New privacy code reins in credit-rating agencies

In today's consumer society of credit cards, interest-free loans, and mortgages, one piece of paper can make or break you - a credit report.

Whether you know it or not, a credit agency somewhere will have a file on you, recording details of sensitive financial transactions. Industry leader Baycorp Advantage says it has 2.5 million records, and rival D&B says its figures are similar.

These files are a necessary part of the modern world, but they also pose one of the biggest threats to individual privacy.

"It's entirely reasonable for retailers to be able to check that a consumer to whom they extend credit will be able to repay them," said Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff.

"But it's not just information about your financial records and [repayment] defaults. It also includes identity information so, yes, they effectively hold huge databases about many adult New Zealanders."

Credit agencies have had to abide by the Privacy Act since 1993, but now they will also be obliged to follow a new credit reporting privacy code which sets out more specific requirements, including the right to a free copy of your credit report.

Baycorp already has a website, www.mycreditfile.co.nz, allowing people to request their file as well as a list of anyone else who has accessed it too. The credit report costs $15, but will be free from April 1.

Despite some historical resistance, the company welcomed the code.

"An accurate credit file is a vital asset for consumers and Baycorp Advantage welcomes the code's approach, which encourages consumers to take an active role in ensuring their own file is accurate and kept up-to-date," said managing director Andrew Want.

The code also introduces time limits restricting how long certain information can be held on a credit file, and ensures that consumers are entitled to be told what happens to their personal information when they apply for a loan or make a credit purchase.

It also establishes new complaints processes, and introduces rules governing who can access the information and what they do with it.

About 13,000 companies or agencies have a contract with Baycorp allowing them to access its database.

Mrs Shroff said the high number of complaints to her office about credit agencies indicated the need for a privacy code.