legals

first direct is a division of HSBC Bank plc. HSBC Bank plc is incorporated in England and Wales and established at 8 Canada Square, London E14 5HQ which is its Registered Office. HSBC Bank plc is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is registered in the Financial Services Authority register with the following Registration Number: 114216. HSBC Bank plc's registered VAT Number is GB 365684514 and its Company Register Number is 14259.

You can view the FSA registry at www.fsa.gov.uk/register.

HSBC Bank plc is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Scheme and subscribes to the Banking Code which may be accessed at www.bankingcode.org.uk.

Should you wish to contact first direct please refer to the Contact Us menu which can be found on the bottom of each page of the site.

 

We appreciate that Terms and Conditions seldom make exciting reading - and, sadly, ours are no different. Yet they are important, both to you and to us. Without them, there would be anarchy. And no matter how attractive that may be to the more radical amongst you, that really isn't a sensible way to do business.

What we have done, however, is to try and make our Terms easily understood. We have avoided as much legal jargon and archaic words as our lawyers would allow us to do. So if you are turned on by words like 'heretofore' and 'whomsoever', we're afraid you'll have to look elsewhere for your thrills. But if you'd like to know where you stand on any aspect of the service we provide, you should find the answer here - and be able to understand it.

what we mean by...

First of all, let's make sure that we're all talking the same language by making it clear what certain words mean.

when we say...	we mean...
The Site	the first direct website (firstdirect.com)
Terms	these conditions of use
We, us, our	first direct, a division of HSBC Bank plc
You, your, yours	you - the person who has logged onto the site
The Act	The Financial Services & Markets Act 2000

what these terms cover

Your use of our website, that's all. All our products have their own terms and conditions. You will need to read both these Terms and those on any other pages of the Site. (You will, won't you?). If there is any conflict between the various terms, it's the ones applicable to the product that prevail.

changing terms

We may change the information in the pages of the Site at any time without letting you know in advance. We may also change these Terms at any time simply by updating this page. You should therefore visit these Terms regularly, particularly as we will presume that you agree to any changes if you continue to access the Site.

no advice

Our Site contains information and opinions. It should not be taken as advice or a recommendation to buy any particular securities or financial instruments.

users of the site

The Site is meant to be used by people resident in the UK. So we cannot guarantee that it is suitable for use by people resident elsewhere. (You are, of course, more than welcome to have a look).

As you are responsible for use of the Site by any other person using your computer, it's down to you to make sure that they are aware of these conditions of use.

no warranties

The following clauses exclude or limit our legal liability for the Site. Our lawyers tell us that they are very important, so you should read them carefully. They all apply only so far as the law allows. We will fulfil all our duties and liabilities under the Act, conduct our business according to its rules and regulations, and meet the rules of any self-regulating organisation to which we belong. We do not limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence and if you deal with us as a consumer any statutory rights you have are unaffected.

We have tried as hard as we possibly can to make sure that all the information on the Site is accurate, complete, correct and current. However, 'what you see is what you get' (as they say in the computer world), so we cannot be held responsible for any errors. You use the Site at your own risk. We are not liable for any loss or damage which you may incur as a result of you using the Site.

We do not promise that the Site will always be available or will meet your requirements. We cannot guarantee that access will be uninterrupted or that there will be no failures, errors or omissions. We cannot promise that transmitted information will not be lost, that no viruses or other destructive nasties will be sent to you, or that your computer system will not be damaged. It is your responsibility to protect and back-up any data and equipment and to take reasonable precautions to scan for viruses.

We do not provide any guarantees about the accuracy, functionality or performance of any third party software used in connection with the Site.

third party sites and endorsements

You'll find a number of hypertext links to other locations on the Internet from our Site. These are for information purposes only. We are not responsible for the content of any other websites or pages linked to our Site and have not verified the information on them. You follow links to other websites or pages at your own risk and we are not responsible for any damages which may arise from the link. Links to sites containing downloadable software are provided for your convenience. Again we are not responsible for any difficulties you may have downloading the software or the consequences of doing so. Please remember that use of any software which you download may be governed by a licence agreement.

None of the information on our Site implies that we endorse or approve any third parties or the service they provide, although we always attempt to select reputable sites and sources of information.

internet email

Messages sent over the Internet cannot be guaranteed to be completely secure as they can be intercepted, lost or corrupted. We are therefore not responsible for the accuracy of any messages sent by email over the Internet - whether from us to you or from you to us.

trade marks and copyright

The copyright for all the information on each screen and page of our Site is owned by or licensed to HSBC Bank plc, unless we state that it belongs to someone else. You may copy, download or temporarily store extracts from our Site for your personal use or to help you use our products or services. You must not alter anything. You cannot use the information in any other way without our written permission. In particular, you cannot use a part of our Site on any other website or provide a link to our Site without our written permission.

data protection

If you apply for products or services on our Site, we will obtain personal information about you. This could be used in a number of ways:

• to make lending decisions
• to provide you with the best possible levels of service
• for fraud prevention
• for audit and debt collection
• to identify products and services which may be relevant to you from us, other HSBC companies and selected third parties
• to evaluate the effectiveness of our marketing of the Site
• for statistical analysis.

The particular uses of information will differ depending on the product applied for and you will be provided with more detail when you apply. We may pass this information to other members of the HSBC Group so that they may use the data in the ways described above and they may pass any information they hold about you to us. We will not disclose any information to any company outside the HSBC Group except to help prevent fraud, if asked to do so by law or a regulator, or under a strict code of secrecy to sub-contractors or persons acting as our agents.

We may also transfer your personal data to countries outside the European Economic Area which may not provide the same level of protection for personal data. However, all personal data held by the HSBC Group, its sub-contractors or agents will always be protected against any unauthorised or accidental disclosure, access or deletion. By agreeing to these Terms, you agree to your personal data being used and transmitted in this way.

governing law

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts in England and Wales will have jurisdiction in respect of any dispute which may arise.

our information

first direct is a division of HSBC Bank plc
Registered in England and Wales
Registered Number: 14259
Registered Office: 8 Canada Square, London E14 5HQ
We support the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Banking Code

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