This policy should be read in conjunction with our Company Privacy Notice which can be found here

How we use your information
This privacy and cookies notice policy has been prepared to meet the requirements of the UK’s Data Protection Act 1998 and The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011. The policy tells you what to expect when Claratus Commercial Finance Ltd collects personal information. It applies to information we collect about:

  • visitors to our websites
  • complainants and other individuals in relation to a data protection or freedom of information complaint or any other enquiry
  • people who use our services, eg those who subscribe to our newsletter or place an enquiry
  • people who notify under the Data Protection Act
  • job applicants and our current and former employees

Visitors to our websites
When someone visits http://claratus.com we collect standard internet log information, such as location data and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. We collect this information in a way which does not identify anyone personally. We do not make any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting any of our websites (Claratus Commercial Finance group of companies). We will not associate any data gathered from this site with any personally identifying information from any source. If we do want to collect personally identifiable information through our website, we will be up front about this. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and will explain what we intend to do with it.

Use of cookies by Claratus Commercial Finance Ltd
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. 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 site.
The table below explains the cookies we use and why.

 

Cookie
Purpose
More information
Google Analytics (& Bing Analytics)
Google sets these performance cookies, which These cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our site. Google stores the information collected on servers in the United States. Google may transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google state that they will not associate your IP address with any other data held by them.
Click here for an overview of privacy at Google
Content Management System cookie
This cookie is set by our content management system. It tracks when the user is logged in and enables a profile. This cookie is essential in order to enable you to move around the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the website.
We do not actively use the data or export for marketing purposes, it is purely for website functionality.
Online Shopping Cart
Some sections of the site may have a shopping cart functionality. During the selection process through to Checkout the user is tracked by profile to enable a complete booking to be placed in our CRM system. This is an automated process.
The purchase details are stored in the website database for an audit trial of purchase. This information is not exported and never distributed.
The payment is processed by a third party eg.Paypal or Google checkout and we do not have access to this part of the payment or any associated information other than the basic requirements for us to process a booking and register it in our CRM system.
Web Chat Software
This cookie is a functionality cookie which tracks the page and visitor trail through the site, and the IP location to enable rapid response. This cookie remembers your choices in order to improve your experience. No personal detail is taken without request.
The web chat has a non-mandatory login. If the viewer chooses to input their details they are stored on their cookies for future recognition so we can quickly identify any previous enquiries.

How to disable cookies
Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visitwww.allaboutcookies.org.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying the settings in your browser. For example, in Internet Explorer, you can go to Tools and Internet Options, where there is the option to change your settings to disable cookies. However, you may not be able to use all the interactive features of our site if the cookies are disabled. You also have the ability to delete cookies that have been installed in the cookie folder of your browser. To do this you should search for “cookies” in your “Help” function for information on where to find your cookie folder.

Unless you have adjusted your browser settings so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you log on to our Site. To prevent Google Analytics cookies being set, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On by clicking on this link –http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout and following the instructions.

Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visitwww.allaboutcookies.org.

YouTube cookies
We embed videos from our official YouTube channel using YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode. This mode may set cookies on your computer once you click on the YouTube video player, but YouTube will not store personally-identifiable cookie information for playbacks of embedded videos using the privacy-enhanced mode. To find out more please visit YouTube’s embedding videos information page: http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en-GB&answer=171780

People who place an enquiry with us
When you place an enquiry with Claratus Commercial Finance either directly or indirectly through an intermediary, such as an online broker we store information that you have supplied regarding your contact information and business requirements. This information is stored in a secure CRM system. We use this information to store account history and contact you via email or phone during and after the sales process based on the requirements you have given us. We have a clear ‘do not contact’ field that stops information being passed through to sales and marketing. We do not pass on information to third parties and only use the information to market based upon the enquiry that was freely given to us. You can be removed from our CRM system by contacting info@claratus.com.

We purchase data from certified professional agencies to market our products. This data is not held within our CRM system, and is only available to the marketing department. All emarketing has a clear ‘unsubscribe’ mechanism that prevents further messages.

People who call our helpline
When you call Claratus Commercial Finance’s sales/helpline we collect Calling Line Identification (CLI) information. We use this information to help improve its efficiency and effectiveness.

However, there may be situations where you do not want us to collect CLI information. The simplest way to deal with this is to dial 141 before dialling our number. Always dial the 141 first, in front of any other numbers. However, if you are dialling from an extension on a business switchboard system, where you have to dial (typically) 9 for an outside line, you should dial 9 first, then 141 and then the outside number.

When you dial 141, this is described as ‘blocking your CLI’. As mentioned above, it stops us from knowing your number. You should note, however, that your phone company and their operators can always see your number should they need to.

People who make a complaint to us
When we receive a complaint we make up a file containing the details of the complaint. This normally contains the identity of the complainant and any other individuals involved in the complaint.
We will only use the personal information we collect to process the complaint and to check on the level of service we provide. We do compile and publish statistics showing information like the number of complaints we receive, but not in a form which identifies anyone personally.

We usually have to disclose the complainant’s identity to whoever the complaint is about. This is inevitable where, for example, the accuracy of a person’s record is in dispute. If a complainant doesn’t want information identifying him or her to be disclosed, we will try to respect that. However, it may not be possible to handle a complaint on an anonymous basis.

We will keep personal information contained in complaint files in line with our retention policy. This means that information relating to a complaint will be retained for four years from closure in a secure environment.

Similarly, where enquiries are submitted to us we will only use the information supplied to us to deal with the enquiry and any subsequent issues and to check on the level of service we provide.

When we take enforcement action against someone, we may publish the identity of the defendant in our Annual Report or elsewhere. Usually we do not, identify any complainants unless the details have already been made public.

People who use Claratus Commercial Finance services
Claratus Commercial Finance offers various services to the public. For example, we send out publications and distribute an electronic newsletter. We use third party software to distribute our emarketing material.
We have to hold the details of the people who have requested the service in order to provide it. However, we only use these details to provide the service the person has requested and for other closely related purposes. For example, we might use information about people who have made a sales enquiry or attended an event. When people do subscribe to our services, they can cancel their subscription at any time and are given an easy way of doing this.

People who ‘notify’ under the Data Protection Act 1998
Claratus Commercial Finance puts technical measures in place to prevent the bulk down-load of our data. When businesses fill in forms or make an enquiry, they are asked to provide the contact details of a relevant member of staff. Claratus Commercial Finance will use this for its own purposes only.

Job applicants, current and former Claratus Commercial Finance employees
When individuals apply to work at Claratus Commercial Finance, we will only use the information they supply to us to process their application and to monitor recruitment statistics. Where we want to disclose information to a third party, for example where we want to take up a reference or obtain a ‘disclosure’ from the Criminal Records Bureau we will not do so without informing them beforehand unless the disclosure is required by law.
Personal information about unsuccessful candidates will be held for 12 months after the recruitment exercise has been completed, it will then be destroyed or deleted. We retain de-personalised statistical information about applicants to help inform our recruitment activities, but no individuals are identifiable from that data.

Once a person has taken up employment with Claratus Commercial Finance, we will compile a file relating to their employment. The information contained in this will be kept secure and will only be used for purposes directly relevant to that person’s employment. Once their employment with Claratus Commercial Finance has ended, we will retain the file in accordance with the requirements of our retention schedule and then delete it.

Complaints or queries
Claratus Commercial Finance tries to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. For this reason, we take any complaints we receive about this very seriously. We encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate. We would also welcome any suggestions for improving our procedures.

This privacy notice was drafted with brevity and clarity in mind. It does not provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of Claratus Commercial Finance’s collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed. Any requests for this should be sent to the address below.

Your right to access to personal information
Claratus Commercial Finance tries to be as open as it can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. Individuals can find out if we hold any personal information by making a ‘subject access request’ under the Data Protection Act 1998. If we do hold information about you we will:

  • give you a description of it;
  • tell you why we are holding it;
  • tell you who it could be disclosed to; and
  • let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.

To make a request to Claratus Commercial Finance for any personal information we may hold you need to put the request in writing addressing it to our Corporate department, or write to the address provided below.
If you agree, we will try to deal with your request informally, for example, by providing you with the specific information you need over the telephone.

Any access request will be subject to a fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with such information.

Disclosure of personal information
In many circumstances we will not disclose personal data without consent. However when we investigate a complaint, for example, we will need to share personal information with the organisation concerned and with other relevant bodies. You can also get further information on this by contacting our Corporate department.

Links to other websites
This privacy notice does not cover the links within this site linking to other websites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies.

This policy was last updated in June 2012. We recommend that you check this page regularly to ensure that you have read the most recent version and that you are happy with the changes.

Interactive areas of our Site
Information that you post via social networking sites, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter and Linked In, is generally accessible to and maybe collected by others. This may result in unwelcome communications. For your own safety and security, you should not provide any information on the aforementioned sites, that you would not want others to see.

If you do provide any information via social networking sites, we do not accept any responsibility or liability for any breach of privacy, loss, damage, effect on your reputation or otherwise, whatsoever.

Contact
Questions, comments and requests regarding this policy are welcomed and should be addressed to info@claratus.com.