MyCRA Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers

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  • Privacy Awareness Week 2014: New Privacy Laws and You

    PrivacyWeek-Banners-R1 - 2013-3MyCRA Lawyers is a proud partner for Privacy Awareness Week (PAW), held 4-10 May 2014. Privacy Awareness Week is held every year to promote awareness of privacy issues and the importance of the protection of personal information. This year is focused on our new Australian Privacy Laws, which came into force on 12 March 2014. Find out about how Privacy Laws may affect you and your credit rating, this week during PAW.

    By Graham Doessel, Non-Legal Director of MyCRA Lawyers www.mycralawyers.com.au.

    In an age of increasing accessibility of personal information, privacy is growing ever more important, and more valued for Australians. According to a recent survey by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (the federal Australian Government body responsible for privacy in Australia), a third of Australians reported they had a privacy problem in the last year. In addition, 60% of Australians decided not to deal with a private business and 25% have decided not to deal with a government agency due to concerns as to how their personal information will be used.

    Australia’s new privacy laws were the most significant changes to privacy laws in over 25 years, affecting a large section of the community. The changes to the Privacy Act 1988 include a new set of Australian Privacy Principles that regulate how your personal information is handled and new enforcement powers for the Office of the Information Commissioner (OAIC).

    One of the aims of the new privacy laws is to ensure that your personal information is managed in an open and transparent way.

    Here are some tips provided by the OAIC during PAW, to help you protect your personal information:

    • Know your privacy rights

    • Read privacy policies and notices

    • Always ask why, how and who — this will help you to know how your personal information is going to be used, and if it is going to be given to another agency or organisation

    • Only give out as much personal information as you need to — always think before handing your personal information over

    • Ask for access to your personal information

    • Make sure the information an organisation or agency holds about you is accurate and up to date

    • Take steps to protect your online privacy

    • Make sure your hard copy records are properly destroyed

    • You can ‘opt out’ of marketing communications if you do not want to receive any further contact of this kind

    • Make a privacy complaint if you consider that your personal information has not been handled properly.

    Many identity theft cases that impact your credit rating could have been prevented with better education and more vigilance around the protection of personal information. Complacency around personal information, both on the part of consumers and entities such as agencies and businesses, can be the undoing of someone’s ability to obtain credit.

    Pieces of personal information are the building blocks for credit file misuse. You can lose your personal information to fraudsters in many ways, and you may be unaware of how or when it has occurred – particularly if it has happened via malware, through data breaches or even through too much sharing online.

    Sometimes it’s not until you apply for credit and are refused that you even find out you have been exposed to identity fraud, and by then it may be too late to detect how it took place.

    This is why it is so important for all Australians to educate themselves on how to keep their information secure, and to demand that any information they are required to give over to any person or company be treated with the utmost privacy. Australia’s new Privacy Laws will hopefully add the requirements for all entities holding our personal information to be more aware of and accountable for upholding personal information privacy.

    You can find out about your rights in more detail through the OAIC’s Privacy factsheet ‘How changes to privacy law affect you.’

    THIS PAW WEEK: If you have a business, get some help in our next post with how to navigate the new privacy laws, including how to update your Privacy Policy, and how and when to conduct a Privacy Impact Assessment. For consumers and businesses alike, also stay tuned this week for how Australia’s new Privacy Laws may impact your ability to obtain credit, through changes to credit reporting laws.

     

  • End of financial year an important time for your credit file.

    Media Release

    End of financial year an important time for your credit file.

    16 July 2013

    End of financial yearAs the saying goes….there are two certainties in this world – death and taxes. But there is another certainty in Australia. If you have ever taken out or applied for credit, you will have a ‘credit file’ in your name, and a consumer advocate for accurate credit reporting says the end of the financial year should be the time to include an all-important credit check to your financial repertoire.

    Graham Doessel, CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repair says obtaining a copy of your credit report regularly is an essential component to maintaining good financial records.

    “Most people don’t think about their credit file until they apply for credit, let alone the implications if they should find out they have a default or other negative listing against their name,” he says.

    Mr Doessel believes most people don’t know they should check their credit file, because they are largely unaware of the frequency of credit rating errors, or listings added unlawfully by Credit Providers to Australian credit files.

    “Unfortunately, paying all of your bills on time doesn’t always guarantee a clear credit file – there can be a number of go-wrongs including billing errors, unfair bills, address mix-ups and mistaken identities – and our growing client base is testament to this issue,” he says.

    Credit reporting agency Veda Advantage alone holds over 16 million credit files in Australia, but currently there are no official statistics on the number of Australians with ‘bad credit’ or negative listings – although in the past there have been reports of that figure being around 3 million. Likewise, there are no statistics for the number of credit listings disputed with individual Credit Providers.

    “This makes it difficult for individuals to get any scope for the likelihood that their credit file may contain errors,” Mr Doessel says.

    He says Australians should check their credit file at least once a year with all relevant credit reporting agencies, to make sure they have the all clear.

    “Although it is not well publicised, Australians can access a copy of their credit report every year for free from Australia’s credit reporting agencies,” he says.

    You can apply for a copy of your credit report from agencies Veda Advantage, Dun & Bradstreet, Experian and Tasmanian Collection Services (if in Tasmania). A free report will be sent within 10 working days, or you can pay to get an urgent report.

    Mr Doessel says the end of financial year is the best time to order a copy of your credit report – as your financial records tend to be in order if you have just completed a tax return.

    “This way, if there are any items you wish to cross-check on your credit file, you will have all the necessary information at your fingertips,” he says.

    If your report comes back with errors, or you feel a listing is unjust or shouldn’t be there, you do have the right to have incorrect information rectified.

    “Depending on the nature of the dispute, this may be fairly straightforward, or you may find that it requires the help of a third party advocate,” he says.

    You can also order a free copy of your credit report through MyCRA – http://freecreditrating.com.au/.

    /ENDS.

    Please contact:

    Lisa Brewster – Media Relations     media@mycra.com.au

    Graham Doessel     -Ph 3124 7133

    http://www.mycra.com.au/     246 Stafford Road, STAFFORD QLD. Ph: 07 3124 7133

    MyCRA Credit Repair is Australia’s number one in credit rating repairs. We permanently remove defaults from credit files. CEO of MyCRA Graham Doessel is a frequent consumer spokesperson for credit reporting issues and is a founding member of the Credit Repair Industry Association of Australasia.  

    Image: patpitchaya/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net