Privacy Policy

EP has provided this Privacy Policy to describe its personal information handling practices, and to assure you of EP’s continuing commitment to take steps to protect all personal information that is handled in the course of commercial activities. “Personal information”, as used in this Privacy Policy, means information about an identifiable individual. Unless you are a resident of the Province of Quebec, this Privacy Policy does not apply to an individual’s business contact information where collected, used or disclosed solely for the purpose of communicating with the individual in relation to their business, employment or profession.

Purposes for Which EP Handles Personal Information

EP collects and uses personal information solely for purposes related to its businesses. EP collects personal information primarily from you, for instance through applications and supporting documentation you provide, or through your ongoing interactions with EP such as references, employers, other financial institutions you have identified in your application, or credit bureaus and other third-party sources.

EP may collect and use personal information for purposes such as, but not limited to, the following:

to manage and promote the business activities of EP;
to verify identity and other information provided by customers and to determine eligibility for products and services;
to open, administer and service account*s and loans, and to provide and administer any requested products or services;
to evaluate current and ongoing creditworthiness and other requirements, and to determine eligibility or suitability for products or services offered by EP;
to advertise, market and promote products and services that may be of interest to customers, including by mail, email, text message, telephone, automatic dialers and announcing devices;
to establish relationships, provide quality service to and communicate with customers; to collect outstanding debts;
to protect the business interests of EP and its customers, including to detect and prevent fraud and other unauthorized or illegal activities;
to maintain business records for reasonable periods to meet legal and regulatory record retention requirements; and
for other purposes identified by EP with your consent, or as permitted or required by law.

Personal Information Collected by EP

EP limits the amount and type of personal information collected to that which is necessary for its identified purposes, and personal information is collected by fair and lawful means. Personal information collected includes:

your name and contact information, including mailing address, telephone number, fax number and/or email address;
additional information for identity matching and credit check purposes, such as occupation, name of employer, names and contact information for references, assets, liabilities, income, previous address, number of dependents, Social
insurance Number (if provided), date of birth or identification number, such as, but not limited to a driver’s license;
information about the account* or loan, such as current and historical information, balance and indebtedness, account* transaction history and similar information and records relating to the handling of any inquiries or complaints;
payment-related information such as banking information; and
such other information that is necessary for the purposes identified herein, and that is collected with your consent or as permitted or required by law.

Transfers and Disclosures of Personal Information

EP may disclose personal information in a number of circumstances, including:

to credit reporting agencies and to your current or future creditors for the purpose of maintaining your credit history and providing credit references;
to financial institutions for payment processing purposes;
to third parties as reasonably necessary to enforce your contracts with EP and otherwise for the collection or payment of a debt owed to EP;
for the purposes of detecting and preventing fraud;
in connection with audits;
for the purposes of meeting legal, regulatory, industry self-regulatory, risk management and security requirements;
with your consent to EP’s insurance partners or other lenders so that they may offer other products and services that may be of interest to you; and
for other purposes identified by EP with your consent or as permitted or requiredby law.

In addition to the above, personal information may be shared between the EP Group of Companies (including those located in other countries) for internal audit, management, billing, or administrative purposes, including defending and bringing legal actions.

In the course of fulfilling the purposes described above, EP may transfer your personal information to service providers, including affiliates or other third-party organizations or individuals retained by EP to perform functions on its behalf, such as marketing, data processing, customer service, office, security, collections, insurance, financial and taxation services. When personal information is transferred to service providers, EP utilizes contractual or other means to ensure that a comparable level of protection is provided. Some of EP’s service providers may be located outside of Canada, including in the United States or Europe, and will be subject to applicable legal requirements in the country in which they are located, including lawful requirements to disclose personal information to government authorities in certain circumstances.

EP may also use and disclose personal information in connection with the proposed or actual financing, securitization, insuring, sale, assignment or other disposal of all or part of its business or assets (including your loan or lease and any agreement to which it relates), for the purposes of evaluating and/or performing the proposed transaction. Assignees or successors of EP assets or business may use and disclose your personal information for similar purposes as those described in this Policy. EP hereby provides written notice of the sale, transfer and assignment of all present and future consumer loans and related agreements, and the use and disclosure of related personal information, in connection with the proposed and actual securitization of its consumer loans.

EP may disclose your personal information as necessary to meet legal, regulatory, insurance, audit, and security requirements, and as otherwise with your consent or as permitted or required by law.

Safeguards

EP uses reasonable safeguards and other security standards to protect all personal information in its custody and control against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification, regardless of the format in which the information is held. Safeguards will vary depending on the sensitivity, format, location, and storage of the personal information. Only authorized employees, agents, partners and third parties who require access to personal information to fulfill their job requirements will have access to your personal information.

Access and Accuracy

EP may establish and maintain a file containing an individual’s personal information for the purposes described above, which will be accessible at its offices. Individuals have the right to request access to or correction of their personal information that is held by EP. Requests must be made in writing, addressed to EP’s Privacy Officer as per the contact information set out at the end of this Policy. The Privacy Officer will respond to written requests within a reasonable period of time. Copies of records containing personal information may be subject to a fee. If this is the case, EP will inform the individual of the amount of the fee in advance. Best efforts will be used to ensure that personal information is as accurate, complete and up to date as necessary for the identified purposes. If an individual successfully demonstrates the inaccuracy or incompleteness of personal information, EP will amend the information as required. If access to personal information is denied, or there is disagreement regarding an assertion that information held by EP is incorrect, EP will provide a written explanation for such refusal and a description of the complaint’s procedure should an individual decide to challenge such written explanation. An individual’s right to access or correct personal information is subject to applicable legal restrictions. To prevent fraudulent access to the personal information stored by EP, reasonable steps may be taken to verify an individual’s identity before granting access or making corrections.

EP's Websites and E-Mail Communication

EP does not guarantee the confidentiality of any communications made by you via e-mail or otherwise through its websites. If you wish to provide information of a confidential or sensitive nature to EP, please contact EP directly by telephone at 1-888-825-9808 to arrange for delivery/transmission of such information by secure means.

Cookies and other tracking technologies are utilized to improve your experience on this website, to facilitate the online application process and for internal research and reporting purposes. A “cookie” is a bit of information that a website sends to your web browser that helps the site remember information about you and your preferences, such as your IP address and the pages of the website that you visit. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie or to refuse cookies altogether. If you refuse cookies, however, you may not be able to use certain features of EP websites, view ads based on past visits to EP websites, or report or interact with ad impressions.

This website may contain links to other websites of interest. These other websites are not governed by EP’s Privacy Policy, and EP is not responsible for any personal information you provide while visiting other websites. You are encouraged to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

In compliance with Google’s advertising policies, EP uses Google Adwords Search Engine Marketing (Pay Per Click) and Display Advertising (Remarketing and Google Display Network). Google AdWords Remarketing is utilized in compliance with the Google AdWords Interest-Based Advertising Policy, which means that you may see EP advertisements on Google and other third-party websites on the internet after visiting this website.

EP employs Google Analytics for Display Advertising, including Remarketing, Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting, Google Display Network Impression Reporting, and the DoubleClick Campaign Manager integration. You have the choice to opt out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customize Google Display Network ads. For all the currently available opt-outs, please visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Data collected through Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting is utilized to better understand website visitors in terms of demographics and interests, to improve website content in order to cater to the appropriate audience, and to customize advertisements based on audience interests and demographics.

Consent

Consent to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information may be given in various ways. Consent can be express or implied. In some circumstances, where notice has been provided to you about EP’s intentions with respect to your personal information and you have not withdrawn consent, you will be considered to have consented for the purposes identified and described to you.

By submitting personal information to EP or its service providers and agents, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of such personal information as described in this Privacy Policy or otherwise at the time of collection. If you provide EP or its service providers and agents with personal information of another individual, it is your responsibility to obtain consent from such person to enable EP to collect, use and disclose such information for the purposes set forth in this Privacy Policy. Subject to legal or contractual requirements and reasonable notice, you may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting EP’s Privacy Officer at the contact information set out at the end of this Privacy Policy. If you withdraw your consent, EP may be limited or unable to provide you with certain services or information.

In certain circumstances, as permitted or required by law, EP may collect, use or disclose personal information without the knowledge or consent of the individual. These circumstances include but are not limited to: personal information that is publicly available as defined by regulation; where collection is clearly in the interests of the individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely manner; where disclosure is made for the purposes of collecting a debt owed to EP; or to comply with a subpoena, warrant or court order.

Inquiries or Further Information

EP has appointed a Privacy Officer to oversee compliance with this Privacy Policy and applicable privacy laws. Any questions related to the Privacy Policy or the handling of personal information by EP can be addressed directly to the Privacy Officer at:

Privacy Officer, Everyday People Financial Inc.
Suite 450, 11150 Jasper Ave, Edmonton, Alberta T5K 0C7
letsconnect@epfinancial.com

If you are not satisfied with EP’s response to a privacy-related matter, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at 1-888-825-9808, or at https://www.priv.gc.ca., or in Quebec, Alberta or British Columbia, your provincial privacy regulator, as applicable.

EP reserves the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. Any changes made tothis Policy will be posted on this website.