Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy & Open Banking Disclosure

Cockle Finance Ltd

Last updated: March 2026

Cockle Finance Ltd is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you visit our website or apply for a loan.

This policy applies to information collected through our website www.cocklefinance.co.uk and through our application and customer management systems.

1. Who We Are

Cockle Finance Ltd is the data controller responsible for your personal data.

Cockle Finance Ltd
146 New London Road
Chelmsford
Essex
CM2 0AW

Company Number: 11249493

Telephone: 01708 755490
Email: enquiries@cocklefinance.co.uk

Cockle Finance Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Firm Reference Number: 804740

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We may collect the following types of information:

Identity Data

  • Name

  • Date of birth

Contact Data

  • Address

  • Email address

  • Telephone number

Employment and Income Data

  • Employment status

  • Job title

  • Employer information

  • Income details

Financial and Affordability Data

  • Expenditure information

  • Bank account details where required for payments

  • Information needed to assess loan affordability

Open Banking Data (where used)

Where you choose to connect your bank account through Open Banking, we may receive:

  • transaction history

  • income verification information

  • account balances

  • spending patterns relevant to affordability assessments

Further information about Open Banking is provided in the Open Banking Disclosure section below.

Technical and Website Usage Data

When you use our website we may automatically collect:

  • IP address

  • browser type and version

  • device type

  • operating system

  • pages visited and website activity

Communication Data

If you contact us we may retain records of communications, including:

  • email correspondence

  • WhatsApp Business messages

  • telephone interactions

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data to:

  • process and assess loan applications

  • verify the information you provide

  • assess affordability and suitability of credit

  • manage your account and repayments

  • communicate with you about your application or loan

  • comply with legal and regulatory obligations

  • improve our services and website

  • detect and prevent fraud

We may also use your information to send occasional marketing communications about products or services we believe may be of interest. You can unsubscribe from marketing at any time.

Marketing emails are delivered via Constant Contact.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK data protection law we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. We rely on the following:

Contract
Processing necessary to assess and administer your loan application or agreement.

Legal Obligation
To comply with regulatory requirements including Financial Conduct Authority rules.

Legitimate Interests
To operate and improve our business, prevent fraud, and manage risk responsibly.

Consent
Where required, for example when you choose to connect your bank account through Open Banking or receive marketing communications.

You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is relied upon.

5. How We Share Your Data

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our services.

These include:

Technology Providers

Open Banking Provider

Payment Processing Provider

  • Acquired.com – payment processing using tokenised payment information

Communication Providers

  • WhatsApp Business – customer communication

  • Constant Contact – email marketing

Data Storage

  • Google Drive – secure document storage

Analytics Providers

  • Google Analytics

  • Meta (Facebook) analytics services

These providers process personal data only where necessary to deliver services to us and are required to handle information securely and in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

6. Credit Broking

Some loan applications may be referred to us through credit broking partners.

Credit broking services may be provided by T dot UK Ltd.

Their privacy policy and information about how they collect, use and store personal data can be found here:

https://t.uk/b-privacy/

Where your application is introduced by a credit broker, your personal information may be shared with them in order to process your application and manage the relationship between the broker and lender.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to meet our legal and regulatory obligations.

Typical retention periods include:

Loan applications and account records: 6 years

Customer records following closure of an account: 6 years

Retention periods may be extended where necessary for regulatory compliance, fraud prevention, or legal claims.

8. Data Security

We take the security of your information seriously.

We use a range of appropriate technical and organisational security measures including:

  • encrypted connections

  • secure hosting environments

  • restricted access to systems

  • authentication controls

  • secure document storage

Despite these protections, no online system can ever be completely secure and users should take appropriate care when sharing personal information online.

9. Your Data Protection Rights

Under UK GDPR you have several rights including:

  • the right to access your personal data

  • the right to correct inaccurate information

  • the right to request deletion of data in certain circumstances

  • the right to restrict processing

  • the right to data portability

  • the right to object to certain processing activities

To exercise these rights please contact us using the details listed above.

10. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data please contact us first so we can attempt to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection regulator:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
https://ico.org.uk

11. Cookie Policy

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to improve functionality and understand how visitors use the site.

Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website.

We use cookies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Required for the basic operation of the website.

Analytics Cookies

Used to understand how visitors interact with the website so we can improve the user experience.

These include services such as:

  • Google Analytics

  • Meta analytics tools

Where cookies are not strictly necessary, we request your consent through a cookie banner when you first visit the website.

You may accept or reject non-essential cookies at any time.

You can also manage cookies through your browser settings.

Disabling cookies may affect some website functionality.

12. Open Banking Disclosure

Cockle Finance Ltd may use Open Banking technology to help assess loan affordability and verify financial information.

Open Banking allows you to securely share financial data from your bank with authorised third-party providers.

How Open Banking Works

If you choose to connect your bank account during the application process:

  1. You will be redirected to your bank’s secure authentication page.

  2. You log in directly with your bank.

  3. Your bank securely shares transaction data with our Open Banking provider.

Cockle Finance never receives or stores your online banking login credentials.

What Data We Receive

Through Open Banking we may receive information such as:

  • account balances

  • incoming payments (for example salary or benefits)

  • outgoing payments and spending patterns

  • recent transaction history

This information is used solely for assessing affordability and verifying information provided in your loan application.

Open Banking Provider

We use Lending Metrics to provide Open Banking services.

Privacy Notice:
https://www.lendingmetrics.com/privacy-notice

Your Consent

Open Banking access is provided only with your permission.

You may choose not to use Open Banking where alternative verification methods are available.

You can withdraw consent at any time.

13. Age Requirements

Our services are intended only for individuals aged 18 or over.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18.

14. Changes to this Policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, technology or our services.

The latest version will always be available on our website.

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