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Internet Banking Plus Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions are effective from 1 February 2004 for all customers using the Internet Banking Plus service.

1 INTRODUCTION

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully, they contain important information about your rights and obligations. You can print out these Terms and Conditions by selecting the text and clicking on the print item on your browser.

YOU MAY NOT USE THIS SERVICE IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 18 OR IF YOU ARE NOT A UK RESIDENT.

2 GLOSSARY OF TERMS

There are a number of capitalised terms in these Terms and Conditions that have the following specific meanings:

"Account Information": the balance details of your Accounts and any other information made available by the relevant Organisation and which you access through the Internet Banking Plus service;

"Account Links": the hypertext links in your Personal Area which relate to the Accounts you have registered on the Website. When you activate an Account Link, a separate browser window is opened which makes a connection to your selected Organisation's Site. You can then access your selected Organisation's Site and, as permitted by that Organisation, use relevant services available on that Organisation's Site to view your Account Information or otherwise transact on your Accounts;

"Accounts": your accounts (or any systems of points, credits or debits or other such benefits or obligations which you have accrued or any other records referring to you) with any of the Organisations which you have registered on the Website as Accounts for which you wish to receive the Internet Banking Plus service in accordance with these Terms and Conditions;

"Account Security Details": the security details and information issued by or agreed with your selected Organisations to enable you to access, transact or otherwise use services available in relation to your Accounts on the Organisations' Sites;

"Commencement Date": the date and time when you complete the registration process for the Internet Banking Plus service on the Website;

"Device": the personal computer or other device that you use to access the Internet Banking Plus service;

"Digital Safe": a software function in the browser of your Device employing the Microsoft Corporation "ActiveX®" functionality, which, when used in conjunction with the Internet Banking Plus service, enables you to store on your Device your Account Security Details and Account Information securely;

"HSBC Group": HSBC Holdings plc and any of its associated and affiliated companies and its subsidiaries (as defined in Section 736A of the Companies Act 1985);

"Internet Banking Plus Security Details": the personal security details specified by you when you first register with us (or that you subsequently update) that we require you to submit every time you access your Personal Area;

"Internet Banking Plus service": the Internet Banking Plus service which we make available to you via the Website which provides a means for you to access your selected Organisations' Sites in order to access your Accounts, view Account Information and use other services made available to you by your selected Organisations via the Organisations' Sites, and any other services relating to your Accounts that we may make available to you from time to time;

"Internet Security Guarantee": the refund that we provide you as set out in Clause 8.1;

"Organisation(s)": the banks, financial services institutions and other providers of products and services listed by us from time to time on the Website;

"Organisations' Sites": the relevant Internet sites of your selected Organisations;

"Personal Area": the part of the Website which contains your Account Information and the Account Links;

"Terms and Conditions": these Terms and Conditions, which set out the Terms and Conditions between you and us which govern your use of the Internet Banking Plus service, as may be varied by us from time to time;

"UK": England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Jersey, Guernsey (including Alderney and Sark) and the Isle of Man;

"we", "our" and "us": refer to first direct (a division of HSBC Bank plc) whose principal place of business is at 40 Wakefield Road, Leeds LS98 1FD, and any business or other person to whom we transfer any or all of our rights and responsibilities under these Terms and Conditions;

"Website": our Internet site, firstdirect.com, or such other Internet site as we may designate from time to time for the purpose of providing the Internet Banking Plus service to you; and

"you" or "your": you, the individual who uses the Internet Banking Plus service and accepts these Terms and Conditions.

3 INTERNET BANKING PLUS SERVICE

3.1 Commencement

By completing the registration process for the Internet Banking Plus service on the Website, you agree to be legally bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions then you should not complete the registration process, and should not access or use the Internet Banking Plus service.

3.2 Provision of the Internet Banking Plus service

From the Commencement Date we will, subject to the limitations which are set out in Clause 7 of these Terms and Conditions, use reasonable efforts to make the Internet Banking Plus service available to you in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and on the condition that you comply with all conditions and obligations that are set out in these Terms and Conditions.

3.3 Use of the Internet Banking Plus service

3.3.1 Your use of the Internet Banking Plus service is personal to you. You agree not to resell or make any commercial use of the Internet Banking Plus service, or to allow any other party to use the Internet Banking Plus service on your behalf. You may only use the Internet Banking Plus service in relation to Accounts which are your personal Accounts and not commercial accounts or any other accounts used in the course of trade. You agree not to access or use the Internet Banking Plus service in any way other than as expressly permitted in these Terms and Conditions.

3.3.2 You agree not to use the Internet Banking Plus service for any unlawful or illegal purposes or in any way that infringes the rights of others. You agree not to use the Internet Banking Plus services to transmit material that is unlawful, harassing, libellous, untrue or damaging to others, invasive of another person's privacy, abusive, threatening or obscene or that infringes the rights of others.

3.3.3 The use of the Internet Banking Plus service may be illegal or unlawful in jurisdictions outside the UK. We may not be aware of the jurisdiction you are in when you access the Internet Banking Plus service and any legal prohibitions in that jurisdiction. It is therefore your responsibility to ensure that if you access or use the Internet Banking Plus service from outside the UK, your use of the Internet Banking Plus service is permitted by the local law of the jurisdiction you are in. We shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of any prohibition under local law on the access or use of the Internet Banking Plus service in any such jurisdiction.

3.3.4 If at any time we offer additional services that could be deemed as a regulated activity pursuant to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, then we draw your attention to the fact that these services will be governed by separate (additional) Terms and Conditions.

3.3.5 You are responsible for ensuring that:

your electronic media (including your Device) are kept fully operational;
any software installed on such electronic media is kept free of viruses, Trojan Horse programs (such as key loggers) and other harmful programs or components; and
all your important data and programs are backed up at regular and frequent intervals.

3.3.6 Your responsibilities above apply to any electronic media, software, hardware or other equipment which you may use in relation to the Internet Banking Plus service, and not just your Device.

3.3.7 You must never use the service on any public Internet access device such as (but not limited to) an Internet cafe or library because (amongst other things) the frequency at which the machine is checked for viruses and installed software, such as key loggers, Trojan Horse programs and other harmful programs and components is out of your control.

3.3.7.1 You should only use the service from a computer which you do not personally control (for example a PC at work) if you have satisfied yourself that the controls in place on that computer such as (but not limited to) firewalls and virus scanners adequately protect you from the risk of key loggers, Trojan Horse programs and other harmful programs and components.

3.3.8 You must observe the terms of all instructions, guides and other communications given to you by us from time to time in relation to the use of the Internet Banking Plus service.

3.4 Account Links

3.4.1 In your Personal Area we provide you with Account Links. When you activate an Account Link, it will open up a separate browser window and automatically link your browser directly to the relevant Organisation's Site. Your Account Security Details in your Digital Safe will automatically be supplied to your Organisation's Site to log you into your Organisation's Site. You can then access your selected Organisation's Site and, as permitted by that Organisation, use relevant services available on that Organisation's Site to view your Account Information or otherwise transact on your Accounts.

3.4.2 The Internet Banking Plus service simply provides you with a method of accessing your selected Organisations' Sites. Please note that your access to and use of any Organisation's Site whether via the Internet Banking Plus service or otherwise is subject to any Terms and Conditions agreed between you and the relevant Organisation. We are not responsible for the operation of any Organisation's Site. We have no control over your general entitlement or ability to view your Account Information or transact on your Accounts with your Organisations, and save to the extent of the Internet Security Guarantee we have no liability to you for any damage arising as a result of your use of any Organisation's Site (even if accessed via the Internet Banking Plus service) or any access to your Accounts or any transactions that are effected on your Accounts with your Organisations.

3.4.3 When you access and use the Internet Banking Plus service you may provide us with or we may automatically receive information about you or your Accounts (including your Account Information). You may only use the Internet Banking Plus service if you agree to allow us to receive and use such information for the purposes set out in these Terms and Conditions. However, this does not affect your right to opt out of marketing. For the avoidance of doubt, we do not receive or hold copies of your Account Security Details, as these are held in your Digital Safe and passed directly to your Organisations' Sites. Therefore we cannot access or transact on your Accounts.

3.4.4 Before logging in to the Internet Banking Plus service you should ensure that you have logged out of and closed all prior sessions with banks or other institutions which can be accessed from within the Internet Banking Plus service. Once logged in to the Internet Banking Plus service, if you wish to log on to banks or other institutions you should do so only using the Account Links provided by the Internet Banking Plus service. You should not log on directly to any bank or other institution which can be accessed from within the Internet Banking Plus service until you have logged off from and closed the windows of the Internet Banking Plus service.

3.5 Fees and charges

3.5.1 We make no fee or usage charge for the Internet Banking Plus service. However, we reserve the right to introduce these or other charges in the future in respect of all or part of the Internet Banking Plus service. We will give you at least 30 days' notice in writing (which includes statement messages) in the press or electronically if fees are to be introduced.

3.5.2 You are liable for any telephone or other communication charges and any charges made by your Internet Service Provider or any other third party as a result of your use of the Internet Banking Plus service.

3.6 Digital Safe

3.6.1 In order to use the Internet Banking Plus service you must ensure your Device has installed and that you are permitted to use the Microsoft application called "ActiveX®". When you register your Accounts in your Personal Area we will download on to your Device a software application which works in conjunction with ActiveX® to allow you to store your Account Security Details and Account Information in your Digital Safe on your Device in encrypted form. You must accept this application in order to use the Internet Banking Plus service.

3.6.2 The Digital Safe has been thoroughly tested, checked for viruses and certified before production. Whilst every care is taken to ensure that installation is risk free, it is your responsibility to back up all your important data, software and take appropriate steps to protect other electronic media and equipment (including your Device) before installation.

3.6.3 You should be aware that we use a very high level of encryption in relation to the Digital Safe and in the Internet Banking Plus service. The use of such levels of encryption or other aspects of the Internet Banking Plus service may be illegal or unlawful in jurisdictions outside the UK. We may not be aware of the jurisdiction you are in when you access the Internet Banking Plus service, and any legal prohibition in that jurisdiction. It is therefore your responsibility to ensure that if you access or use the Internet Banking Plus service from outside the UK, your use of the Internet Banking Plus service is permitted by the local law of the jurisdiction you are in. We shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of any prohibition under local law on the access or use of the Internet Banking Plus service in any such jurisdiction.

3.7 General

3.7.1 We may send you electronic messages from time to time regarding updates or changes to or other notices about the Internet Banking Plus service. We may send such messages to you by email or so that you can access them in your Personal Area. We may also send you such messages by post or text message. You should check for these messages regularly.

3.7.2 You must notify us immediately if you become aware of any error or any suspected error in the Internet Banking Plus service or resulting from its use (such as any error or suspected error in any Account Information or transaction relating to your Accounts). You should check your records of transactions and statement of accounts carefully.

4 SETTING UP AND MAINTAINING YOUR ACCOUNTS

Once you have downloaded the software and set up your Digital Safe, you can follow the instructions in your Personal Area to register your Organisations and Accounts to enable you to receive Internet Banking Plus services in relation to your Accounts.

4.1 Accounts

4.1.1 You must not register to receive the Internet Banking Plus service or use the Internet Banking Plus service in relation to Accounts or to receive Account Information relating to any Accounts for which you are not a holder of the Account or if you are not authorised to use the Internet Banking Plus service by the other Account holders.

4.1.2 Some Organisations do not allow you to use services the same or similar to the Internet Banking Plus service to access or use those Organisations' Sites or Account Information. They may also place restrictions on your access to and use of those Organisations’ Sites or Account Information. Your rights to access and use your Organisations' Sites and Account Information (and any restrictions on those rights) will be specified in your Terms and Conditions with each relevant Organisation. We are not a party to such Terms and Conditions and will not be aware of the specific Terms and Conditions in them. It is your responsibility to check with the Organisations with whom you hold Accounts to confirm whether or not they prohibit you from using the Internet Banking Plus service in respect of those Accounts or any Account Information (for example by prohibiting you from disclosing your Account Information to third parties). If those Organisations do prohibit you from such use of the Organisations’ Sites or Account Information you should not use the Internet Banking Plus service for those Accounts. Please remember that your Organisations may change their Terms and Conditions from time to time so you should check the Terms and Conditions in respect of your Accounts regularly.

4.1.3 Each time you use the Internet Banking Plus service you confirm to us that:

you are a holder of each of the Accounts in respect of which you use the Internet Banking Plus service or receive Account Information;
you have the right to use the Internet Banking Plus service in respect of the Organisations' Sites and Accounts, including to request Account Information from the Organisation, and to use other available services; and
the relevant Organisation does not prohibit you from aggregating your Account Information.

4.2 Account details

Your Account Security Details will be agreed between and known only to you and the relevant Organisation. We do not receive or hold your Account Security Details. It is therefore your responsibility to ensure that whenever you access and use the Internet Banking Plus service any details you submit at any time relating to each of your Accounts (including the Account Security Details) are true, current and complete.

5 SECURITY PROCEDURES

IF THIRD PARTIES GAIN ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL AREA, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO TRANSACT ON YOUR ACCOUNTS.

5.1 Security Procedures

5.1.1 You agree to comply with the security procedures for the Internet Banking Plus service on the Website and any other reasonable instructions we may issue to you from time to time regarding the security of the Internet Banking Plus service.

5.1.2 You agree that by accepting these Terms and Conditions you have assessed the security features set out in these Terms and Conditions and the Website and have determined that they are adequate to protect your interests.

5.2 Prevention of unauthorised transactions and fraudulent use of your Personal Area

You must take all reasonable steps to prevent the unauthorised or fraudulent use of your Personal Area. In particular, you must:

KEEP your Internet Banking Plus Security Details secret and unique to first direct;
NOT disclose your Internet Banking Plus Security Details in full to anyone, even a first direct customer representative;
NEVER make a record of your Internet Banking Plus Security Details in a way that can be understood by anyone else or allow anyone else to observe you inputting your Internet Banking Plus Security Details on any electronic media;
NEVER store your Internet Banking Plus Security Details on any computer system;
NEVER access the Internet Banking Plus service from any computer connected to a Local Area Network (LAN) or any public Internet access device or access point without first making sure that no one else will be able to observe or copy your access or get access to the Internet Banking Plus service pretending to be you;
ONCE you have logged on to the Internet Banking Plus service, NOT leave your Device or let anyone else use it until you have logged off from the Internet Banking Plus service;
FOLLOW all security measures recommended by the manufacturers of any electronic media that you use to access the Internet Banking Plus service (including your Device);
CHANGE your password immediately and tell us immediately, by calling us on 03 456 100 100, Text-telephone 03 456 100 147(or on +44 113 234 5678, if outside the UK), if you know or even suspect, that someone else knows your password or other security details; and
OBSERVE all our requirements given to you in writing or electronically which are designed to ensure the Internet Banking Plus service is used only for authorised access to your Personal Area and from there other Organisations' Sites and Accounts.

We will need you to help us and the police in trying to recover any losses, which you or any third party may suffer as a result of any unauthorised access or fraudulent use of your Personal Area.

6 ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL AREA AND AUTHORISATION

6.1 Your authority to us

So long as the correct Internet Banking Plus Security Details have been provided when logging into your Personal Area, we may act on any instructions we receive, including instructions to activate any Account Link so that your Accounts can be accessed or transacted on.

6.2 Our right to prevent access to your Personal Area

Where we have reason to believe that the Internet Banking Plus Security Details provided when logging into your Personal Area have not been provided by you, or that any other breach of security has occurred in relation to the Website, your Internet Banking Plus Security Details, your Personal Area or the Internet Banking Plus service, we reserve the right to prevent, delay or cancel all or part of your access to the Website or your Personal Area as we deem appropriate. In that event we will inform you as soon as reasonably practicable.

7 LIMITED WARRANTIES

7.1 Internet Banking Plus service

We will make all commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that the Internet Banking Plus service will perform in substantial conformity to its description on the Website and in these Terms and Conditions. In supplying the Internet Banking Plus service we will use all reasonable skill and care and will conform to reasonable industry practice.

7.2 Account Information

7.2.1 We will take all reasonable care to ensure that (1) the information provided to you by us via the Internet Banking Plus service is an accurate reflection of the information contained in our computer systems and, (2) that any Account Information or other information provided directly from third parties accurately reflects the information received from the relevant third party.

7.2.2 Due to the nature of the Internet Banking Plus service and general practice in collating Account Information in the banking industry, and due to our lack of control over the Internet, Organisations' Site and Account Information, we do not warrant that the information provided by or via the Internet Banking Plus service is accurate, sufficient, or error free, nor that the information on our computer systems, when accessed, is up to date or complete. You should always independently verify any such information before relying upon it.

7.2.3 Some of the information available through the Internet Banking Plus service may be identified either on screen or in any user guide or applicable documentation as subject to a specific disclaimer or other additional provisions. If you rely on or use that information you may only do so subject to that disclaimer or those provisions.

7.3 Software and Website

7.3.1 We warrant that any software we supply to you in connection with the Internet Banking Plus service conforms at the date of supply in all material ways to the specifications in the guides and other information then provided to you so long as you use the software properly and in accordance with all applicable instructions (including these Terms and Conditions).

7.3.2 We warrant that your use in accordance with these Terms and Conditions of the Website and any software that we supply to you in connection with the Internet Banking Plus service will not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party.

7.3.3 We will take reasonable care to ensure that the Website operates free from viruses. However, due to the nature of the Internet Banking Plus service, we do not represent or warrant that your use of the Website will be free from viruses. In particular, we have no control over Organisations' Sites, which you will access directly and we will have no liability whatsoever in relation to any viruses originating on or transmitted by any Organisations' Sites.

7.3.4 Unless we have specifically agreed with you otherwise, we will have no liability whatsoever for any services, materials, equipment, software or associated documentation which is not supplied by us or on our behalf at any time for use in connection with the Internet Banking Plus service, or any service through which you access the Internet Banking Plus service, or, subject to Clause 8.1.1, any service, facility or website which you access through the Internet Banking Plus service which is not controlled by us.

8 OUR LIABILITY TO YOU

8.1 Internet Security Guarantee

8.1.1 We will refund any money taken from your Accounts without your authority (together with any related interest and charges) if such loss occurred as a direct result of our negligence or fraud. We will have no further liability to you.

8.1.2 We will not be liable for any loss arising as a result of, or in connection with, your use of the Internet Banking Plus service if such loss occurred as a result of you acting fraudulently or without reasonable care (including without limit any failure to observe Clauses 3.3 or 5.2 or any other provisions of these Terms and Conditions).

8.1.3 If we can prove that you acted fraudulently or without reasonable care, or failed to observe Clauses 3.3 or 5.2 or any other important provisions of these Terms and Conditions, you will be responsible for all losses (including the amount of any transactions made without your authority), without limit.

8.2 General Liability

Not withstanding anything else in these Terms and Conditions, we do not purport to exclude liability for our negligence in relation to death or personal injury, nor do we purport to exclude liability for fraud or deceit caused by us or any of our employees or agents.

8.3 General Disclaimers

8.3.1 We will not be liable to you for any loss or damage you suffer arising out of your use of the Website or Internet Banking Plus service to the extent that such loss or damage is:

(a) not foreseeable to you and us prior to the Commencement Date;

(b) not caused by our breach of these Terms and Conditions or any legal duty of care owed by us to you; or

8.3.2 We will not be liable to you for any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of any prohibition under local law on the access or use of the Internet Banking Plus service in any jurisdiction outside the UK.

8.3.3 We will not be liable to you for any loss you suffer arising out of or in connection with the Internet Banking Plus service or Website (including where the Internet Banking Plus service or Website is not fully available) which is caused directly or indirectly by natural disasters, strikes, industrial action (whether or not involving our employees), failure of power supplies or equipment or by any event or circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

9 LIMITED LICENCE

9.1 Permission to use software

9.1.1 We give you permission to use any software and other items supplied by us or on our behalf in connection with the Internet Banking Plus service so that you can use the Internet Banking Plus service. You may only use such software for this purpose (other than where you have a separate licence to use the software for other purposes). You may not transfer this permission to anyone else. You agree that you have no intellectual property rights in the software and that except for the rights given to you under these Terms and Conditions (or under your own separate licence) you obtain no other rights in the software.

9.1.2 You agree to keep the software supplied by us confidential at all times and to use it only for your benefit and only for the purposes and on the terms set out in these Terms and Conditions. Upon the ending of this contract you must promptly return to us or destroy (at our option) the software and all copies of it.

9.1.3 You must not copy the software other than for back up purposes.

9.1.4 You must not, nor allow any third party to, modify, reverse engineer or decompile all the software or any part of it or merge it with any other software (other than in the limited circumstances permitted by law).

9.1.5 You must use the software only for lawful purposes, not in breach of any law, regulation or treaty and not for the transmission of defamatory or obscene matter or in violation of trade secrets.

9.2 Copyright, Trade Marks and Copying Materials.

9.2.1 HSBC, the Hexagon logo, first direct and "little fella" are all registered trade marks of the HSBC Group members. You may not copy or use any of our registered trade marks without out prior written consent.

9.2.2 We have a licence for or own all copyright in the Website and all trade marks and materials used on it.

9.2.3 You are only allowed to print, copy, download or temporarily store extracts from the Website for your personal information or when you use the Internet Banking Plus service. You are not allowed to alter anything on the Website (other than details that relate to you and which we give a facility to edit) and any other use is prohibited unless you first get our written consent.

10 YOUR INFORMATION

10.1 General

When you access and use the Internet Banking Plus service you may provide us with or we may automatically receive information about you or your Accounts (including your Account Information). You may only use the Internet Banking Plus service if you agree to allow us to receive and use such information for the purposes set out in these Terms and Conditions. However, this does not affect your right to opt out of marketing.

We take your privacy seriously. This Clause sets out how we will process any information (including personal data) which you provide to us or which we receive or collect as a result of your use of the Internet Banking Plus service.

10.2 When we collect information about you

We collect information from you:

through the registration process for the Internet Banking Plus service on the Website;
every time you update your Account details or your Account Information in your Personal Area; and
every time we contact you or you contact us.

10.3 Types of information collected

We collect the following information from you:

the information you submit during the registration process for the Internet Banking Plus service on the Website or which you update in your Personal Area from time to time;
the type of Accounts that you registered in your Personal Area and the Account Information, including the nature of your transactions on those Accounts;
details relating to your use of the Internet Banking Plus service (ie times of use, frequency of use, etc.); and
any other information that you may provide to us when we contact you or you contact us.

10.4 Purposes

10.4.1 We will use your personal information collected from your use of the Internet Banking Plus service (including your Account Information) for the following purposes:

to enable us to provide the Internet Banking Plus service to you and improve it;
to provide general information to you about the Internet Banking Plus service (including updates and notices concerning the Internet Banking Plus service);
to provide targeted marketing information and personalised banners to you depending on your marketing preferences selected during the application process for the Internet Banking Plus service, or any preferences subsequently notified to us. By personalised banners we mean targeted adverts or information about products or services we think may be of interest to you based on your information. Generic banners are untargeted and will be presented to all users of the service;
to assist in credit management which may include making decisions about you or others at your address(es) on credit or credit-related products or services or motor, household, credit, life or any other insurance facilities or proposals. It may also be used for debtor tracing, debt recovery, fraud prevention, claims assessment and verifying identity.

10.4.2 We will treat all your personal information as private and confidential (even when you are no longer a customer or using the Internet Banking Plus service). Nothing about your relationship with us or your name and address will be disclosed to anyone including members of the HSBC Group, other than in accordance with the terms set out in this Clause 10, or:

where we (or any third party acting on our behalf) are legally compelled to do so;
where there is a duty to the public to disclose;
where our interests require disclosure; or
where disclosure is made at your request or with your consent.

10.4.3 To prevent or detect fraud, we may exchange information with other members of the HSBC Group and make searches of records held at fraud prevention agencies who will supply us with information. We may also pass information to financial and other organisations involved in fraud prevention to protect ourselves and our customers from theft and fraud. If you give us false or inaccurate information and we suspect fraud, we will record this. The information held by these fraud prevention agencies may be used by us, other members of the HSBC Group, and other companies may use this information when making decisions about you or others for debt tracing. first direct and the fraud prevention agencies will also use the records for statistical analysis about fraud.

10.4.4 You have the right of access to your personal records held by the fraud prevention agencies. The fraud prevention agencies we use are CIFAS and the National Hunter System and we will supply the names and addresses of these agencies upon request.

10.4.5 Members of the HSBC Group may record, use, exchange, analyse and assess relevant information held about you and your relationships with the HSBC Group. Relevant information may also be exchanged with members of the HSBC Group and others to provide you with services, for the purposes of fraud prevention, audit and debt collection and if required by appropriate governmental and non-governmental regulators or ombudsmen. We aim to keep your information up-to-date.

10.4.6 We may use other members of the HSBC Group and/or third parties (in jurisdictions inside or outside the European Economic Area, where there may be less stringent data protection laws) to process information on our behalf. Wherever it is processed, your information will be protected by a strict code of secrecy and security which all members of the HSBC Group, their staff and any third parties who process your personal information on our behalf are subject to and will only be used in accordance with our instructions.

10.4.7 Information about offshore customers may be processed offshore, in the UK or elsewhere inside or outside the European Economic Area. For the purpose of this Clause 10.4.7, Offshore means Jersey, Guernsey (including Alderney and Sark) and the Isle of Man.

10.4.8 We may also use your personal information collected from your use of the Internet Banking Plus service in aggregate form (ie where you cannot be identified personally from the information) to:

build up general marketing profiles for the Website;
aid in first direct's strategic development and the development of the Internet Banking Plus service;
manage our relationships with our advertisers; and
audit usage of the Website.

10.5 "cookies"

10.5.1 In order to improve your experience of using the Internet Banking Plus service and so that we can continually improve the Internet Banking Plus service for you we occasionally use cookies.

10.5.2 Cookies are a way of storing and retrieving information from your browser. We use them because they make banking over the Internet faster and more efficient. If you are unsure about cookies, you can set your browser so that it warns you before you accept a cookie from a stranger. You can also refuse to accept them, but if you do so many secure sites become less easy to use. In order to use Internet Banking Plus you must have cookies enabled. We use cookies in Internet Banking Plus in the following way:

to track which messages and service announcements you’ve seen so the ones you don’t need to read again won’t appear;
to hold your username, last action time and page name in order to keep an audit log and maintain the secure connection between your PC and our servers and to time you out should you forget to log off;
to track offer details and make sure you don’t miss out when we send you information of an offer or you click on a web banner, and to ensure you are only approached once; and
to provide usage statistics for the Internet Banking Plus service. We use the third party WebTrends to provide this information. (More information on WebTrends can be found in the privacy section under legals on firstdirect.com).

10.5.3 The help pages accessed from the menu bar of most browsers (including Microsoft Internet Explorer) will tell you how to:

prevent your browser from accepting cookies;
instruct the browser to alert you when an attempt is made to download a cookie onto your Device;
accept all cookies (the usual default state); and
view and delete cookies which are already stored in your hard disk.

10.6 Under data protection legislation, you can ask in writing for a copy of certain personal records we hold about you. We may make a charge for this service.

10.7 We may monitor and/or record your telephone calls or other communications with us to ensure that we carry out your instructions accurately, to help us to continually improve our service and in the interests of security. In the interests of security we may use CCTV recording equipment in and around our premises. All recordings are our sole property.

10.8 For further information on data protection and how first direct processes your personal information, contact:

Address: 40 Wakefield Road, Leeds LS98 1FD
Telephone Number: 03 456 100 100
Email: 24hours@firstdirect.com

10.9 General Advertising

We may advertise generally from time to time our own products or services and those of other members of the HSBC Group and also those of other parties on the Website (including in your Personal Area) where such advertising does not require us to process your personal information. You agree that any restrictions on marketing that you have indicated to us (either in relation to the Internet Banking Plus service or otherwise) will not apply to these generic electronic advertisements.

10.10 Targeted Electronic Advertising

10.10.1 We may send you targeted adverts relating to our own products or services or introducing those products and services of other members of the HSBC Group and also those of other parties by:

email;
short message service;
Multimedia Message Service;
teasers, banners, pop-ups, pop-unders or any rich-media which are available on the Website or in your Personal Area;
telephone; and/or
post.

Where you have indicated to us you would like to receive such advertising during the application process for the Internet Banking Plus service or otherwise during your use of the Internet Banking Plus service. If you wish to change your marketing preferences at any time you can do so by ringing us on 03 456 100 172.

11 SUSPENDING OR CANCELLING YOUR USE OF THE INTERNET BANKING PLUS SERVICE

11.1 Suspending your use of the Internet Banking Plus service

11.1.1 We may at any time suspend all or part of the Website, your use of the Internet Banking Plus service or your Personal Area when we deem reasonably necessary for security, technical or other reasons. In that event we shall inform you as soon as reasonably practicable (although in the event of any emergency this may be after the suspension).

11.2 Cancelling your use of the Internet Banking Plus service

11.2.1 We may cancel your use of the Internet Banking Plus service at any time by giving you at least 30 days notice in writing (electronic or otherwise).

11.2.2 You may end your use of the Internet Banking Plus service immediately by cancelling the Internet Banking Plus service in your Personal Area. Any such cancellation will end the Terms and Conditions between you and us for the provision of the Internet Banking Plus service. Should you wish to re-use the Internet Banking Plus service you will have to re-apply to use the Internet Banking Plus service separately.

11.3 Consequences of cancellation

11.3.1 The cancellation of the Internet Banking Plus service by either you or us will not affect any rights or liabilities of either you or us already accrued up to the cancellation date.

11.3.2 Unless we have told you otherwise, your other contracts with us will continue.

11.3.3 As soon as either you or we cancel your use of the Internet Banking Plus service you must cease to use the Internet Banking Plus service.

11.3.4 Upon cancellation of your use of the Internet Banking Plus service for any reason, we shall be entitled to keep any records relating you and your use of the Internet Banking Plus service for a period of up to six years or for such other period as is reasonably necessary for audit, legal and regulatory purposes but we will not use your information for any marketing purposes for more than 12 months after cancellation.

12 VARIATIONS TO TERMS, RATES, CHARGES ETC.

12.1 We may at our discretion vary any of these Terms and Conditions and/or any terms supplemental to them and/or withdraw, suspend or change any of the services provided under them at any time:

if the variation to our Terms and Conditions is to your advantage, we may make the change immediately and notify you within 30 days;
if the variation to our Terms and Conditions is neither to your advantage nor disadvantage, we will always give you at least 30 days' notice; or
if any variation to our Terms and Conditions is clearly unfavourable to you, we will give you at least 30 days' notice.

All changes will be notified in writing (which includes statement messages) or electronically. If you do not agree to the variation you should end your use of the Internet Banking Plus service in accordance with Clause 11.2.2 before the time at which the variation comes into effect.

13 GENERAL

13.1 Severability

Each of the terms of these Terms and Conditions are severable from the others and if one or more of them becomes void, illegal or unenforceable, the remainder will not be affected in any way.

13.2 Assignment

13.2.1 You may not assign any right or benefit under any provision of these Terms and Conditions without our prior written consent.

13.2.2 We may assign in whole or in part any of these Terms and Conditions to any member of the HSBC Group without your consent, provided that the quality of the Internet Banking Plus services and your rights under the Terms and Conditions will not be prejudiced.

13.3 Third parties

We may use third parties to provide some of our obligations under these Terms and Conditions, including the provision of helpdesk services. Where we use such third parties we shall remain liable for all our obligations to you under these Terms and Conditions, even though they may be provided by such third parties.

13.4 Waiver

The rights of first direct under these Terms and Conditions may be exercised as often as necessary, are cumulative and not exclusive of its rights under any applicable law and may be waived only in writing and specifically. Any delay in the exercise or non-exercise of any such right is not a waiver of that right.

13.5 Notices

13.5.1 All notices shall be given:

(a) to us:

by email, at 24hours@firstdirect.com;
by post, at 40 Wakefield Road, Leeds LS98 1FD; and

(b) to you at either the email or postal address you provide during the application process for the Internet Banking Plus service or such other email or postal address as you shall up date us with in your Personal Area or otherwise.

13.5.2 Notices will be deemed received when an email is received in full (or else on the next business day if it is received on a weekend or a public holiday in the place of receipt) or three days after the date of posting.

13.6 Rights of third parties

These Terms and Conditions do not confer any rights on any person or party (other than you or us or any member of the HSBC Group) pursuant to the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. No consent of a party who is not a party to these Terms and Conditions shall be required for the variation or termination of these Terms and Conditions.

13.7 Interpretation

These Terms and Conditions shall be read and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and you and we submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

14 HOW TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR SERVICES

14.1 Introduction

Your views are important to us. If we do not deliver the standard of service you expect, or if we make a mistake, please let us know. We will investigate the situation and set about putting things right as quickly as possible. Where appropriate, we will also take steps to avoid making similar mistakes in the future.

We hope that you will never need to progress beyond the first step. However, we wish to give you every opportunity to present your case where you remain unsatisfied.

14.2 Step 1

Call us on 03 456 100 100 or 03 456 100 147 if you are using a Text-telephone and provide us with the details of your complaint. Alternatively if you bank with first direct, you can send electronic messages via electronic banking.

Where possible, we will try to give you an answer there and then. If not, we will take full details from you and arrange for the problem to be investigated.

We will respond to you within two business weekdays. Where a full response is not possible at this stage, we will contact you and advise you how long our investigations are likely to take.

14.3 Step 2

In the unlikely event that your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, you should write to:

Customer Relations Manager

first direct

40 Wakefield Road

Leeds

LS98 1FD

We will acknowledge your letter within two business weekdays and additional investigations into your complaint will be arranged. We shall respond as soon as our research is complete.

first direct is committed to the Lending Code and we intend to resolve your concerns fairly and quickly. In most cases this can be done if you allow the department involved to listen to your concerns, understand the problem and then deliver an effective solution to you.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of first direct.