Privacy Policy applicable to California residents

  1. PURPOSE

    This Privacy Policy is for California residents and discloses the privacy practices of Spring Oaks Capital, LLC and its affiliates, including Spring Oaks Capital, SPV, LLC (collectively (“Spring Oaks”, “us,” or “we”)). This policy supplements the information contained in the Spring Oaks Privacy Policy, which can be found at springoakscapital.com. We adopt this policy to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act, as Amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CCPA”). Any terms defined in the CCPA have the same meaning used in this policy.

  2. SCOPE

    This Policy covers the practices of Spring Oaks with respect to California residents and applies to all nonpublic personally identifiable information, including information contained in consumer reports, of our current and former customers and the consumers with whom Spring Oaks interacts. The Spring Oaks website is not intended for individuals less than the age of eighteen and we do not knowingly collect data relating to individuals less than the age of eighteen.

    Nothing in this Privacy Notice is intended to contradict your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Spring Oaks will not disclose any information to third parties that is otherwise prohibited by the FDCPA.

  3. POLICY

    1. Information We Collect About You

      We may collect and use the following personal information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a consumer, device, or household (“personal information”). We have collected the following categories of personal information from consumers within the last 12 months:

      Categories of Personal InformationExamples of Specific Types of Personal Information CollectedCollectedPURPOSE
      A. Identifiers A real name, alias, postal address, email address, telephone numbers, Internet Protocol address, account number, Social Security number, date of birth, or other similar identifiers.Yes

      (a) Necessary to provide the services

      (b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

      (c) Necessary for our legitimate business interests

      (d) Prevent fraud

      Personal Information categories listed in California Customer Records Statute (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.80(e)) A name, signature, Social Security number, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number, passport number, driver's license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information, medical information, or health insurance information. Some personal information included in this category may overlap with other categories.Yes

      (a) Necessary to provide the services

      (b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

      (c) Necessary for our legitimate business interests

      (d) Prevent fraud

      C. Protected classification characteristics under California or Federal lawAge (40 years or older), race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, religion or creed, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy or childbirth and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, veteran or military status, genetic information (including familial genetic information).Yes

      (a) Necessary to provide the services

      (b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

      (c) Necessary for our legitimate business interests

      D. Commercial information Records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies.Yes

      (a) Necessary to provide the services

      (b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

      (c) Necessary for our legitimate business interests

      E. Sensory dataAudio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information.Yes

      (a) Necessary to provide the services

      (b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

      (c) Necessary for our legitimate business interests

      F. Professional or employment-related informationCurrent or past job history.Yes

      (a) Necessary to provide the services

      (b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

      (c) Necessary for our legitimate business interests

      G. Sensitive Personal InformationGovernment-issued identifying numbers, such as a driver’s license, passport or social security number, financial account details that allow access to an account, such as a credit card number and access code, Genetic data, precise geolocation, race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, union membership, contents of mail email or text messages, biometric data related to your unique identification.Yes

      (a) Necessary to provide the services

      (b) Maintain and service your account

      (c) Process payments

      (d) Ensure security and integrity regarding the use of such personal information

      (e) Verify or maintain the safety and quality of the services

      (f) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

      (g) Necessary for our legitimate business interests

      Personal Information does not include:

      • Publicly available information from government records.
      • Deidentified or aggregated consumer information.
      • Information excluded from the CCPA's scope, like:
        • Health or medical information covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) or clinical trial data;
        • Personal information covered by certain sector-specific privacy laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or California Financial Information Privacy Act (FIPA), and the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994.

    2. How Your Personal Information is Collected

      We collect most of this personal information directly from sellers of portfolios of debt , as well as from you by telephone, written correspondence through the mail, email, SMS, chat, or fax, by viewing your public social media/network pages, or other information available online. However, we may also collect information:

      • From publicly accessible sources (e.g., property records or court records);
      • From our service providers (e.g., servicing vendors, letter vendor, skip tracing vendors, payment processing vendors, call analytics vendor, and/or electronic signature service provider);
      • Directly from a third party (e.g., third parties contacted during skip tracing activities pursuant to 16 U.S.C. §1692b, such as your friends, neighbors, relatives, and/or employer);
      • From a third party with your consent (e.g., your authorized representative and/or attorney); and
      • From activity on our website.
    3. How We Use Your Personal Information

      Personal information is collected solely for the purpose of debt recovery in a lawful manner and remains part of our records until we determine the information is no longer needed, or we are required by law to delete such information. We will collect the minimum amount of data necessary to collect a debt

      We will not collect additional categories of personal information or use the personal information we collected for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes without providing you notice. We do not sell your personal information.

      We may also use or disclose your personal information for one or more of the following business purposes:

      • To fulfill or meet the reason you provided the information. For example, if you share your personal information to make a payment, we will use that information to process your payment.
      • To assist in collection of your account that we purchased or that we are servicing for another party.
      • To provide you with information that you request from us.
      • Detecting security incidents, protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, and prosecuting those responsible for that activity.
      • Debugging to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
      • To respond to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations.
      • As necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property or safety of us, our clients, or others.
      • As described to you when collecting your personal information or as otherwise set forth in the CCPA.

      We will not collect additional categories of personal information or use the personal information we collected for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes without providing you notice.

    4. Who We Share Your Personal Information With

      We may share personally identifiable information it collects with our employees and affiliates who need to know that information to service your account. Except as provided below, we do not share or disclose any personally identifiable information to any company or marketing group external to us. We may share your personal information with third parties and service providers to the extent it is reasonably necessary to manage or service your account, verify employment, determine location, process payment, fulfill a transaction, provide customer service, or as otherwise authorized by law.

      Further, we may disclose personally identifiable information (i) to another entity with which we enter or reasonably may enter into a corporate transaction, such as, for example, a merger, consolidation, acquisition, or asset purchase, (ii) to a third party pursuant to a subpoena, court order, or other form of legal process or in response to a request by or on behalf of any local, state, federal, or other government agency, department, or body, whether or not pursuant to a subpoena, court order, or other form of legal process, or in connection with litigation brought against, or on behalf of, Spring Oaks, where appropriate, (iii) to a third party if determined by Spring Oaks in its sole judgment that such disclosure is appropriate to protect the life, health, or property of Spring Oaks or any other person or entity, all in compliance with applicable law, (iv) to third parties as authorized or designated by you, or (v) to conduct any other legitimate business activity not otherwise prohibited by law. The foregoing is not intended to obviate or displace any legal obligations or duties applicable to Spring Oaks.

      Except as necessary for us to provide the services, information, or products requested by a website user, or except for the disclosures identified in the preceding paragraphs, the user may opt out of having his or her personally identifiable information, which has been voluntarily provided to us through or from its website, prospectively retained by us, used by us for secondary purposes, or disclosed by us to third parties.

      E-mail posted or sent to us may not be secure against interception by unauthorized individuals. To protect against interception by unauthorized individuals, or because we cannot verify your identity, we may be unable to respond to e-mail requests concerning accounts placed for collection unless you have requested or authorized us to do so.

      Sharing your information with Consumer Reporting Agencies

      Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) collect and maintain information on consumer and business credit profiles on behalf of organizations in the United States. We may share information about you with CRAs and may carry out periodic searches with them to verify your identity or manage your account.

      Details of your account(s) with us may be sent to CRAs and recorded by them. This information may be supplied by CRAs and may be used and searched by us and other organizations, such as debt collection agencies, in order to:

      • consider applications for credit and credit related services;
      • locate debtors and recover debts; and
      • manage your accounts.

      Spring Oaks may furnish account information to Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. You have a right to obtain an annual copy of your credit file from CRAs by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com.

    5. Your Rights

      You have the right under the CCPA and certain other privacy and data protection laws, as applicable, to exercise free of charge:

      1. Disclosure of Personal Information We Collect About You

        You have the right to request that we disclose certain information to you about our collection and use of your personal information over the past 12 months. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request, we will disclose to you:

        • The categories of personal information we have collected about you.
        • The categories of sources from which the personal information is collected.
        • Our business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling personal information.
        • The categories of third parties with whom we share personal information, if any.
        • The specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.

        Please note that we are not required to:

        • Retain any personal information about you that was collected for a single one-time transaction if, in the ordinary course of business, that information about you is not retained;
        • Reidentify or otherwise link any data that, in the ordinary course of business, is not maintained in a manner that would be considered personal information; or
        • Provide the personal information to you more than twice in a 12-month period.
      2. Disclosure of Personal Information Sold or Used for a Business Purpose

        In connection with any personal information, we may sell or disclose to a third party for a business purpose, you have the right to know:

        • The categories of personal information about you that we sold and the categories of third parties to whom the personal information was sold; and
        • The categories of personal information that we disclosed about you for a business purpose.
      3. Deletion Request Rights

        You have the right to request that we delete any of your personal information that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request, we will delete (and direct our service providers to delete) your personal information from our records, unless an exception applies.
        We may deny your deletion request if retaining the information is necessary for us or our service providers to:

        • Complete the transaction for which the personal information was collected, provide a good or service requested by you, or reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform a contract between you and us.
        • Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity; or prosecute those responsible for that activity.
        • Debug to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
        • Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise his or her right of free speech, or exercise another right provided for by law.
        • Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act
        • Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when our deletion of the information is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of such research, provided we have obtained your informed consent.
        • Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with your expectations based on your relationship with us.
        • Comply with an existing legal obligation.
        • Otherwise use your personal information, internally, in a lawful manner that is compatible with the context in which you provided the information.
      4. Right To Request Correction of Personal Data

        This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.

      5. Right to Request Restriction of Processing of Sensitive Personal Data

        This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your sensitive personal data in the following scenarios: (a) if you want us to establish the data's accuracy; (b) where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it; (c) where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or (d) you have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it. Spring Oaks does not collect or use sensitive personal data for the purpose of inferring characteristics about consumers. Therefore, such data is treated as “personal information” and requests handled in accordance with procedures for general personal information.

      6. Protection Against Discrimination

        You have the right to not be discriminated against by us because you exercised any of your rights under the CCPA. This means we cannot, among other things:

        • Deny goods or services to you;
        • Charge different prices or rates for goods or services, including through the use of discounts or other benefits or imposing penalties;
        • Provide a different level or quality of goods or services to you; or
        • Suggest that you will receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

        Please note that we may charge a different price or rate, or provide a different level or quality of goods and/or services to you, if that difference is reasonably related to the value provided to you by your personal information.

      7. Authorized Agent

        You can designate an authorized agent to make any of these requests by providing your express written authorization. We must be able to verify your identity and the authorization must include the authorized agent’s name, address, telephone number, and email address (for providing the personal information collected or to respond to a request for deletion).

    6. How to Exercise Your Rights

      To exercise the access, data portability, and deletion rights described herein, please submit a verifiable consumer request to us by either:

      • Calling us, toll-free, at 866-281-3065; or
      • Write to us at P.O. Box 1216, Chesapeake, VA 23327-1216.

      Please note that you may only make a data access or data portability disclosure request twice within a 12-month period.

    7. Verifying Your Identity (i.e., verifiable consumer request)

      If you choose to contact directly by phone or in writing, you will need to provide us with:

      • Enough information to identify you (e.g., your full name, address and customer or matter reference number);
      • Proof of your identity and address (e.g., a copy of your driving license or passport and a recent utility or credit card bill); and
      • Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate and respond to it.

      We are not obligated to make a data access or data portability disclosure if we cannot verify that the person making the request is the person about whom we collected information, or is someone authorized to act on such person’s behalf.

      Any personal information we collect from you to verify your identity in connection with you request will be used solely for the purposes of verification.

    8. Response Timing and Format

      We endeavor to respond to a verifiable consumer request within 45 days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to 90 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. If you have an account with us, we will deliver our written response to that account. If you do not have an account with us, we will deliver our written response by mail or electronically, at your option. Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding the verifiable consumer request's receipt. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, we will select a format to provide your personal information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance.

      We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

    9. Changes to our Privacy Notice

      We reserve the right to amend this privacy policy at our discretion and at any time. When we make changes to this privacy policy, we will notify you by email or through a notice on our website homepage.

  4. HOW WE PROTECT INFORMATION

    Spring Oaks has implemented physical, electronic, and procedural security safeguards to protect against the unauthorized release of or access to personal information. We employ internal and external system safeguards designed to protect confidentiality and security of personal information. The confidentiality of any communication or material transmitted to or from Spring Oaks via the website or via e-mail cannot be, and is not, guaranteed. You acknowledge that the technical processing and transmission of the website’s content may be transferred unencrypted and involve: (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to confirm and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices. If any questions arise about security, please contact us using the information provided above.

  5. HOW LONG WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION

    Spring Oaks will retain your personal data until we determine the information is no longer needed, or as otherwise required by law.

  6. COOKIES

    A cookie is a small piece of data sent from a website and stored on your computer by your web browser. The file is added once you agree to store cookies on your computer or device, and the cookie helps analyze web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow sites to respond to you as an individual. The website can tailor its operations to your needs, likes, and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

    This website collects cookies and may use cookies for reasons including, but not limited to:

    Analyze our web traffic using an analytics package.
    Identify if you are signed-in to the Website.
    Test content on the Website.
    Store information about your preferences.
    Recognize when you return to the Website.

    Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

    You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This setting may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

  7. LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES

    Our website may contain links to enable you to visit other websites of interest easily. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide while visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

  8. AUDITING PROCEDURES

    Spring Oaks will periodically monitor electronic systems such as e-mail and Internet. Any direct, indirect, or attempted violation of this Policy, by or on behalf of a User, and any actual or attempted violation by a Third Party on behalf of a User, shall be considered a violation of the Policy by the User, and the User shall be held directly accountable. In the event that Spring Oaks becomes aware that any User activity may have violated this Policy and/or exposed Spring Oaks to civil or criminal liability, the Spring Oaks reserves the right to investigate such activity; monitor, collect evidence, and block access to such material; and cooperate with legal authorities and Third Parties in investigating any alleged violations of this Policy. Spring Oaks also reserves the right to implement technical mechanisms to prevent policy violations including electronic monitoring of systems such as e-mail and Internet. Users who violate this Policy or any other Spring Oaks-published policies or standards may be subject to disciplinary action by Spring Oaks, up to and including immediate termination from employment. In addition, conduct that is unlawful under applicable laws may subject Users to civil and, in some cases, criminal prosecution.

  9. FREQUENCY OF TRAINING AND TESTING

    Spring Oaks is the data controller and responsible for your personal data. All Spring Oaks personnel will receive training on our company policies applicable to their position upon hire or promotion. The same personnel will complete attestations and assessments on those policies upon completion of training and on an annual basis.

    Questions or comments about our data practices can be submitted to:

    Spring Oaks Capital, LLC
    P.O. Box 1216
    Chesapeake, VA 23327-1216
    Or by calling us, toll-free, at 866-281-3065.