MyCRA Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers

Tag: Privacy Act 1988

When Credit Is Refused – (legislation) – Did You Know Series 101
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Welcome to “When Credit Is Refused”

in the MyCRA (Specialist Credit Repair) Lawyers “Did You Know” Series.

This series of Hints, Tips, and (Legislation) Snippets will Reveal The Truth behind Credit Reporting Legislation, Privacy Legislation and Credit Repair.

You will discover:
1. ways you can help your clients (without the need to engage us)
2. ways clients can help themselves
3. Pitfalls to avoid
Tip 101 (Legislation)

When Credit Is Refused

“Where a Credit provider (CP) obtains credit reporting information about an individual from a Credit Reporting Body (CRB) and, within 90 days of obtaining that information, the CP refuses a consumer credit application made by the individual, whether alone or jointly with other applicants, the CP must provide a written notice of refusal that:”

(a) meets the requirements of Section 21P(2);

(b) explains the individual’s right to access their credit reporting information without charge during the 90 days following the date of the CP’s notice of refusal and how to request the relevant CRBs to provide access to that information;

(c) is to the effect that it is important for individuals to be proactive in checking the accuracy of the credit reporting information that CRBs hold about them;

(d) states that the CP relies upon information from a number of sources when deciding whether to refuse consumer credit including information provided by the individual to the CP and credit reporting information disclosed to the CP by CRBs;

(e) provides information about factors that are often taken into account when refusing credit: these may include:

(i) the adequacy of the applicant’s level of income and other resources to meet repayments of credit;
(ii) the extent of the applicant’s indebtedness and other commitments;
(iii) the security of the applicant’s employment;
(iv) the applicant’s credit history including previous bankruptcy, defaults, serious credit infringements, high number of credit applications and unsatisfactory repayment history; and

(f) refers to the CP’s credit eligibility information access and correction processes and its complaints process.

The written notice must be given to the individual either at the time the CP notifies the individual of the refusal decision or within 10 business days of that date”

If your Credit Rating is polluted with black marks, and if those black marks (Judgments, Defaults, Enquiries) are the reason you can’t get finance, and if your life would be easier (and better) with a clean, sparkling, and shiny credit file you can be proud of, then you deserve a second chance, don’t you?

If you do deserve a second chance, call MyCRA Lawyers now on 1300 667 218
(Mention this particular post for a Free Initial Consultation (Valued at up to $440) with our Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers or their assistants.)

Click HERE or more in this “Did You Know” series

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Worth every cent! Friendly and experts in their field. Again many thanks for your work and the achieved results!!

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*** was incredibly helpful with his knowledge and information about credit repair and would highly recommend his work.

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have a look at a few previous success stories (Case Studies)

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26/02/2019
Privacy Awareness Week 2014: New Privacy Laws and You

MyCRA 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.

07/05/2014
Update on mandatory data breach notification laws

The long-awaited amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 making reporting of serious data breaches mandatory, has been passed in the House of Representatives and had its second reading in the Senate yesterday. We cover what this Bill will mean if it is passed, and what it means for your credit file.

By Graham Doessel, Founder and CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repair and www.fixmybadcredit.com.au.

If passed by both houses, the Privacy Amendment (Privacy Alerts) Bill 2013 will be implemented as part of amendments to the Privacy Act in March next year, alongside other amendments.

The amendments will force businesses and government agencies covered by the Privacy Act 1988, to notify people when a serious data breach affecting their privacy occurs.

The notification requirements do not apply to all data breaches, only breaches that give rise to a risk of serious harm. Serious harm could include physical and psychological harm, as well as injury to feelings, humiliation, harm to reputation and financial or economic harm.

The Commissioner will be able to seek civil penalties if there is serious or repeated non-compliance with the notification requirements and the Information Commissioner will be able to direct agencies and business to notify individuals of data breaches.

The legislation has been introduced following criticism of the current voluntary reporting system. It seems when faced with a choice, many entities think of the bottom line or other publicity concerns rather than the security of people’s personal or financial information.

A bit about how data breaches can threaten your credit file

Personal information in the wrong hands can lead not only to identity fraud, but the misuse of the victim’s credit file, which can have significant long term consequences.

A lot of identity fraud is committed by piecing together enough personal information from different sources in order for criminals to take out credit in the victim’s name. Often victims don’t know about it right away – and that’s where their credit file can be compromised.

Once the victim’s credit rating is damaged due to defaults from this ‘stolen’ credit, they are facing some difficult times repairing their credit rating in order to get their life back on track.

These victims often can’t even get a mobile phone in their name. It need not be large-scale fraud to be a massive blow to their financial future – defaults for as little as $100 will stop someone from getting a home loan.

Once an unpaid account goes to default stage, the account may be listed by the creditor as a default on a person’s credit file. Under current legislation, defaults remain on the credit file for a 5 year period.

What is not widely known is how difficult credit repair following can be – even if the individual has been the victim of identity theft, there is no guarantee the defaults can be removed from their credit file. The onus is on them to prove their case and provide copious amounts of documentary evidence.

Unfortunately data breaches are difficult for individuals to have any control over, and the only way people can ensure their details are safe are to demand that the companies they deal with have strong IT systems before disclosing that information. People should adopt the philosophy of a need-to-know basis for disclosing their personal information. They should always question the need for it to be handed over. If it is not essential, they shouldn’t do it.

Image: Stuart Miles/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

18/06/2013
Your credit check is soon to reveal all your bad habits: Privacy Awareness Week 2013.

Press Release

Your credit check is soon to reveal all your bad habits: Privacy Awareness Week 2013.

29 April 2013

Australians are urged to be more diligent with paying all of their bills on time, every time or face a black mark against their name as part of privacy law reforms on their way in March 2014 – and a consumer advocate for accurate credit reporting warns consumers that late payment information is being collected now.

CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repair, Graham Doessel says it is important for all credit active individuals to rethink their repayment habits, or potentially face a series of late payment notations which could mean they are banned from credit in the future.

“The time to change is now. Ensure that every bill is being paid on time – not two days late, or a week late – as come March next year – our history of paying bills late from December 2012 onward will show up when we apply for credit,” Mr Doessel warns.

His warning comes as part of Australia’s Privacy Awareness Week 2013 which is run from 29 April to 4 May, aimed at educating individuals and businesses on matters of privacy. 2013’s theme is Privacy Law Reform – a campaign to educate Australians about changes to the Privacy Act (1988) passed on November 29 2012, which will be implemented on March 12, 2014.

Repayment history information (RHI) is part of five new data sets which will appear on Australian credit reports, from March next year – meant to afford a more accurate picture of someone’s suitability to service a loan.

The other four data sets are: the date on which a credit account was opened; the date on which a credit account was closed; the type of credit account opened; and the current limit of each open credit account.

“I think late payments will be looked on pretty unfavourably when this information becomes available to lenders, along with other factors such as applying for too much credit; applying for credit too often; or applying for the ‘wrong’ type of credit,” Mr Doessel says.

He says it is not known how much weight repayment history will be afforded on its own, but predicts lenders will be reluctant to lend to someone who presents with too many late payments – even if there are no defaults present.

“If lenders are deciding between an application which has no late payments and one with a few scattered here and there, they’d probably choose the clear one,” he says.

Mr Doessel says when the legislation was passed in late November, many – including himself were up in arms that RHI could be included after an account was one day late.

“This didn’t allow for any wiggle room, and put those using systems like direct debits and BPay at risk if payments didn’t go through right on time,” he says.

But a draft Credit Reporting Code of Conduct which will underpin the changes to the Privacy Act now allows for a 5 day grace period before RHI is recorded.

“I am thankful that those drafting the CR Code have taken these concerns into consideration and adopted the 5 day rule for individuals – making it fairer for all,” he says.

Mr Doessel says come March 2014, it will be more important than ever for individuals to be vigilant with checking their credit file.

“With all the new information about people available to lenders, it is pretty crucial that it reads accurately. You can check your credit file at no charge annually by applying with Australia’s credit reporting agencies,” he says.

Go to http://bit.ly/My-Free-Credit-File for more help to obtain your credit report.

“Thankfully, if there are issues of inaccuracy on credit reports from March – there will be more support within the Privacy Act amendments to allow for ease of correction,” Mr Doessel says.

/ENDS.

Please contact:

Graham Doessel – CEO Ph 3124 7133

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

Ph 07 3124 7133 www.mycra.com.au www.mycra.com.au/blog

MyCRA Credit Repair 246 Stafford Rd, STAFFORD Qld

MyCRA 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.

Top image: FrameAngel/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

29/04/2013
Privacy Awareness Week 2013 Privacy Law Reform
29 April to 4 May 2013 is Privacy Awareness Week 2013 across Australia. MyCRA Credit Rating Repair are once again proud partners of PAW, and 2013’s theme “Privacy Law Reform” is especially relevant to us as credit repairers and consumer advocates for accurate credit reporting. We are taking this week to discuss the huge changes coming our way since Australia’s Privacy Act (1988) was amended in late November 2012. We look at how individuals and businesses will be impacted by new Privacy Laws, particularly in our area of focus – credit reporting and credit law, looking towards the implementation of those laws on March 12, 2014.

By Graham Doessel, Founder and CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repair and www.fixmybadcredit.com.au.

What is Privacy Awareness Week?

Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) is an initiative of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities forum (APPA) held every year to promote awareness of privacy issues and the importance of the protection of personal information. Activities are held across the Asia Pacific region by APPA members.

Why is MyCRA involved?

Credit reporting is governed by the Privacy Act (1988) – so privacy issues are regulated and protected by this legislation. Credit repairers must be fluent in Privacy legislation in order to help consumers with their credit disputes.

2013’s theme – Privacy Law Reform is a pertinent one for consumers. MyCRA believes that every consumer should be educated on the changes coming in for them, and they affect every credit-active individual. We want to raise awareness of how an individual’s ability to obtain credit may be impacted (for better or worse) by these laws. We also want to demonstrate the changes that are coming in the way credit reporting information is handled, and how that will also impact the individual.

What will change?

The new laws will bring about changes in three main areas. (Courtesy of OAIC).

The introduction of a unified set of Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). These principles will be introduced to replace the current National Privacy Principles for those private sector organisations covered by the Privacy Act and the Information Privacy Principles for Australian government agencies. There are a number of important changes with the introduction of the APPs, including in the areas of direct marketing, overseas disclosure of personal information and the handling of unsolicited information.

The introduction of comprehensive credit reporting. These changes are designed to provide consumer credit providers with sufficient information to adequately assess credit risk while ensuring the protection of personal information, and to support responsible lending. The system will be underpinned by a new industry-agreed Credit Reporting Code of Conduct approved by the Commissioner.

Enhanced powers for the Commissioner. These powers include enhanced powers to resolve investigations and promote privacy compliance with access to new remedy powers including enforceable undertakings and civil penalties. Also, for the first time, the Commissioner will be able to conduct Performance Assessments of private sector organisations to determine whether they are handling personal information in accordance with the new APPs, credit reporting provisions and other rules and codes. The Commissioner will be able to conduct these assessments at any time — an added incentive for organisations to ensure they are handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Credit reporting and Privacy

Some of the areas of credit reporting which will undergo significant change will be:
- New data on Australian credit reports – including repayment history information
- Quality, security, accuracy and integrity of credit reporting information as set out in APP’s.
- Improved ability to dispute credit listings
- Ability to secure a credit file against identity crime
- Penalties for breach of Privacy Act
- A new Credit Reporting Code of Conduct – currently at Draft stage.
Stay tuned every day this week to find out more about how Australia’s credit reporting law changes may affect you, your credit file and your ability to obtain credit.

Image: Salvatore Vuono/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
29/04/2013
A ‘fair go’ in the credit system for those under financial strain still a way off.

Media Release

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Financial Hardship

A ‘fair go’ in the credit system for those under financial strain still a way off.

14 February 2013

From March 1, national credit reform will see steps made towards a fairer credit system for disadvantaged Australians, but whilst a consumer advocate for accurate credit reporting welcomes the changes, he says those consumers suffering credit impairment may still come across difficulties getting fair treatment in the credit reporting landscape.

CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repair, Graham Doessel says for those Australians experiencing financial hardship, better protections will be afforded through significant reforms to the National Consumer Credit Protection Act which is due for implementation on March 1 2013.[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][i]

“For those people doing it tough – one of the most important things they need is to be able to open a dialogue with their bank and make moves to guard their asset and their credit file during periods of financial difficulty, and this will be formalised under the new financial hardship laws,” Mr Doessel says.

But he says for credit impaired individuals, we are yet to see the full extent of any ‘fairness’ until the implementation of amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 occur in 2014.

“Whilst there are many aspects to this credit reform which will be helpful to those disadvantaged Australians, such as hardship provisions and capping pay-day loans, the most significant change for people forced ‘on the fringe’ will be within the area of correcting credit reporting mistakes, which won’t be implemented until March 2014,” he says.

The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012 will change the Privacy Act 1988 in the area of correction of credit reporting inconsistencies, including enabling consumers to force their Creditor to justify a disputed listing; and give consequences for credit reporting breaches.

Next month’s implementation of the National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Enhancements) Act 2012 will also bring reforms to a range of credit areas, with the sole regulator being Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

A range of credit reforms will include;

* Changes to procedures for hardship applications under the National Credit Code.

* A ban on short-term credit contracts (that is not a continuing credit contract; where the credit provider is not an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI); the credit limit of the contract is $2,000 or less; and the credit contract is for a maximum term of 15 days or less).

* New obligations for small amount credit contracts (that is not a continuing credit contract; where the credit provider is not an ADI; the credit limit of the contract is $2,000 or less; and the credit contract is for a maximum term of 1 year) including:

* introducing presumptions of unsuitability where a consumer is in default of an existing small amount credit contract; or in the preceding 90 days, a consumer has been a debtor under two or more other small amount credit contracts

* Specific protections for reverse mortgages – such as the requirement to provide consumers with projections of the debtor’s equity in the property under a reverse mortgage and a reverse mortgage information statement.

* Remedies for unfair or dishonest conduct by credit service providers.[ii]

Mr Doessel says whilst the new obligations for Creditors will have significant advantages, they are only part of the credit reform ‘puzzle’. He says credit reporting mistakes still occur frequently, and individuals can be disadvantaged and refused mainstream credit by a system that has failed them.

“People with defaults on their credit file can be severely disadvantaged – locked out of mainstream credit for 5 years. Not all defaults deserve to be there. People are getting let down by the system and have equal trouble correcting their credit reporting mistakes.”

“Whilst the powers that be say that there is a legitimate avenue for correcting credit reporting mistakes for the individual, many consumers who have dealt with big companies for even small complaints issues will attest to the difficulty in getting a straight answer, getting someone who knows what they’re talking about first time, and ultimately correcting the mistake,” he says.

He is hopeful that a large piece of the puzzle for those suffering hardship unfairly will be completed once the Privacy Act 1988 amendments come into effect in March 2014.

“It remains to be seen next year how changes in credit reporting law will allow credit impaired individuals to be able to address inconsistencies on their credit report which can see them disadvantaged and funnelled into expensive credit such as payday loans,” Mr Doessel says.

He hopes Privacy Act amendments will see fewer of those consumers locked out of mainstream credit unnecessarily – but he says it is a matter of seeing how the laws pan out.

“My concern is, how ‘late payment notations’ (which are being recorded now as part of the Privacy Act changes) will impact credit suitability and I would hope repayment history information will not undo credit approval if the debtor has managed to avoid a default and negotiate a variation of repayment terms because of temporary hardship under these new laws,” he says.

“So there is still going to be a time of uncertainty for many involved in credit, including for consumers. I know the intention is that eventually, we will see a better and fairer credit system for all – but I think the road to it could be a rocky one,” he says.

/ENDS.

Please contact:

Graham Doessel – CEO Ph 3124 7133

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

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.

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[i] http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=LEGISLATION;id=legislation%2Fbills%2Fr4682_third-reps%2F0001;query=Id%3A%22legislation%2Fbills%2Fr4682_third-reps%2F0000%22

[ii] http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byheadline/ASIC+Credit+Reform+Update+-+latest+issue?openDocument

Image: David Castillo Dominici/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

14/02/2013
New Credit Laws Pass House of Representatives

Australia’s new Privacy Laws, which include a credit reporting law overhaul are coming to fruition. Amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 passed through the House of Representatives yesterday. What will this mean for you, your credit file and will it make it easier to remove bad credit?

By Graham Doessel, Founder and CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs and www.fixmybadcredit.com.au.

The Attorney-General announced late yesterday that the House of Representatives had passed reforms to the Privacy Act 1988. The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012 – which includes major amendments to Australia’s credit reporting laws –will now be introduced in the Senate where it is currently being considered by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee. The Government may make further amendments in the Senate in response to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee’s report, which is due to report shortly.

“The House Committee has found that the reforms should be passed in their current form and the Government has moved quickly to implement those wishes,” Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said in a statement to the media yesterday.

Ms Roxon says the reforms will focus on giving power back to consumers over how organisations use their personal information. The power will be extended to consumers in the area of credit reporting.

“These changes will also provide much more power to consumers to be able to access and, if necessary, correct their credit reports,” Ms Roxon said.

Through the reforms the powers of the Privacy Commissioner’s will also be enhanced to improve the Commissioner’s ability to resolve complaints, conduct investigations and promote privacy compliance. For example, the Commissioner will also be able to apply to the court for a civil penalty order against organisations for credit reporting breaches. Penalties for an individual range $2,200 to $220,000 and for a company they range from $110,000 to $1.1 million.

We welcome the changes in the area of credit file correction. The new laws will most importantly enable consumers to force their Creditor to justify a disputed listing; and give consequences for credit reporting breaches. This is important in correcting credit listing complaints.

Whilst the changes should make a positive difference in ease of correction, what can make or break a credit listing complaint – is the individual’s knowledge of credit reporting law. In order to make a successful complaint to justify removing a credit listing, the individual must show that the Creditor has unlawfully listed it. The complainant must also be able to give evidence to show how that occurred, which means providing supporting documentation from the Creditor– which can also be difficult for the individual to obtain. Then there’s marrying the two together. Then, there’s negotiating with the Creditor.

All of these aspects of disputing a credit listing could still see a valid complaint come unstuck if not performed correctly.

In addition to this, there are a myriad of reasons why a credit listing may be unlawful which are not immediately evident by the individual. Creditors can and do make mistakes with credit reporting. They don’t give the right notification to the consumer; they don’t give them adequate time to remedy the arrears; they don’t update contact details for the client; they don’t get the account right in the first place.

So it will still give you the best chance of having a disputed credit listing fall in your favour if you open your options, solidify your case, and have the matter handled by a professional credit repairer. But it will be important to choose the right kind of credit repair and make sure you’re looked after each step of the way. Visit our main site for more details www.mycra.com.au or contact a Credit Repair Advisor on 1300 667 218.

Image: Salvatore Vuono/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

18/09/2012
Credit reporting changes introduced into Parliament

Further to news on changes to Australia’s Privacy Laws, the Attorney-General Nicola Roxon announced that much awaited changes to the Privacy Act 1988 were introduced into Parliament yesterday. These changes will affect your credit file and how your good and bad credit history is shown.

By Graham Doessel, Founder and CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs and www.fixmybadcredit.com.au.

The Attorney-General said The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012 represents the most significant developments in privacy reform since Labor introduced the Privacy Act in 1988.

All of these changes have significant bearing on credit reporting accuracy in Australia, as an individual’s credit file contains so much personal information which is checked to assess risk when an individual applies for credit. It can also be subject to misuse and error.

The laws are promised to strengthen the power of the consumer over this important Privacy right.

“These new privacy laws focus on giving power back to consumers over how organisations use their personal information,” the Attorney-General said in a statement to the media yesterday.

This statement also addressed credit reporting specifically.

The Government has promised to ‘modernise’ credit reporting arrangements. The Attorney-General was more specific with some of the changes coming in with the introduction of comprehensive credit reporting as part of these Privacy Act 1988 reforms:

• making a clear obligation on organisations to substantiate, or show their evidence to justify, disputed credit listings
• making it easier for individuals to access and correct their credit reporting information
• prohibiting the collection of credit reporting information about children
• simplifying the complaints process by removing requirement to complain to the organisation first, complaints can be made directly to the Privacy Commissioner, and by introducing alternative dispute resolution to more efficiently deal with complaints.

The Government says it expects the credit industry will benefit because the reforms provide a more accurate picture of an individual’s credit situation to help them make a robust assessment of credit risk, which is expected to lead to lower credit default rates.

Namely, this refers to the controversial introduction of late payment notations on consumer credit files. Late payments will be added by licenced creditors even if a bill is one day late. The notation remains on the individual’s credit file for 2 years. It is unclear at this stage the exact process of law governing how late payments may be added to credit files, nor the precise way these late payments will be used when assessing risk and the potential impact on an individual’s ability to obtain credit.

I can’t help expecting some real confusion over this type of data to occur particularly in the early days whilst data has been collected without individuals knowing the potential impact on their credit file information, and generally arguments and confusion from consumers over what may constitute a bad credit risk after these laws are introduced.

Australian Broker published an article Credit Agencies rejoice as positive regime gets a kickstart, today in which Dun & Bradstreet’s Director of Consumer Services, Steve Brown said comprehensive credit reporting should open up credit for some groups of people.

“The use of comprehensive rather than just negative credit information provides greater visibility of under-served consumers who would otherwise find it difficult to access credit,” Mr Brown said.

This assumption would be due to people being able to now ‘counteract’ a late payment notation or potentially a default listing through their repayment performance history. This could mean that if people have a 5 or even 7 year listing on their credit file, they may be able to show that over a period of 2 years (the length of repayment performance history recorded) they have managed to pay their bills on time. It would then be up to the lender to assess whether they believe a consumer or business with a default who has paid their bills on time for the past 2 years is or isn’t a credit risk.

Whilst in theory this works, I am concerned this is very subjective and lenders could err on the side of caution especially initially.

At the moment I believe ‘repayment performance history’ only adds to the volume of negative data which will be visible on consumer credit files. I will be interested to see if in the coming years and months the advantage to this system does in fact materialise in the form of consumers with defaults being given a fairer go due to better repayment history before I am truly convinced.

Some significant submissions put forward to the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee which were accepted by the Government and which should benefit consumers include:

• Streamlining the correction and complaints process for credit reporting
• During a correction complaint, the Creditor must give justification for credit listings and actually substantiate the information is reports on credit files.
• Consumers may complain directly to the appropriate Ombudsman rather than having to go through the organisation’s complaints process first.
• The provision for remedies such as compensation for consumers who are negatively impacted by a Creditor who has failed to comply with credit reporting law.

MyCRA will be very intent on seeing how the laws pan out for the actual application of these significant changes for consumers and their credit file information.

If people have bad credit history which they believe shouldn’t be there, or the data on their credit file is inconsistent – they can contact a professional credit rating repairer to get advice about formulating a credit listing complaint. Call MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs on 1300 667 218 or visit our website www.mycra.com.au.

24/05/2012
Privacy Protection set to be heightened under Australian Law

Big changes are coming for Australian privacy rights and laws governing the use of personal information. The Australian Government has announced it will make the first set of changes to the Privacy Act 1988 in the Winter sitting of Parliament. The announcement came yesterday from Attorney-General Nicola Roxon, who intentionally announced the changes to coincide with Australia’s Privacy Awareness Week.

By Graham Doessel, Founder and CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs and www.fixmybadcredit.com.au.

The Attorney-General said in her statement that Australia’s privacy laws will be reformed to better protect people’s personal information, simplify credit reporting arrangements and give new enforcement powers to the Privacy Commissioner.

The Attorney explained that key changes to benefit consumers are:

• clearer and tighter regulation of the use of personal information for direct marketing
• extending privacy protections to unsolicited information
• making it easier for consumers to access and correct information held about them
• tightening the rules on sending personal information outside Australia
• enhancing the powers of the Privacy Commissioner to improve the Commissioner’s ability to resolve complaints, conduct investigations and promote privacy compliance

These changes are part of a long consultation process coming out of recommendations made within the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report For your information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice.

The changes will include new powers for the Privacy Commissioner to enforce privacy laws. Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim said in a statement to the media these changes were a significant step forward and will allow him to better resolve privacy investigations more effectively.

“The strengthening of these powers also sends a strong message to government agencies and businesses covered by the Act that there can be significant consequences when personal information is not given an appropriate level of protection.”

“These changes give me more options when undertaking an investigation on my initiative. At the moment I can only make a determination when I am investigating a complaint made by an individual,” Mr Pilgrim said.

The powers of the Privacy Commissioner to investigate Privacy complaints has previously come under criticism, particularly following the well-publicised global Sony Data Breach in April 2011 which seemed to showcase the gaping hole in Australian Privacy Law at the time. The data breach 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.

Criticism was sparked by the Commissioner’s lack of powers to make determinations following any investigation, and also Australia’s absence of mandatory data breach notification law. It was well publicised that Sony took over a week to notify it’s customers of the data breach, in the process potentially exposing customers to identity theft and credit file fraud.

A recent survey conducted by the University of Canberra and eBay Australia found that Australian internet users were highly concerned about identity theft and wanted government to order businesses to notify users of online data breaches.

The survey, reported in CIO Magazine Call for mandatory data breach notification grows: Survey found 85 per cent of 700 Australian participants want data breach notifications to become mandatory. Here is an excerpt from that story:

In addition, 86 per cent of respondents cited identity theft as their greatest privacy concern, while 83 per cent mentioned financial data loss as their biggest concern.

The survey also found that the financial sector was the most trusted when it came to privacy (42 per cent).

Social media was the least trusted industry on privacy with only 1 per cent of respondents saying they trusted websites such as Facebook. Sixty-one per cent of Australians surveyed nominated the social media industry as having the worst privacy practices.

Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim, said that the high level of support for mandatory data breach notifications is not surprising given significant data breaches over the past year such as the Sony PlayStation Network compromise.

“Incidents are on the rise as weaknesses become apparent in business systems at the same time as hackers become more sophisticated,” he said in a statement.

“I encourage businesses to look at our guide which not only outlines how to respond to a breach, but also how to avoid a breach in the first place by focusing on the security of their systems,” Pilgrim said.

Other privacy law reform changes will include the introduction of a set of Australian Privacy Principles, and importantly, changes to credit reporting law.

Some changes Attorney-General Nicola Roxon chose to highlight in her statement yesterday include:

• making a clear obligation on organisations to substantiate, or show their evidence to justify, disputed credit listings
• making it easier for individuals to access and correct their credit reporting information
• prohibiting the collection of credit reporting information about children
• simplifying the complaints process by removing requirement to complain to the organisation first, complaints can be made directly to the Privacy Commissioner, and by introducing alternative dispute resolution to more efficiently deal with complaints.

We will be watching with intense interest at how the whole barrage of changes around credit reporting could possibly impact consumers and their credit files. The above four recommendations would be a great improvement as currently consumers can experience difficulty when disputing entries on their credit reports.

MyCRA is proud to be a Partner for Privacy Awareness Week 2012.

03/05/2012