BAT Australia - BATA's Credit Privacy Statement
1. Purpose of the Credit Privacy Statement
This Credit Privacy Statement explains how BAT Australia Ltd ( BATA ) and its related entities within Australia deal with certain types of credit-related personal information ( Credit Information ) which is regulated by the Privacy Act 1988 ( Privacy Act ) and the Credit Reporting Code (together, Australian privacy law ). This Credit Privacy Statement details the types of Credit Information we collect, how we may use and disclose that information and who we allow to access it.
In addition to this Credit Privacy Statement, we will on occasion provide specific notifications about how we use particular Credit Information that we collect.
This Credit Privacy Statement is to be read in conjunction with our Privacy Statement which is available at www.bata.com.au/privacy. If you would like to request a copy of this Credit Privacy Statement in another form, please contact us at the details below.
We may amend this Credit Privacy Statement at any time. The updated version will be available at www.bata.com.au/creditprivacy on our website. The updated version will be effective from the time it is available on our website. We recommend you check the Credit Privacy Statement regularly for changes.
To make this Credit Privacy Statement easier to read, we use a few definitions. The terms “BATA”, “we”, “us” and “our” are used to refer to BAT Australia Ltd.
The term “BAT Group” is used to refer to British American Tobacco p.l.c. and the group of companies constituting its direct and indirect subsidiaries worldwide, including BAT Australia Ltd.
2. The Credit Reporting System
If an individual, partnership, body corporate or company of which an individual is a director, applies to us for a commercial trading account ( Credit Terms ) in connection with the supply of goods under our Commercial Trading Account Terms and Conditions and our Terms and Conditions of Sale (or an individual applies to us to provide a guarantee for a credit terms), we may obtain a credit report about the individual from a credit reporting body when the Australian privacy law permits us to do so.
We may also obtain a credit report about an individual from a credit reporting body when the Australian privacy law permits us to do so, if an individual, or company of which an individual is director, has been provided with Credit Terms, or has provided a guarantee for Credit Terms.
When we request a credit report from a credit reporting body, we will provide information to the credit reporting body that identifies the individual, and we may give information about the Credit Terms, including the type and amount of credit.
3. What credit information do we collect about an individual?
The types of Credit Information that we may collect about an individual includes:
- information contained in credit reports obtained from credit reporting bodies, which includes information about repayment history with other credit providers;
- identification information, including current and prior names and addresses, any known alias, date of birth, gender, current or last known employer, passport information, driver’s licence number and residency status;
- bank account details;
- financial information;
- court proceedings information, which includes information about a judgement against an individual that relates to any credit that has been provided to, or applied for, by the individual;
- personal insolvency information;
- certain publicly available information; and
- scores, ratings, summaries, evaluations and other information relating to an individual’s credit worthiness which is derived by us or by credit reporting bodies wholly or partly from any of the information above.
We may collect Credit Information about an individual in a number of ways including directly from the individual and from other sources by using written forms, through contact over the telephone, mobile or other messaging technology, the internet, in person, internally, through the use of individuals’ Credit Terms, for example, an individual’s payment performance on Credit Terms, and from credit reporting bodies.
An individual need not provide us with Credit Information if we request it from them, but it may affect our ability to provide them with products, services or further information they have requested.
We, or service providers on our behalf, may hold Credit Information about individuals in electronic form, digital records, telephone recordings or in paper files.
4. Collection, use and disclosure of Credit Information
We may collect, hold, use and disclose an individual’s Credit Information as reasonably necessary for our business purposes and as permitted by Australian privacy law. Our purposes may include:
- to verify the identity of an individual in relation to an application to us for a commercial trading account;
- to assess whether to provide an individual, or an entity associated, with credit or to accept an individual as a guarantor for credit applied for by another person;
- to derive scores, ratings, summaries and evaluations relating to an individual’s credit worthiness (which are used in our decision-making processes and ongoing reviews);
- to administer and manage credit we provide;
- to develop our products and services and to maintain and develop our systems and infrastructure;
- to enable us to participate in the credit reporting system and provide information to credit reporting bodies as permitted by the Australian privacy laws;
- to collect overdue payments;
- to undertake debt recovery and enforcement activities, including in relation to guarantors; and
- to deal with complaints and meet legal and regulatory requirements. Some Credit Information may only be used or disclosed under Australian privacy law for some of these purposes or in some circumstances.
We may also collect or disclose Credit Information about an individual from or to any entity where that collection or disclosure is required or authorised by law.
We may disclose an individual’s Credit Information on a confidential basis to other BAT Group entities, potential or current guarantors, our agents, contractors or third party service providers that provide financial, legal, administrative or other services required in connection with the operation of our business.
We may also use or disclose Credit Information for any other purposes notified to you at or around the time of collection.
5. Disclosure to Credit Reporting Bodies.
From time to time, BATA may disclose Credit Information to credit reporting bodies for purposes permitted under Australian privacy laws. For example:
- if an individual or their company applies for a commercial trading account with us or we assess the individual as a guarantor, we may check the individual's identity and/or request a credit report about the individual from a credit reporting body; and
- if there is a failure to meet payment obligations to us or if a serious credit infringement is committed, we may disclose such information to a credit reporting body.
A credit reporting body may use Credit Information provided by us to create a credit score for the individual, and may include the information provided by us in reports provided by the credit reporting body to other credit providers to assist them to assess that individual's credit worthiness.
The individual whose information has been disclosed has special rights under Australian privacy laws in relation to dealings with credit reporting bodies, such as:
- they may request from a credit reporting body its policy on how it manages their Credit Information;
- credit reporting bodies can use their Credit Information for a pre-screening assessment at the request of a credit provider unless the individual asks the credit reporting body not to. If they do not want a credit reporting body to use their Credit Information for the purpose of pre-screening, they have the right to ask the credit reporting body to exclude them; and
- if the individual reasonably believes that they have been or are likely to be a victim of fraud, including identity-related fraud, they can request the credit reporting body not to use or disclose Credit Information the credit reporting body holds about them.
The credit reporting bodies we currently deal with are:
- Illion Australia Pty Ltd (Illion). Please go to https://www.illion.com.au/privacy-policy/ for Illion’s privacy policy with its contact details and information about how Illion manages credit information; and
- Equifax Pty Ltd (Equifax). Please go to https://www.equifax.com.au/privacy for Equifax's privacy policy with its contact details and information about how Equifax manages credit information.
6. Overseas disclosure
BATA is part of the BAT Group, which is a global organisation. For the purposes explained in this Credit Privacy Statement, an individual’s Credit Information will be disclosed to our related entities (including service providers operating on their behalf) in Malaysia and Pakistan and/or other third parties in these countries. For the purposes explained in this Credit Privacy Statement, an individual’s Credit Information may also be disclosed to our related entities (including service providers operating on their behalf) and/or other third parties in countries which do not have the same level of privacy laws as Australia. We will only disclose an individual’s Credit Information overseas in accordance with the applicable privacy laws.
Disclosure may take place in countries in which the BAT Group has business operations including those countries listed on our global website at www.bat.com/countries in addition to India. From time to time we may need to disclose an individual’s Credit Information to parties in countries other than these. This will be on an ad hoc or case by case basis and for the purposes for which we collected your Credit Information.
7. Information security
We take reasonable steps to protect Credit Information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Credit information is stored securely whether in an electronic or physical form. For example, only our staff who need access to Credit Information are permitted access to it. Credit Information is stored in secured premises or in electronic databases requiring logins and passwords.
8. Access and correction
An individual can request access at any time to Credit Information that we hold about them. We will process their request within a reasonable time. There is no fee for an individual requesting access to their Credit Information, however, we may charge them the reasonable cost of processing their request. An individual may ask us at any time to correct Credit Information held by us about them, which they believe is incorrect or out of date. For the purposes of clarity, if the access or correction request relates to information held by our credit reporting bodies, the individual will need to need to make this request directly to the relevant credit reporting body.
We try to ensure that all Credit Information we hold about an individual, which we collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete, up to date and relevant. An individual must promptly notify us if there are any changes to their Credit Information.
9. Complaints
If an individual is concerned that we have not complied with our obligations that apply to dealing with Credit Information under Australian privacy laws, they may bring a complaint through our internal complaints process by contacting us at the details set out in section 10 below. Complaints will be taken seriously and will be assessed by the Privacy Officer with the aim of resolving any issue in a timely and efficient manner. We will need the individual to cooperate with us during this process and provide us with relevant information we may require.
We expect our internal procedures will deal fairly and promptly with complaints. However, if an individual remains dissatisfied, they may also make a formal complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (www.oaic.gov.au) which is the regulator responsible for privacy in Australia.
10. Contact details
If you have any questions or concerns about our Credit Privacy Statement or practices, please contact:
Privacy Officer
BAT Australia Ltd
Locked Bag 20
Royal Exchange NSW 1225
Email: privacyofficer@bat.com