Privacy policy (Canada)

Effective date: June 1, 2023

Protecting your privacy is important to NextGear Capital Corporation (“NextGear Capital”, “we”, “us”). This Privacy Policy sets forth our policies and practices with respect to the collection, retention, use and disclosure of personal information (as defined below), which you may provide while visiting  https://www.nextgearcapital.ca/ (the “website”).

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By providing (or authorizing another person or organization to provide) your personal information to NextGear Capital when you use our website, including when you create an online account with us or apply for financial products through our online portal, you consent to the collection, use, communication and retention of your personal information by or on behalf of NextGear Capital as described in this Privacy Policy and as otherwise permitted by applicable laws.  If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, you may not use the website. The website is not intended for consumers or non-commercial users.

Table of Contents
  1. Personal Information 2
  2. Collection of Personal Information. 2
  3. Cookies and Tracking Technologies. 4
  4. Use of Personal Information. 5
  5. Sharing of Personal Information. 6
  6. Your Privacy Rights 8
  7. Retention and Cross-border Transfers of Personal Information. 8
  8. Security. 8
  9. Website Links to Third-Party Webwebsite. 9
  10. Website Terms of Use and Other Agreements. 10
  11. Privacy Policy Changes 11
  12. How to Contact Us. 11

1.     Personal Information

In this policy, “personal information” generally means any information that can be used, either alone or in combination with other information, to identify an individual. This includes information such as your name, contact details, birth date and account number. It may also include other types of more technical information, but only when this information can identify you as an individual. Information that is anonymized and cannot be associated with an identifiable individual is not considered to be personal information, if it is, at all times, reasonably foreseeable in the circumstances that this information irreversibly no longer allows the individual to be identified directly or indirectly.

Generally, “personal information” does not include information that is used for the purpose of communicating or facilitating communication with an individual in relation to their employment, business or profession such as the individual’s name, position name or title, work address, work telephone number, or work email address.

 

2.     Collection of Personal Information

A. Types of personal information we collect

Depending on your interactions with us and your use of our website, we may collect the following personal information that is necessary for our legitimate business purposes and to comply with our legal obligations:

  • Identifiers and contact information: such as your name, email address, mailing address, telephone numbers, date of birth, national identification number, social security number, driver’s licence information and number which may contain gender, signature and other information you provide to us when you contact us or open an account with us, log in to your account on our website, and other information that we may need to provide you with our services on our website (such as citizenship, income, tax returns which may contain marital status and gender, information about your guarantors).
  • Transactional information: such as details about your purchase or use of our services and your payment information (including account numbers).
  • Commercial Information: such as your company identification number, business records of your company, insurance information, property records, financial records including assets and liabilities which may contain marital status and gender.
  • Vehicle information: such as description of the vehicles you own or operate, make, model, year, colour, license plate number and engine type (fuel, hybrid, electric, etc.).
  • Information provided during our communications with you: such as information you give us when you contact us, including when you contact us on our Website through the “Apply now” application form, or correspond with us for customer support or request of information, or otherwise interact with us by telephone, online, email or in-person.
  • Marketing information: such as your preferences for receiving promotional communications about our services, details about how you engage with our communications and advertisements, such as your preferences and interests.
  • Internet or other electronic network activity information: (i.e., technical information when you access or use our website), such as your IP address, device ID, browser type, operating system, device type, data about the page you accessed before landing on our website and the pages you access on our website or the functionalities used on our website, language preferences, email bounce backs, click-throughs, general geographic information, and clickstream data.
  • Professional and career-related information: such as information you submit to us when applying for a career opportunity, which may include your education and employment history, your resume, letters of reference, references and any additional information provided by you in an application form or correspondence. We may use service providers to collect this category of information.
  • Other information: any other information that you or another person or organization on your behalf provides to us.

B. How We Collect Personal Information

We collect the personal information listed above directly and indirectly from the following sources:

  • Directly from you: for example, when you open an account with us, including when you update the information in your account when you log in on the website; purchase or use our services, subscribe to receive our marketing emails; and contact, correspond or otherwise communicate with us, including when you request customer support, make an inquiry or complaint, dispute or pay a payment statement, or report an incident or problem with our services. If you provide NextGear Capital the personal information of another individual, then you must take all measures, including obtaining the individual’s consent, to ensure that you have the lawful right to collect and communicate the information to NextGear Capital and for NextGear Capital to collect, use, communicate and retain the personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
  • From agents, or other persons and organizations: for example, information provided in an application for financing or provided to them in the course of providing their services to you, including when you authorize them to provide us with your personal information or as otherwise permitted by law.
  • From applications for employment: for example, when you submit an application for employment with NextGear Capital by communicating directly with us or by any other channel.
  • From a visit to or activity on our website or our communications and advertisement: for example, email messages and advertisements may use technologies (e.g., cookies, web beacons, tokens, pixels or tags, analytics engines) to automatically collect information about your access to and use of our website and your actions regarding email messages and advertisements. Some of those technologies may be operated by independent organizations. For more information about the technologies we use and how you can manage your choices, see section 3.
  • From independent or public sources: for example, we may collect information from government agencies and other third party sources of information about registered owners of vehicles and the vehicle owners’ financing; organizations that perform background checks on job applicants; and publicly available information, such as social media.

3. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

The website may use “cookies”, a technology that installs information on a website visitor’s computer to permit the website to recognize future visits using that computer. The cookies used by the website do not generally contain any personal information regarding website visitors, and do not retrieve any information from visitors’ personal computer (other than your IP address and other similar information retrieved or retained in order to facilitate your use of the website). This statistical data is not intended to identify any specific individual. The information we collect automatically is statistical data but may include personal information, in which case we will treat it as personal information. For example, if NextGear Capital links tracking information with personal information, any of the linked information will be treated as personal information and will be used and disclosed only in accordance with this Privacy Policy, and in accordance with the law.

Cookies are used only to enhance the visitor’s experience on the website, and to collect anonymous traffic data to enable us to provide a better web experience for the viewing public in general.

You may refuse certain cookies and manage your cookie preference by activating the appropriate settings in your browser’s software. Most browsers let you remove or stop accepting cookies from the website you visit. To do this, follow the instructions on your browser’s settings. If you do not accept cookies, however, you may not be able to use all functionality of our website, or our website might not work properly. For more information about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set on your browser and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

You may choose to decline cookies if your browser permits, but doing so may affect your use of the website and your ability to access certain features of the website.

4. Use of Personal Information

NextGear Capital may use the personal information we collect for one or more of the following purposes:

  • For general business purposes relating to or arising from our relationship and dealings with you and to your use of our website: for example, we use information provided to us on an online application for a floor plan line of credit; to carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collections and other documents and information regarding your use of our services and as otherwise required by contractual or legal obligations; to create and manage your online account with us and providing you with information and documents about your online account; to process and respond to your inquiries, requests and other communications (including to process your career application and take a decision on that request).
  • To improve our business, our services and our website: for example, we may use your information to improve our services and our website; for testing, research, analysis and product development; to understand and analyze your use of our services and develop new ones, and to notify you of changes to the website.
  • For marketing purposes: for example, we may use your information to provide you with information (including by email and other electronic messages) regarding NextGear Capital and its services that might be of interest to you (including upcoming events); to provide you with customized information, offers and promotions regarding our services.
  • For legal and compliance purposes: for example, we may use your information as necessary to comply with, and assessing compliance with, applicable laws, contractual and legal obligations, and our internal policies and procedures; to prevent, detect and investigate fraudulent, harmful, unauthorized, unethical or illegal activity, including cyberattacks and identity theft; to protect and enforce our legal rights, interests and remedies and protect the business, operations and customers of NextGear Capital or other persons and organizations.
  • Other: we may also use your information as otherwise required or permitted by applicable laws.

5.     Sharing of Personal Information

NextGear Capital may disclose information that we collect or that you provide as described in this Privacy Policy to affiliates, business partners and service providers (i.e., organizations that provide services to NextGear Capital) to assist us to use your personal information as explained in this Privacy Policy and as otherwise permitted by and in accordance with applicable laws, including to help us in the following categories:

  • To operate our businesses;
  • To provide you with information, financial and other products and/or services that you request from us;
  • To provide, operate and maintain our information technology systems and services;
  • To operate our website;
  • To process payments and complete transactions;
  • To provide customer care services;
  • To manage job applications requests;
  • To comply with a subpoena, warrant, court order, law or legal process, including to respond to any government, regulatory or law enforcement request;
  • Where NextGear Capital has reasonable grounds to believe the information could be useful in the investigation of unlawful activity;
  • To a buyer or resulting organization in the event of a merger, amalgamation, divestiture, reorganization, dissolution or other sale or transfer of some or all of NextGear Capital’s assets, whether as a going concern or as a part of a bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceeding. However, we will only disclose your personal information to the extent reasonably necessary for each transaction and in accordance with applicable laws;
  • If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, health or safety of NextGear Capital, our affiliates, our business partners, our customers or any other third party, including to detect and prevent fraud and other illegal activities, to enforce any of the terms of use, terms of service or other agreements that govern your use of our services and our website; and
  • As otherwise required or permitted by law.

If we share personal information with an affiliate, business partner and/or service provider, then that third-party must adhere to contractual agreements with NextGear relating to the use and protection of such information.

6.     Your Privacy Rights

Individuals may request to access or correct their personal information by contacting NextGear Capital at privacycanada@coxautoinc.com. Subject to certain exceptions prescribed by applicable law, individuals will be given reasonable access to their personal information, and will be entitled to demonstrate whether it is inaccurate, incomplete, or equivocal, and to have it amended as appropriate. You can help NextGear Capital maintain the accuracy of your personal information by notifying us of any changes to your personal information submitted through the website.

7.     Retention and Cross-border Transfers of Personal Information

We may store and process personal information collected through the website in our offices and/or in the offices of our affiliates and/or service providers located outside of Canada, including in the United States or other jurisdictions where we may have operations. As such, personal information may be subject to foreign laws and may be accessible by foreign governments, courts, law enforcement and regulatory agencies. By using the website, you consent to such storage and processing in and outside of the jurisdiction in which you reside.

We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was collected, as set out in this Privacy Policy, to comply with our legal obligations and to enforce or protect our legal rights, or for a longer period required or permitted by applicable laws. NextGear Capital will then delete or destroy records of your personal information or anonymize it to use it for legitimate purposes, in accordance with applicable laws.

8.     Security

We recognize that your personal information is confidential and valuable, and we take steps to protect that information against loss, theft and unauthorized access, use, and disclosure.

Information collected through the website is stored within NextGear Capital-controlled databases (or databases hosted on our behalf) on services maintained in protected environments. We use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that personal information is protected.

NextGear Capital uses safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity and amount of personal information under NextGear Capital’s legal control, to the purposes for which it is used and the format in which it is stored, we use a combination of measures – including administrative, physical and technical security and safeguarding measures – to help protect the security of the personal information, including:

  • A privacy framework governing the protection of personal information through its lifecycle.
  • Internal policies and procedures that define the roles and responsibilities of NextGear Capital’s personnel regarding the handling of personal information.
  • Technical safeguards, such as encryption (e.g., through Secure Sockets Layer software), firewalls, passwords and antivirus software, to protect personal information collected, used or stored in electronic format.
  • A designated Privacy Officer accountable for NextGear Capital’s compliance with applicable privacy laws.
  • Employee privacy and data security training.
  • Procedures for receiving, investigating and responding to complaints or inquiries regarding NextGear Capital’s information handling practices.
  • Contractual provisions and other measures to require our service providers with whom we share personal information to maintain adequate privacy protections and standards.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted through the website. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the website. It is important for you to also protect against unauthorized access to your password, to your account and to your computer. Be especially sure to sign off when you finish using a shared computer.

9.     Website Links to Third-Party Websites

The website contains links to third party websites not controlled by NextGear Capital or covered by NextGear Capital’s Privacy Policy. NextGear Capital is not responsible or liable for, and does not have control over, these third-party websites or their privacy policies and practices. Moreover, the practices of these third parties are not covered by NextGear Capital’s Privacy Policy. You should review the applicable terms of use and privacy policy for any such third-party website.

Third parties may use technology to send their websites (links to which may appear on our website) directly to your browser. They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. They may also use cookies, JavaScript, web beacons (also known as action tags or single-pixel gifs), and other technologies to measure the effectiveness of the link. We do not have access to, or control over, cookies or other features that third parties may use. Please contact these third parties directly for more information about their privacy policies and practices.

10.  Privacy Policy Changes

NextGear Capital reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy from time to time in our sole discretion. The collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal information by NextGear Capital will be governed by the version of this Privacy Policy in effect at that time.

New versions of this Privacy Policy will be published on this website. If we make any material changes, we will notify you as required by law, which may include by email (sent to the email address specified in your account) or by means of a notice on this website prior to the change becoming effective.  Your continued use of the website subsequent to any changes to this Privacy Policy will signify that you consent to the collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal information in accordance with the changed Privacy Policy and that you have obtained the necessary consent of the individuals whose personal information you provide to NextGear Capital. Accordingly, when you use the website, you should check the “Effective Date” of this Privacy Policy at the top of this page and review any changes since the last version. You should also bookmark this page and periodically review this Privacy Policy to ensure that you are familiar with the most current version.

11.  How to Contact Us

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, or if you would like to exercise any of the individual privacy rights outlined in Section 7, please contact:

Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer

By email at privacycanada@coxautoinc.com
By mail at: Cox Automotive, Inc.
6305 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road , Floor 7
Atlanta, Georgia 30328 USA
Attention: Scott Hilsen, Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer

To change your privacy preferences or settings when using our website, please contact us by email at privacycanada@coxautoinc.com.