The right to erasure, sometimes called the right to be forgotten, lets you ask us to delete your personal data. It is an important right, but it is not absolute. In a lending context there are several reasons we may not be able to delete everything straight away.
When erasure does not apply
- Legal obligations. We must keep certain records, such as anti-money-laundering and accounting records, for set periods set by law.
- Legal claims. We may keep data needed to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim until the relevant period ends.
- Active facility. While your company's facility is live, we need the data to run it.
What we can still do
Even where we cannot erase a record, we can often help in other ways. We can stop using your data for marketing, correct inaccuracies, restrict certain processing while a query is resolved, and delete anything we no longer have a lawful reason to keep.
What happens later
When a retention period ends and there is no other lawful basis to hold a record, we securely delete or anonymise it. If we refuse an erasure request in part, we will explain which data we are keeping and why, and you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
See also: How do I ask you to delete my data?, How long do you keep my data after my loan ends? and How do I correct inaccurate information you hold?.