Where we can assist you, we will always seek to do so, but it’s worth being aware that for the majority of our processing, GBG sits in the middle of 2 Data Controllers – Our Customer and our Data Supplier. They will each control some elements of your data processing which we may not have visibility of, and nor are we able to influence, therefore we may ask you to speak directly with them.
Under GDPR, for more information on how we operate, we have 2 Privacy Policies which are key:
• Where we collect data directly, please see our Privacy Policy
• Where we collect data indirectly, please see our Products & Services Privacy Policy
Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Talk to our customer support team.
You will have interacted with one of our customers. You should be able to identify who by the company name after GB Group, which is on the soft footprint on your credit report. Sometimes the company has a number of trading names, so may choose to use their registered company to complete the search.
This is usually displayed as:
GB Group - (name of company who conducted search) e.g. “GB Group – ABC Company”.
If you do not believe you have had any dealings with the company named, or one of their subsidiaries, you will need to contact them directly in order to notify them you have not transacted with them, and to inform them someone may have used your details fraudulently. They will have a team set up to deal with this type of query.
Alternatively, you can contact the credit report provider to request the removal of the search.
Why does GBG show on my credit report?
GBG plc offers an electronic identity verification service to organisations who wish to verify the identity of individuals as part of a customer registration process.
Our terms and conditions with these organisations stipulate they must have informed those individuals on whom searches are conducted. This is usually held within the company’s Data Protection Notice and/or Terms & Conditions of trade that an individual would normally agree to as part of the sign up process.
The searches are conducted by our customers for the purpose of verifying your identity and is not a credit check. There is a requirement placed on many organisations who need to comply with legislation for example Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulations.
These searches do not have an impact on your credit file and are not seen by any company performing their own credit check.
Why can't GBG help?
The service GBG provides is encrypted, so we have no visibility of the data our customers enter or the response they receive. Each customer defines their own risk level and this is not something GBG can affect or influence.
One of our customers who you have been engaging with will have carried out a check as part of a recent transaction, for example a mobile phone contract change, the opening of an online account or new credit agreement. This check is to ensure the bank details you provide are valid which will allow the smooth set-up of any arrangement you may have with them.
Our terms and conditions stipulate our customer must inform you they are conducting a check and what will happen.
No money will be taken as this will remain as a pending transaction.
This transaction will be removed by the bank within 5-7 working days from when it first appeared on your account.
Why can’t GBG help?
The service is encrypted, so GBG have no visibility of which customer carried out an ID check against you through our identity verification service.
There are a number of reasons why you may have received a call for another individual, for example:
Contact us using the details below to securely log a request for GBG to investigate the removal of this data.
To write to us:
Data Protection Officer
GB Group PLC
The Foundation
Heronsway
Chester
CH4 9GB
United Kingdom
Call us on +44(0)161 909 6713, or contact us using the form.
GBG is more than happy to consider a right to be forgotten, and you can submit your request via phone or in writing. We have one calendar month to respond.
The right to erasure is not absolute and only applies in a number of circumstances:
More information on this right can be found on the ICO’s website, here.
To contact us, please use the following details:
To write to us:
Data Protection Officer
GB Group PLC
The Foundation
Heronsway
Chester
CH4 9GB
United Kingdom
Call us on +44(0)161 909 6713, or contact us using the form.
GBG is more than happy to consider a right to object to/restrict processing, and you can submit your request via phone or in writing. We have one calendar month to respond.
More information on this right can be found on the ICO’s website, here.
To contact us, please use the following details:
To write to us:
Data Protection Officer
GB Group PLC
The Foundation
Heronsway
Chester
CH4 9GB
United Kingdom
Call us on +44(0)161 909 6713, or contact us using the form.
GBG does not process data based on consent.
GBG does not share data with or from third parties based on consent as we do not believe this to be a viable, lawful means of doing so.
If you believe another organisation is processing data based on consent, please contact them directly.
GBG process data on behalf of our Customers or Data Suppliers, which means we don't gather the data directly, nor are we able to update it.
What this means in practice, is that we check data we hold for our Data Suppliers, and if it's incorrect, we're happy to pass the message on to them. However, you still need to contact the company you are dealing with to correct their database.
It’s worth highlighting, we don't always have visibility of what data is held, for example Customer data is encrypted in our ID verification service so we can't see what record was input or the result returned. For our Data Suppliers, we do hold some data locally, with the majority of data held by the Data Supplier, which means we have no visibility of what they hold.
If we do hold data on behalf of our Customers or Data Suppliers, we are unable to update or change it, but we can suppress the incorrect data so we don’t share this incorrect record again. The reason why we can’t change it is if the Data Supplier didn't update the record or change it, then GBG’s update process would be overwritten in the new file provided by the Data Supplier.
When challenging the accuracy of your data that you want corrected. You should:
More information on this right can be found on the ICO’s website, here.
To contact us, please use the following details:
To write to us:
Data Protection Officer
GB Group PLC
The Foundation
Heronsway
Chester
CH4 9GB
United Kingdom
Call us on +44(0)161 909 6713, or contact us using the form.
Submitting a Subject Access Request
GBG has one calendar month to respond from receipt of your request. For more information on time limits, the ICO has some guidance here.
Please include:
Your name and contact details:
Data Protection Officer
GB Group PLC
The Foundation
Heronsway
Chester
CH4 9GB
United Kingdom
Or, contact us using the form
Please read the relevant FAQ before submitting a request to understand if it's something we can help you with, plus they will provide guidance on timing.
Other requests to exercise your rights can also be made via phone or in writing.
Please write to:
Data Protection Officer
GB Group PLC
The Foundation
Heronsway
Chester
CH4 9GB
United Kingdom
Call us on +44(0)161 909 6713, or contact us using the form.