MyCRA Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers

Tag: credit reporting agencies

  • Privacy Commissioner casts final verdict on Sony data breach

    It seems that there will be no reprisal according to Australian law for the victims of the Sony PlayStation/Qriocity saga which left the personal information of approximately 77 million Sony customers worldwide exposed to hackers and threatened the victims with possible identity theft and credit file misuse.

    Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim released his official report last Thursday on his investigation into Sony Australia’s possible breach of the Privacy Act.

    His investigation found that Sony did not breach Australia’s Privacy Act when it fell victim to a cyber-attack.

    The investigation looked at whether Sony complied with the National Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act. The Principles require organisations to take reasonable steps to protect personal information, and limit the circumstances in which organisations can use and disclose personal information.

    “I found no evidence that Sony intentionally disclosed any personal information to a third party.  Rather, its Network Platform was hacked into. I also found that Sony took reasonable steps to protect its customers’ personal information, including encrypting credit card information and ensuring that appropriate physical, network and communication security measures were in place,” Mr Pilgrim said.

    Mr Pilgrim was concerned about the time that elapsed between Sony becoming aware of the incident and notifying its Australian customers and the OAIC. There was a gap of a week between the data breach and the notification. However, the Privacy Act does not contain a deadline for data breach notification – so this failure to notify does not classify as a breach of privacy.

    “I would have liked to have seen Sony act more swiftly to let its customers know about this incident. Immediate or early notification of a data breach can allow individuals to take steps to mitigate the risks that arise from their information being compromised,” Mr Pilgrim said.

    “However, I am pleased that in response to this incident, Sony has now implemented extra security measures to strengthen protections around the Network Platform.”

    During the investigation, the Privacy Commissioner examined information pertaining to relationships between the various Sony entities involved in this matter.

    “The international nature of these relationships raises challenges for regulators monitoring personal information flows in these kinds of situations where large global companies are collecting personal information while operating in a number of different jurisdictions.”

    In recognition of this, the Privacy Commissioner will provide a copy of his investigation report to privacy regulators in APEC member economies for their consideration.

    The Privacy Commissioner can only investigate what is in the bounds of the Australia’s Privacy Act to investigate – and here we get to the real problem.

    Unfortunately our Privacy Laws don’t extend to mandatory data breach notification. So the Privacy Commissioner was unable to investigate what many agree was the real issue – why Sony took a week to notify its millions of customers their personal information – including credit card details had been compromised.

    The entire saga and this subsequent investigation has served to highlight a massive hole in Australia’s privacy laws which are leaving people open to this kind of breach of security with no retribution via our Government policy.

    As we advised at the time of the data breach, it is important for anyone who has had their personal details compromised in this way to be on the  lookout for possible misuse of their credit file.

    Often people don’t know they have been victims of identity theft until they attempt to obtain credit and are refused, due to defaults on their credit report they are unaware of.

    It is recommended that everyone check their credit file for free every year from Australia’s credit reporting agencies. For people who have been the victim of a data breach and other people vulnerable to identity theft, it might pay to include a separate credit file monitoring service. For instance Veda Advantage will (for a fee) monitor people’s credit files and alert the credit file holder to any changes or entries on their credit file – including credit enquiries.

    If people need help with credit rating repair following identity theft, they can contact MyCRA Credit Repairs toll free within Australia on 1300 667 218.

    Image: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

     

     

  • Found a better home loan? Check your credit file before applying to refinance

    Media Release

    25 August 2011

    Home owners refinancing in the wake of the government’s scrapping of home loan exit fees should consider the health of their credit file before they make a new application, according to a national credit repairer.

    Director of MyCRA Credit Repairs, Graham Doessel says existing home owners should exercise their right to a free credit report from the major credit reporting agencies prior to making any enquiries on a new home loan.

    “People who already have a mortgage probably haven’t considered how important a clear credit rating is – even second time around. Regardless of whether people have been diligent payers, creditors can and do sometimes make mistakes with people’s credit files and some people end up with black marks against their name that shouldn’t be there,” Mr Doessel says.

    A bad credit rating can result when a bill or repayment goes unpaid past 60 days. After this time, a creditor has the right to list that non-payment as a default on the person’s credit file.

    “In the current finance market, any black mark generally results in an automatic decline with the major lenders. Even too many credit enquiries can blow someone’s chances of finance approval, so it really is important for people to know what is said about them on their credit report before they go in to refinance,” Mr Doessel says.

    This comes as The Telegraph reported earlier this month existing home owners are staying put and refinancing in high levels.

    It reported mortgage broker Australian Finance Group’s figures of about 39 per cent of their July mortgages were from people refinancing. AFG attributed this trend to the major banks competing very aggressively on fees and price since exit fees were banned.

    “If you have a home loan at the moment, it’s the best time in 20 years to be looking for a better deal,” AFG spokesman Mark Hewitt said.

    Mr Doessel says many of his clients have been in the middle of refinancing, whether to reduce their repayments or to get a better deal – when the bank has performed a credit check and found defaults against their name.

    “Sometimes people don’t know their good name is compromised until they apply for finance and are refused. Many times if they had checked their credit file they may have had the chance to rectify any errors or save themselves the embarrassment prior to applying for the loan,” he says.

    Mr Doessel says approximately 63% of the clients who contact his company for credit repair would be people who have defaults, writs or Judgments which are listed in error on their credit file.

    “We have clients who are facing identity theft; some are caught in issues over separation from their spouse; some have been disputing a bill which went to default stage and many people are just victims of the fallout from inadequate billing procedures – wrong names, wrong addresses, human and computer errors,” he says.

    Under current credit reporting legislation, consumers have the right to a free credit report from the credit reporting agencies once a year.

    People need to contact all the credit reporting agencies to request their report – as creditors have access to 3 agencies within mainland Australia and 4 in Tasmania. The report must be provided to them in writing within 10 days of the request.

    Consumers also have the right to have any inconsistencies on their credit file rectified.  Defaults can be marked as paid if the account has been settled.

    But Mr Doessel says listings are not removed by creditors unless the file holder can provide adequate reason and lots of evidence as to why the listing should not be there.

    “Credit repair requires knowledge of the legislation, lots of evidence and perseverance. But for those people whose financial freedom is hindered because their credit file contains errors, it is a point worth fighting for,” he says.

    /ENDS
    Please contact:
    Lisa Brewster – Media Relations   Mob: 0450 554 007 media@mycra.com.au

    Graham Doessel – Director  (07) 3124 7133 http://www.mycra.com.au

    MyCRA Credit Repairs is Australia’s leader in credit rating repairs. We permanently remove defaults from credit files.

    Link: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/money/better-mortgage-deals-beckon-as-banks-create-more-deals/story-e6frezc0-1226108846876

    Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Experian given green light by ACCC to enter Australian credit reporting

    Credit active individuals will have yet another company to contact when obtaining their credit history, and it will be as important as ever for people to check their credit file regularly.

    There is a new player in the credit reporting game, and it has some of Australia’s biggest lenders as its shareholders. Back in May, we blogged about the possibility of U.K. giant Experian entering Australian credit reporting, and speculated on what the issues may be for credit file holders in this country.

    Today newly appointed ACCC Chairman, Rod Simms announced his approval of Experian’s entrance into the Australian market. The Sydney Morning Herald ran a story titled Experian is allowed to report for duty. The article says Experian will challenge the other two major credit reporting agencies, Veda Advantage and Dun & Bradstreet for Australia’s major credit reporter.

    “The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman yesterday decided there would be no substantial lessening of competition if Experian became the third sizeable in the Australian market – even if the big four banks and two other big US-backed lenders (Citigroup and GE Capital) are minority shareholders.

    Veda and the Dun and Bradstreet group have been the big players until now, and the banks are among their largest customers. There was a fear that the banks now have a financial incentive to put all their business through Experian, or at least choke off the supply of customer credit information to service providers that will in future be competitors.

    Sims and the ACCC accepted the banks’ argument that their backing of a new entrant to the market in Experian was in fact designed to increase competition by adding some pricing tension for services,” the article says.

    So where do consumers stand amongst this change? According to the ACCC, they are in an improved state. They acknowledged Experian’s argument that the benefits to having a new credit reporting agency like Experian, is the greater competition for accuracy and efficiency that will result.

    In addition to this, Australia’s move to new positive credit reporting laws will be enhanced by a company like Experian which is experienced in this type of data collection in the U.K.

    But what about the accuracy of credit reporting – will this be enhanced?

    Currently, there are several pieces of legislation, including the National Consumer Credit Protection Act and the Credit Reporting Code of Conduct 2009 which have gone a long way to improving the accuracy of credit reporting, by imposing tougher penalties for creditors who don’t comply with the Acts. The ACCC Chairman, in all likelihood probably found that legislation was strong enough to combat any conflict of interest that could have resulted from having the creditors also being minor shareholders in the credit reporting agency.

    Whilst Experian will be bound to comply with this legislation as the other agencies are, the onus is on the consumer to check the accuracy of their credit report. This is where the system could fall down – through simple lack of public education. Yearly credit file checks are currently not in abundance for most credit active individuals. When disputing any adverse listing, it is up to the credit file holder to provide reason as to
    why the creditor has not complied with legislation if they feel there are errors on their credit file.

    Current statistics from Choice Magazine from 2004 point to up to 34% of credit files in Australia likely to contain errors.

    What is concerning, is that many creditors are getting away
    with not complying with Australia’s strict credit reporting legislation because consumers are simply not checking their credit file for errors. People are only finding out about any defaults, writs or judgments on their file when they apply for credit. This guarantees them an automatic decline with the bank and leaves them angry and stressed if they feel the listing should not be there.

    If more was done to educate consumers as to their right to check their credit file for free every year, then people would have time to repair any errors when it is not urgent. It could also increase pressure for creditors to enhance the accuracy of credit reporting.

    Is there a conflict of interest in terms of accuracy when many major Australian creditors will be small shareholders in the credit reporting agency? The ACCC found this was not the case.

    Currently people can obtain a copy of their credit file for free every 12 months from one of the Australian credit reporting agencies, Veda Advantage, Dun & Bradstreet or Tasmanian Collection Services.

    We recommend everyone should be concerned about the accuracy of their credit file. A yearly check should provide a picture as to its accuracy, and allow them the opportunity to redress any errors which present on their file prior to needing credit.

    And for borrowers whose lender requires a credit check to
    secure finance? We predict their application fee just got more expensive with the introduction of the new agency – potentially paying for three or four credit reports instead of two to three.

     

  • Consumer debt struggles and solutions

    A recent survey revealed that about one in three Australians said they will struggle to repay their debts in the coming September quarter. If this many Australians have money problems, then more should be done to educate people on our credit reporting laws, and what can happen to people’s finances, should they end up with a bad credit rating.

    When things get bad enough that repayments are getting missed, people need to be aware of the cycle they may be getting themselves into.

    Black marks on people’s credit reports remain there for 5 – 7 years, and can severely hinder their chances of getting further credit, from mortgages to mobile phone plans.

    If people are struggling to make repayments, they need to take a pro-active approach to managing the solutions.

    It is human nature for people to not want to admit their failings, but it is important for people to realise that the choices they make with their debts today can affect them as far as seven years down the track.

    All forms of credit, from mortgage repayments through to our utilities bills have the potential to affect our credit rating should they get too far in arrears.

    Debt survey

    Credit reporting agency Dun & Bradstreet released its bi-annual debt survey recently. The survey revealed that almost one third of Australians will struggle to meet their credit commitments in the September quarter. It also revealed that 37 percent intend to use their credit card to purchase something they could otherwise not afford. Twenty-one percent say their household debt will increase over the next three months, and almost half say an interest rate rise in the September quarter would negatively affect their household’s finances.

    “…the reliance on credit for household purchases in spite of apprehension about their ability to meet these commitments is worrying, as an issue that can affect their future credit rating and ability to access credit – often when they need it the most,” Dun & Bradstreet’s CEO Christine Christian says.

    Credit reporting explained

    Current legislation allows creditors of any form to list a default on a person’s credit file when the repayment is more than 60 days late. These default listings remain on a person’s credit file for 5 years. In the current market, most major banks are currently rejecting loan applications because of defaults, and many even for excess credit enquiries. So anyone who wishes to obtain credit should be ensuring they sort out any debt problems before they escalate to default stage.

    Under current legislation, people can see what is reported about them on their credit file, by obtaining a free copy of their credit report every 12 months. They may contact one or more of the credit reporting agencies, Veda Advantage, Dun & Bradstreet and Tasmanian Collection Services and it will be posted to them within 10 working days.

    If people find defaults, writs or Judgments which they believe are unjust, contain errors or just simply shouldn’t be there, they do have the right to have them removed. Credit rating repairers can assist with this removal by negotiating directly with creditors on a person’s behalf.

    Solutions for debt to avoid a bad credit rating

    1. Contact creditors immediately. People may be able to negotiate either a short-term or long-term change to their repayments. Many creditors, especially the major banks have options available to struggling families to help them keep up with repayments. Many appreciate people keeping in touch and working out solutions everyone can live with.

    2. Put the spotlight on spending. Paul Clitheroe advises those who can’t make repayments to keep a spending diary for a week or two.

    “This will show you exactly where your money is going, and chances are you’ll find plenty of little-but-often outlays that quickly add up to much larger amounts. Cut back on these and you’ll free up money for repayments,” Mr Clitheroe says.

    3. Consider the difference between wants and needs. People
    should consider how many of the items they regularly spend money on are necessities, and how many can be sacrificed for the short term in order to ensure their long term financial future is safe? People could choose to live without life’s little perks – like the Foxtel account, magazine subscriptions, or eating out while they get on top of their credit issues.

    4. Downgrade if necessary. For people in serious financial trouble, it may be a matter of swallowing their pride and downsizing or selling the family home, or moving to cheaper rental accommodation until they get back on top of things.

    For people who have defaults, writs and Judgments which are unfairly disadvantaging them, and they feel they should not be there – they can contact MyCRA Credit Repairs. We permanently remove black marks from credit files.

    Image: nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • End of financial year best time to check our credit file

    Media Release: The end of the financial year is an opportune time for people to check their credit rating and get it in order, according to a national credit repairer.

    Director of MyCRA Credit Repairs, Graham Doessel says if people are reviewing their yearly phone records, bank statements, and credit card statements for tax time, it can be a good idea for them to request a credit report as well from credit reporting agencies,to cross-check any adverse listings which may have been placed on their credit file.

    “The problem with credit reporting in Australia is that many people are unaware of how the system works, and what their rights are. It is important for people to know they can apply for a copy of their credit file for free every year and the end of financial year is a great time to do this, because people already have their paperwork out,” Mr Doessel says.

    He says it is essential for people to know what is said about them on their credit report – as there is opportunity for errors to occur when creditors apply listings to credit files. Even if people believe they have a good payment history, their credit report may still contain errors.

    “Many of my clients have impeccable repayment histories and would have never dreamed they would end up with a default. Let me tell you mistakes do often happen. Sometimes simple human error by the creditor leads to adverse listings put there incorrectly,” he says.

    A small scale study conducted by the Australian Consumer Association (now Choice Magazine) in 2004, revealed a staggering 30% of credit files were likely to contain errors.

    “In our view, there are serious, systematic flaws which are leaving an increasing number of Australian consumers vulnerable to defamation, mis-matching and harassment,” the report said.

    A credit file exists for anyone who has ever been ‘credit active’ and is used by creditors to assess the risk and borrowing capacity of potential borrowers.

    The most common type of adverse listing is a default. Defaults are put there by creditors when accounts have remained unpaid for more than 60 days.

    Defaults remain on a person’s credit file for 5 years from the date of listing, and have the potential to severely impact a person’s ability to obtain credit.

    “Currently, any default can be enough for an automatic decline with most of the major banks. Many lenders are even rejecting loans for excess enquiries such as two in thirty days or six within the year. Some people nmay even be unable to take out a mobile phone plan in their name if they have defaults on their credit file.”

    “It also affects the type of home loan people may be eligible for, the interest rate they are offered and price of establishing the loan. The lending options become more expensive and limited” Mr Doessel says.

    People can contact Veda Advantage, Dun and Bradstreet and Tasmanian Collection Services (if they live in Tasmanoia) to request their free report. A creditor may have listed defaults with one or all of these credit reporting agencies.

    If people find errors, or feel a listing is unjust or shouldn’t be there, they do have the right to have incorrect information rectified.

    Mr Doessel says if people are in a hurry or it seems too difficult, they can use a credit repairer who can work on their behalf.

    “A credit repairer should be able to completely remove offending blemishes from someone’s credit file,” he says.

    Contact www.mycra.com.au for more details on how to check and repair credit files.

    /ENDS

    Please contact

    Lisa Brewster – Media Relations

    Ph: 3124 7133  Mob: 0450 554 007  media@mycra.com.au

    Image: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net