Cookie Policy
Cookies Are Very Small, Often Encrypted Text Files That Are Stored On Your Computer When You Visit Certain Websites.
How we use cookies
This Policy was created in July 2020 and provides information in respect of how we and others use cookies.
Cookies may either be set by us (first party cookies) or by another party (third party cookies).
These allow us to:
- ensure important components of our website work correctly;
- analyse where visitors to our website have come from;
- look at number of visitors to different pages within our website;
- further analyse your actions once you come to our website so we can make our website easier to use and improve its performance;
- retain certain input data (for 30 days) in the event you leave the website before completing an application; and
- provide advertising material if you leave our website.
Third party cookies may be used to provide us, our third parties and/or their partners with tracking information which does not identify you personally, but which does recognise the device and type of websites and offers which the device is used to visit. In turn these tracking technologies may cause similar products and offers to be displayed on that device by way of banner advertisements and other means when you visit third party websites. This may be used for targeted pay-per-click advertising elsewhere.
If you come to our website via a search engine such as Bing or Google, they may use cookies. We do not have any control over such cookies, but you can manage them by changing the setting in your browser (please see section below).
Categories of cookies we use
The cookies we use can be divided into four categories:
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These are essential cookies needed for you to be able to use our website to its full extent. Without some of these cookies we can’t provide you with the service you want. These cookies cannot be disabled as it may prevent our website from working properly. These cookies do not gather information about you that can be used for marketing purposes. Certain cookies allow us to track how our website is performing (i.e. page load times) and how customers are using the website. They do not track outside of our website and are used by us anonymously.
Performance Cookies
These cookies collect information about how you have accessed our website and how you use it. This information is anonymous and used on an aggregated basis to improve how our website works and determine which marketing channels feed into it. Disabling these cookies will mean we can’t learn how our website is performing and improve the customer experience for you.
Functionality Cookies
These cookies allow our website to remember you and any choices you’ve made on our website. This can include certain data inputted/selected by you during your application which may include personal data and log-in details. It will also recognise if you have come to our website via a promotion and will retain that information, so the promotion remains available to you, whilst applicable. They can also be used to provide services such as watching a video or leaving comments. Disabling these cookies will mean that we’re unable to carry out the functions above and therefore your personal data and preferences may have to be reset every time you visit us. It may also mean that some functionality is not available. These cookies don’t track your browsing activity on third party websites.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies collect information about your browsing habits. They remember what websites you’ve visited and what products you’ve looked at. This information is then shared with third parties, such as advertisers. This is done in order to show you more relevant adverts and ensure they’re tailored to your interests. Disabling these cookies will mean that adverts you see online may be less relevant to you.
How long will cookies stay on my device?
The length of time a cookie will stay on your device is dependent on whether they are ‘session’ cookies or ‘persistent’ cookies.
Session cookies: these are set at the start of your visit to our website and only stay on your device until you stop browsing.
Persistent cookies: these are set on your first visit to our website but have an expiry date or time attached to them (usually 540 days). This means that the cookie will stay on your device until either you delete your cookies, or the expiry limit is reached.
How do I control which cookies are set on my device?
You may set your preferences when visiting our website to disable certain cookies however this will affect some important functionality of this website, including disrupting your loan application process, and adversely affecting your online account viewing area. When you first arrive on our website you should see the below pop up come up. You can either accept all our cookies and continue browsing by clicking ‘Continue’ or be taken to our cookie preference function by clicking on ‘More Information’. This function enables you to manage your acceptance of the categories of cookies set out above. Strictly Necessary cookies cannot be turned off as to do so would prevent you from using our website effectively.
