Effective date: July 7, 2026
Who We Are
Kootenay Auto Loans is a locally owned auto-financing team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, serving drivers across the Kootenay region. We act as an intermediary that helps you explore vehicle financing options with Canadian lenders. You can reach us at crystal@kootenayautoloans.com or by phone or text at 1-250-464-1572.
We are committed to handling personal information in accordance with British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
What We Collect
When you use our website or contact us, we may collect:
- Contact information — your name, email address, and phone number.
- Financing preferences — the vehicle type you're interested in, a general description of your credit situation, your monthly budget range, and anything else you choose to tell us in a message.
- Technical information — the IP address associated with a form submission, which we record to help prevent spam and abuse.
If you choose to proceed with a financing application after we contact you, we will ask for additional information at that time (for example, employment and income details and identification), and we will explain how it will be used before you provide it.
How We Use Your Information
- To respond to your inquiries and application requests.
- To assess which financing options and lenders may fit your situation.
- To contact you by phone, text, or email about your application or inquiry.
- To maintain records of our communications with you.
- To protect our website and business from fraud, spam, and misuse.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.
Consent
By submitting a form on our website or contacting us, you consent to us collecting and using your information for the purposes described above, including replying to you by phone, text, or email. You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us, subject to legal or contractual restrictions — we'll explain any consequences of withdrawing (for example, that we may no longer be able to arrange financing for you).
Credit Checks
Our initial pre-approval process uses a soft credit inquiry, which does not affect your credit score. A hard credit inquiry is only performed with your knowledge and consent if you choose to move forward with a specific lender.
Who We Share It With
- Lending partners. With your consent, we share relevant details from your application with Canadian lenders and dealer partners for the purpose of arranging your financing.
- Service providers. We use reputable third-party providers for services such as website hosting and email. They process information on our behalf and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes. Some of these providers may store or process information on servers located outside Canada, where it can be subject to the laws of those jurisdictions.
- Legal requirements. We may disclose information where required or permitted by law — for example, in response to a court order.
Storage, Retention & Safeguards
We keep personal information only as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes described above and to meet legal and regulatory requirements, after which it is securely deleted or destroyed. We protect personal information with safeguards appropriate to its sensitivity, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) on our website and access limited to the team members who need it.
Your Rights
You may ask us to:
- Provide access to the personal information we hold about you.
- Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Stop contacting you, or delete your information (subject to legal retention requirements).
To make any of these requests, contact us at crystal@kootenayautoloans.com. We will respond within a reasonable time. If you're not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia or the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Cookies & Analytics
Our website does not set tracking cookies and does not use third-party advertising or analytics trackers. Our pages load fonts from Google Fonts, which means your browser makes a request to Google's servers when the page loads; that request is governed by Google's privacy policy.
Electronic Communications
Emails and texts we send you about your inquiry or application are transactional. We will not send you commercial electronic messages (such as newsletters or promotions) without your consent, in accordance with Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). Any such messages will include an easy way to unsubscribe.
Children
Our services are intended for individuals who are of the age of majority in their province. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The "Effective date" at the top of this page shows when it was last revised. Meaningful changes will be reflected on this page, so we encourage you to review it occasionally.
Contact Us
Questions about this policy or how your information is handled? Reach us at crystal@kootenayautoloans.com, call or text 1-250-464-1572, or use the contact form on our homepage.