Privacy Policy

Introduction

At Asset Direct of Canada Inc., operating under the name LoanOutlet.ca (“LoanOutlet.ca” “we,” “us,” or similar terms), we prioritize your privacy. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) explains how we collect, use, transfer, and disclose your Personal Information (as defined below) when you use our online platform (the “Platform”) or engage with the services provided through the Platform (the “Services”). You can access the LoanOutlet.ca Platform directly via our website (www.loanoutlet.ca) or through the websites of our trusted referral partners and affiliates (the “Referral Partners”). LoanOutlet.ca follows policies and procedures that comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and other relevant privacy laws. By accepting this Privacy Policy during registration or by using the Platform and/or Services, you acknowledge and agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information as outlined in this Policy. This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and governed by our Terms of Service.

Scope

This Privacy Policy applies to the collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information that we gather from identifiable individuals, including users of our Services and any individuals who provide us with their Personal Information, such as visitors to our website (“Users”).

information We Collect

a. Personal Information

Personal Information refers to any information, in any form, that can identify or is linked to an individual. This includes any data you provide to us while using the Platform or Services.

The Personal Information we may collect includes, but is not limited to:

Contact details such as your name, address, title, phone number, and email address.
Information for identity verification, such as your date of birth, driver's license, passport number, and social insurance number.
Financial data, including housing status, annual income, total monthly debt payments, and employment status.
Credit information, such as details of credit accounts and collections.
Loan information, including loan amount, term, and purpose.
Communications you send to us, including any messages, emails, or feedback provided through our communication systems.

Please note that your social insurance number is not required to use our Services; however, providing it can help us verify your information more accurately.

b. Non-Personally Identifiable Information

Non-Personally Identifiable Information (NPI) refers to data that cannot be connected to any specific individual. This includes aggregated or anonymized information that, on its own or when combined, does not identify any user. We collect NPI about Users when they engage with the Platform or use the Services. This may include, but is not limited to, details such as device information, IP addresses, geo-location data, browser type, operating system, and technical information about how Users connect to the Platform, such as Internet service provider, mobile network, and device type.

Definitions

To help clarify this Privacy Policy, LoanOutlet.ca has provided some key definitions to assist in understanding and interpreting the terms used.

Collection: The process of gathering, acquiring, recording, or obtaining Personal Information from any source, including third parties, through any method.
Consent: The voluntary agreement to the collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information for specific purposes. Consent can be express or implied, and may be provided directly by the individual or through an authorized representative. Express consent can be given verbally, electronically, or in writing, and is always clear and unambiguous. Implied consent refers to consent that can be reasonably inferred from the circumstances or from the individual’s actions or lack of action.
Disclosure: The act of sharing Personal Information with a third party for their own use.
Personal Information: Any information about an identifiable individual that is recorded in any form.
Transfer: The act of providing Personal Information to a third party for processing, storage, or other purposes, solely for the benefit of LoanOutlet.ca.
Use: The management, treatment, and handling of Personal Information by LoanOutlet.ca internally.

Principles

LoanOutlet.ca’s Privacy Policy is structured around the ten privacy principles set out in PIPEDA.

Principle #1 – Accountability

LoanOutlet.ca is accountable for the Personal Information under our control. We have appointed a Privacy Officer responsible for ensuring our compliance with this Privacy Policy and relevant privacy laws.

Accountability for compliance with the Privacy Policy rests with the Privacy Officer, who may designate other individuals to oversee the day-to-day collection and processing of Personal Information. The Privacy Officer ensures that Users have a clear point of contact for privacy-related inquiries.

We will, upon request, disclose the title of the individual(s) responsible for compliance with this policy. LoanOutlet.ca is responsible for Personal Information in its custody, including information transferred to third parties for processing. We implement measures, such as contracts, to ensure third parties provide an equivalent level of protection for Personal Information. Our policies include:

Implementing safeguards to protect Personal Information.
Establishing procedures for addressing complaints and inquiries.
Training staff on our privacy practices.
Providing clear information about our privacy policies and procedures.

Principle #2 – Identifying Purposes

LoanOutlet.ca collects Personal Information for the following purposes:

To provide our Services to Users.
To build and maintain responsible business relationships and communicate with you for service-related matters, including promotions and verification.
To respond to any inquiries you send us.
To analyze and improve our Services, based on feedback from Users.
To communicate regarding customer service or product-related issues.
To send advertisements about our company, products, and services.
To enforce our Terms of Service and other legal agreements.
To send system or administrative messages.
To comply with legal and regulatory requirements.
For any other purposes that you have expressly consented to, or where consent can reasonably be implied.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information

We conduct research on our Users’ demographics and behaviors, which helps us improve our Services. This research is aggregated and anonymized, so it cannot identify individual Users, and is treated as Non-Personally Identifiable Information. We may share this information with third-party business partners.

Principle #3 – Consent

We require your knowledge and consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of your Personal Information, except in certain situations outlined below.

There are instances where Personal Information may be collected, used, or disclosed without consent, such as for legal, medical, or security reasons. For example, in cases of fraud detection or law enforcement, seeking consent may undermine the purpose of collecting the information. Similarly, in emergencies where an individual’s life, health, or security is at risk, obtaining consent may not be feasible.

Where appropriate, we seek consent when collecting Personal Information, or shortly afterward if we need to use or disclose it for a different purpose. We aim to clearly inform you of the intended purposes when we request consent, and we take into account the sensitivity of the information and your reasonable expectations.

Implied consent is typically used for less sensitive information. For instance, if you provide financial and credit details for a loan application, your consent to use that information is implied.

You may withdraw consent at any time by notifying us in writing, subject to any legal or contractual restrictions

Principle #4 – Limiting Collection

We limit the collection of Personal Information to what is necessary for the identified purposes, and we gather information by lawful means.

Personal Information is collected for the purposes outlined in Principle #2. In some cases, we may also obtain information from third parties, such as your employer or other parties authorized to disclose your information.

Principle #5 – Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention

Except as required by law or in business transactions, LoanOutlet.ca will not use, disclose, or transfer your Personal Information for any purposes other than those described above without identifying and documenting the new purpose and obtaining your consent, when appropriate.

We may disclose or transfer your Personal Information in the following circumstances:

To Provide Services: We may share your Personal Information with third-party financial lenders to evaluate your eligibility for financing.
Service Providers: We may provide your Personal Information to service providers who assist us in business operations and product development. These providers must maintain confidentiality and cannot use your information for other purposes.
Referral Partners: If you access our Platform through a Referral Partner’s website, we may share your information with them as requested. The Partner's privacy policy will govern how your information is treated.
Third-Party Suppliers: Some of our third-party suppliers may be located outside Canada, including in the United States. Your Personal Information may be processed, stored, and disclosed according to the laws of those jurisdictions.
Business Transactions: In the event of a business transaction (such as a sale or financing), we may disclose your Personal Information as part of the transaction.
Retention: We retain your Personal Information only as long as needed to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected or as required by law. Afterward, we securely destroy or anonymize the data.

Third-Party Services

Our Services may link to external websites or services to enhance your experience. You are responsible for reviewing the privacy policies of these third-party services, and we are not liable for their practices.

Principle #6 – Accuracy

We strive to keep Personal Information accurate, complete, and up-to-date for its intended purposes.

The accuracy and completeness of Personal Information will depend on how it is used, considering your interests. We will update your information as necessary to fulfill the identified purposes.

Principle #7 – Safeguards

We take appropriate physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to protect your Personal Information from loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse.

This includes using password protection and access controls for employees, securing computer servers in controlled environments, and encrypting sensitive data.

While we take extensive measures to safeguard your information, no system is entirely foolproof, and we cannot guarantee complete security.

Principle #8 – Openness

LoanOutlet.ca will make information about our privacy practices and policies easily accessible to our Users.

This includes details such as:

The person(s) responsible for privacy inquiries and complaints.
How to access Personal Information held by us.
A description of the types of Personal Information we hold and how it is used.

Our Privacy Policy is available online, and upon request, we will send a copy by mail.

Principle #9 – Individual Access

You can request information about the Personal Information we hold about you, how it is used, and with whom it has been disclosed.

We will respond promptly and provide you with access, typically at no cost. If you believe the information is inaccurate or incomplete, you can request corrections.

In some cases, we may not be able to provide full access, such as when information is costly to retrieve or subject to legal restrictions. We will explain the reasons if access is denied.

Principle #10 – Challenging Compliance

If you have concerns or complaints regarding our privacy practices, you may address them to our Privacy Officer.

We maintain procedures for handling privacy inquiries and complaints and aim to resolve them within a reasonable time. If a complaint is upheld, we will take corrective action, including updating our policies and procedures.

For more details, please reach out to our Privacy Office through the following contact details:

Email: support@loanoutlet.ca

Mail: Asset Direct of Canada Inc., 379 Dundas Street, Unit 101, London, ON N6B 1V5

Using the Platform & Cookies

To enhance the Platform, we may use small files known as "cookies." A cookie is a small amount of data, often including a unique identifier, that is sent to your computer or mobile device (referred to as your “device”) from the Platform and stored on your device’s browser or hard drive. Cookies help analyze trends, manage the site, track user movement on the site, and gather general demographic information. We may generate reports based on aggregated data from these technologies.

The cookies used on the Platform collect personally identifiable information to improve user experience. This information is stored temporarily and expires after five minutes before being deleted. We do not share any information collected by the cookies placed on your device with third parties. Cookies are also used to remember user settings, store login information, authenticate users, run website tests, and store analytics data such as browser type, device, and operating system.

You have control over cookies at the browser level. While rejecting cookies will not prevent you from using the site, some features or areas may be restricted.

For more information on managing cookies across popular browsers, visit https://www.allaboutcookies.org. This website also explains how to delete cookies stored on your device.

Third-Party Cookies

We use Google Analytics, a service provided by Google Inc. (“Google”), to analyze how users interact with the Platform. Google Analytics uses cookies to track your use of the Platform. The information collected, including your IP address, is transmitted to Google’s servers in the United States and used for evaluating Platform usage, creating activity reports for website operators, and offering other services related to website and internet usage. Google may share this information with third parties if required by law or if these third parties process the data on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with other data it holds. You can disable cookies by adjusting your browser settings; however, this may limit your ability to use all features of the Platform. By continuing to use the Platform, you consent to the data processing by Google as described above.

We may also use other third-party services, each of which will have its own privacy policy outlining how they handle the information they collect.

Communication

By using the Platform, you agree to receive communications from us through email, text messages, phone calls, and push notifications. You can opt out of receiving communications by using the unsubscribe option provided in the message or by contacting us at support@loanoutlet.ca

Children and Minors

The Platform and its Services are not intended for children under 18 years old. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from anyone under 18.

General

LoanOutlet.ca reserves the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time, at its discretion, without prior notice. Any changes will be posted on our website and will take effect from the date of posting