Personal Information Collection Statement

In order to implement the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (hereinafter referred to as the “Ordinance”), Buddy Finance Limited (hereinafter referred to as “Buddy Finance”) hereby informs you of the following rules:

1. Customers need to provide personal information to Buddy Finance from time to time when opening and/or renewing credit accounts, establishing and/or renewing credit facilities, and/or provided with other financial services.
2. Failure to provide such personal information may result in the inability of Buddy Finance to open or renew a credit account or establish or renew a credit facility or provide other financial services to customers.
3. In normal business operations, for example, when customers communicate with Buddy Finance in oral or written form, Buddy Finance will collect the customer’s personal data, through the form of documents or the phone recording system (depending on the circumstances).
4. The customer’s personal data may be used for the following purposes:

(a) daily operation of providing credit accounts, credit facilities and other financial services to customers ; 

(b) credit investigations when applying for credit, and during periodic or special review ; 

(c) compile and maintain the credit scoring model of Buddy Finance ; 

(d) assist other money lenders and/or financial institutions to conduct credit checks and collect debts ;  

(e) ensure that customers maintain reliable credit ;

(f) financial services or related products designed for customer use ; 

(g) calculate the debt between Buddy Finance and customers ;

(h) collect debts from customers and those who provide collateral for our customers ; 

(i) for the purpose of Buddy Finance to fulfill the requirements of any binding legislation; or to follow and implement any regulatory or other agency guidelines that Buddy Finance is expected to follow ;

(j) make the actual or proposed transferee of Buddy Finance, or the participants or affiliated participants of customer’s  rights of Buddy Finance to evaluate the intent to become the subject of the transfer, participation, or subsidiary participation ; and

(k) promote financial services or products of Buddy Finance ; and

(l) uses related to the above items.

 

The uses listed in paragraphs (a) to (j) (including both) and the related uses under paragraph (l) above are “mandatory”, meaning that if the customer wants to use the services of Buddy Finance, the customer must allow Buddy Finance to use their personal data for those purposes. The purposes listed in paragraph (k) and the related purposes in paragraph (l) above are “voluntary”, meaning that customers have the right to choose whether Buddy Finance can use their data for such purposes.

 

5. Buddy Finance will keep the personal data of its customers confidential, but Buddy Finance may provide such information to following parties (whether in or outside Hong Kong) for the purposes listed in paragraph 4:

(a) any agent, contractor, or third-party service provider that provides administrative, telecommunications, computer, payment or other services related to the operation of Buddy Finance ;

(b) anyone who has the obligation to keep the confidentiality of Buddy Finance, and Buddy Finance promises to keep the information confidential ;

(c) anyone who has obtained the prescribed consent of the customer ;

(d) credit information service agencies; and when customers owe our debts, we can provide such information to collection companies ; 

(e) Buddy Finance is obliged to disclose to person under legally binding requirements for Buddy Finance or to follow the regulatory or guidelines issued by regulatory or agency that Buddy Finance is expected to follow ; and

(f) actual or proposed transferee of Buddy Finance or participant or affiliated participant or transferee of rights of customers of Buddy Finance.

6. Buddy Finance hopes to use customers’ personal data for direct marketing purposes. Without obtaining his or her prior consent (which may include expressing no objection), Buddy Finance will not use the customer’s personal data for such purposes. In this regard, please note:

(a) Buddy Finance may use customer names, contact information, product and service portfolio information, transaction patterns and behaviors, financial background and demographic data held by Buddy Finance from time to time for direct marketing ;

(b) it can be used to promote for following types of services, products and promotion targets:

(i) finance-related services and products ; and

(ii) rewards, customer loyalty or preferential programs and related services and products.

Customers have the right to choose whether their personal data is used for direct marketing purposes. If the customer agrees to use his or her personal data for direct marketing at any time but then he/she changes his mind, he or she has the right to write to the data protection officer at free of charge to the address or fax number provided in paragraph 10 of the text, or to any other method acceptable to Buddy Finance, notify Buddy Finance that he/she no longer wants Buddy Finance to use his/her personal data for direct marketing.

7. According to the terms of the regulations and the Code of Practice for Personal Credit Data issued under the regulations, each customer has the right to:

(a) check whether Buddy Finance have record and access of his personal data ; 

(b) ask Buddy Finance to correct any inaccurate personal information;

(c) ascertain the policies and practices of Buddy Finance on personal data and be informed of the types of personal data held by Buddy Finance ;

(d) inquiry and get a reply from Buddy Finance, which personal data are routinely disclosed to relevant credit reference service agencies or collection companies, and obtain further information from Buddy Finance, so that they can request access and corrections of personal data to relevant credit reference service agencies or collection companies ;

(e) when the account is closed by paying off the debt in full, instruct Buddy Finance to request the credit reference agency to delete the personal data from its database. This instruction must be informed within five years after the account is closed. And in the five years immediately before the closed of the account, there was no record of arrears exceeding sixty days. This information includes the amount of repayment due last time, the amount of repayment made during the last reporting period (i.e. the period not exceeding 31 days immediately before Buddy Finance provided account information to the credit reference service agency), the remaining available credit amount or unpaid amount and arrears information (i.e. overdue arrears and the number of overdue repayment days, the date when the overdue arrears are settled, and the date when the arrears over sixty days have been paid in full (if any))
 

8. Customers should note:

(a) in the event of account defaults, unless the arrears are fully paid or written off before the expiration of sixty days from the date of default (except due to bankruptcy orders), the credit reference agency may keep the repayment data of the account for five years from the date of full payment of the arrears ; and

(b) if any amount in the customer’s account is written off due to the issuance of a bankruptcy order, regardless of whether the account repayment information shows that there is a record of more than sixty days in arrears, the credit reference service agency may keep the repayment information until five years have elapsed from the date which the arrears are fully paid, or five years have elapsed since the date when the customer provides evidence to notify the credit information service agency that the bankruptcy order has been discharged (whichever occurs earlier).  

9. In accordance with the terms of the regulations, Buddy Finance has the right to charge a reasonable fee for processing any request for access to personal data. 
10. (i) Any request for access to or correction of personal data, or request for personal data collection statement about Buddy Finance and the types of data held, and (ii) notification of the use of personal data for direct marketing, should be addressed to the following person:

Room 401-402, 4/F., Dominion Centre,  

43-59 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Buddy Finance Limited

Data Protection Officer

Fax number : 21058088

11. When approving any credit application and/or reviewing or renewing existing credit facilities provided to customers, Buddy Finance may obtain credit reports from the credit reference service agencies. If Buddy Finance consults the customer’s consumer credit reports for review purposes, it will consider the increase in the amount of credit, the cancellation of the credit, the decrease in the amount of credit, or the arrangement of debt repayment with related customers. In order to monitor the debts reasonably during the period when customers are in arrears, Buddy Finance can also check the consumer credit reports of the customers. If customers have intent to access credit report, please directly contact TransUnion Limited at 2577 1816.

12. This personal information collection statement shall not restrict the rights of customers under the regulations.
13. If there is any discrepancy between the English and Chinese versions of this Personal Information Collection Statement, the English version shall be applicable and enforced for all purposes.

 

 

Buddy Finance Limited