may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

Security of your Personal Information

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered, or disclosed. In addition, We limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on Our instructions, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

You should be aware that the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure and therefore We cannot guarantee the security of any information you send to Us electronically, and transmission of such information is therefore entirely at your own risk.

Where We have given you (or where you have chosen) login details, including a password so that you can access certain parts of the Website, you are responsible for keeping these login details confidential. We will accept no liability for unauthorized use of your login details on the Website.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where We are legally required to do so.

Disclosing your Information

We may disclose your personal information to any member of PRA Group, where there is legal ground for such disclosure. This includes, where applicable, Our subsidiaries, Our holding companies and their other subsidiaries (if any).

We may also disclose your personal information:

  • To prospective purchasers of any or all of our business and/or our business assets and their advisors
  • To relevant authorities, where We are under a legal obligation to disclose your information, and to prevent fraud and money laundering
  • To any third party who provide services to Us as a data processor
  • To payment services providers, to facilitate payments made by you via the payments page of the Website
  • In order to protect and enforce Our rights
  • Where We are entitled to by law
  • To third parties to facilitate credit risk reduction
  • To other third parties as set out in the Fair Processing Notice

Transfer of Data outside the United Kingdom

We or some of Our third party service providers (including but not limited to merchant services suppliers) may transfer personal information We or they collect outside the United Kingdom for processing,  storing and related purpose. We will only transfer your personal information outside the United Kingdom, where (i) the UK Government has confirmed that the country to which we transfer the personal information ensures an adequate level of protection for your rights and freedoms; or (ii) appropriate safeguards are put in place such as binding corporate rules or standard contractual clauses approved for use in the UK; or (iii) compliance by US companies with their obligations under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and valid certification.

Data Retention – How long will We use your personal data?

We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes We collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if We reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to Our relationship with you.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, We consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which We process your personal data and whether We can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.

In some circumstances you can ask Us to delete your data: see your legal rights below for further information.

In some circumstances We will anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case We may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

Third Party Personal Information

If you provide Us with personal information about another person, you confirm that they have appointed you to act for them, and that you have informed them of Our identity and the purposes for which their personal information will be processed as set out in this Policy.

Your rights

Under data protection laws you have certain rights in relation to your personal data. Please note that many of these rights are not absolute and We may have grounds to not fully comply with your request (for example where We are required by law to process your personal data in a way that is incompatible with your request or be able to rely on exemptions under data protection law which entitle Us to process your personal data in a way that is incompatible with your request).  Where such circumstances exist, We will inform you at the time you make a request to exercise your rights.

  • Right to access your personal data – You have the right to ask for a copy of the personal data We hold about you.
  • Right to rectification of your personal data – If you believe that any of the personal data We hold for you is incorrect, it is important that you make Us aware as soon as possible, so that We can rectify Our records.
  • Right to erasure (right to be forgotten) – You have the right to request that We delete data relating to you.
  • Right to restriction of processing – You have the right to request restriction of processing of your personal data.
  • Right to data portability – You have the right to receive the personal data you have provided to Us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and the right to have that personal data transmitted to another data controller.
  • Right to object to processing – You have the right to object to particular ways We are using your personal data. You also have the right to object where We are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes.
  • Right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you – As noted above We may use the personal data We hold about you to conduct profiling and make decisions solely by automated means (for example, to predict how likely you are to be able to pay your debt, or how best to manage Our relationship with you). However, We do not believe that this processing has either a legal effect or similarly significant impact on you.
  • Right to withdraw consent – Where processing of your personal data is based on consent given to Us for one or more specific purposes, you may withdraw your consent at any time provided that this does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

If you wish to withdraw your consent, please contact: privacy@pragroup.co.uk or tel: 08081 96 5541.

  • Right to lodge a complaint – You have the right to complain if you consider that the processing of your personal data by Us infringes your rights or applicable data protection laws. Contact details for complaints to Us are as follows:
 

Head of Customer Services UK
PRA Group (UK) Limited
Halo Enterprise & Innovation Centre
Hill Street
Kilmarnock
KA3 1HA

Email: privacy@pragroup.co.uk

You also have the right to complain to a competent supervisory authority. If you believe that your personal data has been processed incorrectly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.   The name and address of the relevant competent supervisory authority is: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. You can also lodge a complaint using their website at https://ico.org.uk.

In the event that you wish to exercise any of these rights you may do so (i) by contacting Us using any medium you wish, including in writing, by telephone, by SMS or electronically or (ii) through a third party whom you have authorised for this purpose.  However, please note that as part of security measures, to protect your personal information, We may need to request further information from you to verify and confirm your identity.

Third Party Links

When you are using the Website you may navigate to other websites which are not operated by Us (“Third Party Websites”). Third Party Websites may send their own cookies to you and collect or request personal information and other information. We have no control over Third Party Websites and therefore take no responsibility for them. By having a link to Third Party Websites from the Website We do not make any representations or undertakings about the Third Party Websites nor do We endorse them and We may not have any connection with the Third Party Websites’ operators and controllers. You should always read the terms and conditions of use and privacy policy of Third- Party Websites before using.

Webserver Logs

We may gather certain information automatically and store it in log files for statistical purposes. These log files contain standard information collected by web servers, such as client IP addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), operating system, etc. This information is only used by PRA UK. This information is not distributed or sold to a third party. We use this information to analyse trends, to administer the Website and to gather demographic information about the Website users as a whole.

The Use of Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. These cookies are stored on the hard drive of your computer.  They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the website.

Like many other websites, we use cookies on the Website to help us gather and store information about visitors to the Website to help us provide a better Website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or to any information about you, other than the information you choose to share with us.

We use Google Analytics cookies to help us understand how our visitors use and interact with our website. Although Google Analytics uses cookies we would like to state that on this website Google Analytics is set to include IP anonymisation to ensure that IP address collection is anonymised (IP masking). This and other settings in Google Analytics ensure that the masked IP address collected from your browser is not merged with any other Google data.

PRA Group uses a cookie management tool to allow customers to ‘opt in’ and consent to non-essential cookie (those that are not essential for the safe and secure operation of the website).

If you ‘opt in’ and accept using Google Analytics cookies with our cookie banner, we use Google Analytics cookies and Google Analytics to collect general and anonymised statistical data to help us understand how our visitors use and interact with our website.

Google Analytics stores information about: page visits, actions on site, length of time spent on site, how, how you got to the site, clicks during visit, information on browser and device using anonymised IP.

Although Google Analytics uses cookies we would like to state that on this website Google Analytics is set to include IP anonymisation to ensure that IP address collection is anonymised (IP masking).

This and other settings in Google Analytics ensure that the masked IP address collected from your browser is not merged with any other Google data products outside of Google Analytics. Google may transfer and process data on its servers in the US.

More details about how Google Analytics collects and processes data are available at www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners.

Webtrekk

Webtrekk is a web analysis and statistics service from Webtrekk GmbH, Robert-Koch-Platz 4, 10115 Berlin, Germany, which collects data to understand how visitors interact with our Website in an anonymous or pseudonymised form whilst complying to data protection regulations (GDPR).

The processing carried out by Webtrekk serves to guarantee the integrity and security of the website, which is in the mutual interest of the website operator and the website visitor. The processing is therefore carried out on the legal basis of consent in accordance with Article 6 Paragraph 1(a).

The processing includes in detail:

  • information on the user’s end device, operating system and browser used; the IP address shortened by the last octet
  • geo-information up to the city level;
  • the URL accessed with the associated page title and optional information on the page content;
  • the website from which the individual page visited was accessed (referrer site including assignment to search engines and social media sites and reading of campaign parameters);
  • the subsequent pages (only on our website – no external pages) that were visited from the accessed website within a single website in the session;
  • the length of stay on the website;
  • Other interactions (clicks) on the website such as buttons, videos viewed, FAQs, log ins, registrations and payment completions

Below you will find the e-mail address of the data protection officer of the processing company.

datenschutz@webtrekk.com

For more information about Webtrekk, see the data processor’s privacy policy , available at: https://www.webtrekk.com/privacy-notice.html

Your Control of Cookies

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. You can also change the settings on your internet browser to accept all cookies, to notify you when a cookie is set, or not to receive cookies at any time. However, doing any of these  may prevent you from taking full advantage of the Website, and you may lose some of the functionality of  the Website as a result. If you want to delete any cookies that are already on your computer, please refer to the instructions for your file management software to locate the file or directory that stores cookies.

 




 

For help in deleting our cookies please refer to the relevant link below:

Google Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en-GB&p=cpn_cookies

Microsoft Internet Explorer: https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10-microsoft-edge-and-privacy

Firefox: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/278835/how-to-delete-cookie-files-in-internet-explorer

Safari on Mac: https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21411?locale=en_US

Safari on Mobile: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201265 

Opera: https://blogs.opera.com/news/2015/08/how-to-manage-cookies-in-opera/

For further information about cookies and how to disable them please go to: www.aboutcookies.org.

Contact us

PRA Group (UK) Limited

Level 11, Riverside House, 

2A Southwark Bridge Road,

London,

SE1 9HA

0808 196 5550

Email: privacy@pragroup.co.uk