Complaints about credit reporting

Part 2First: the organisation itself

OAIC: make a credit reporting complaint

To complain about the information on your credit report, the OAIC says to contact the relevant credit provider or credit reporting body, and that your complaint must be acknowledged within 7 days. The 30 days is not open-ended either. In the OAIC’s words: “If the credit provider or credit reporting body doesn’t think your complaint can be resolved in 30 days, they must inform you before the end of the 30-day period and ask you to agree to an extension for a reasonable period.”

Privacy Act s 6

The Act names the organisation you complain to: “respondent for a complaint made under section 23A means the credit reporting body or credit provider to which the complaint is made”. Whichever you choose, the National Debt Helpline says both must handle your complaint themselves rather than pass it on to someone else.

Privacy Act s 20B

A credit reporting body’s published policy must say how you may complain about a failure by the body to comply with its Division of the Act or the registered CR code, and how the body will handle such a complaint. The code matters here because, as the OAIC puts it, “a breach of the code is a breach of the Privacy Act”.

OAIC: correction

A complaint often follows a refused correction. Moneysmart’s starting point is that you have a right to get errors fixed for free, and can arrange it yourself. When a credit provider or credit reporting body isn’t satisfied that information is incorrect, it must write to you with its reasons and let you know you can go to an external dispute resolution scheme or make a complaint. The steps before that point are on the OAIC’s page Correct your credit report.

Part 3Then: a recognised dispute scheme

OAIC: credit reporting terms

An external dispute resolution scheme, as the OAIC defines it, is a body that gives you an impartial way to resolve a complaint. Membership is a condition of taking part in the system. In the OAIC’s words: “A credit provider accessing the credit reporting system must be a member of an EDR scheme recognised by the OAIC. A credit reporting body must also be a member of a recognised EDR scheme.” The OAIC gives the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) as examples.

Moneysmart; NDH

For a credit report error, Moneysmart points to AFCA if you can’t reach agreement or are unhappy with the outcome, and describes its dispute resolution as free. The National Debt Helpline suggests asking your credit provider for the details of its scheme, and also describes these schemes as free.

OAIC: what is credit reporting?

The rules on disclosure allow for this step. The OAIC notes that a credit reporting body may disclose regulated information to third parties in certain situations, one example being disclosure for the work of an external dispute resolution scheme that it belongs to and that is recognised.

Part 4Also: the OAIC

OAIC: complain to the OAIC

The OAIC sets two conditions on its own page. The first is form: “Your complaint must be in writing. We can’t take it over the phone.” The second is time: the OAIC “may decide not to investigate a complaint made more than 12 months after you became aware of the act or practice”.

National Debt Helpline

The National Debt Helpline confirms the right to complain to the OAIC, and recommends trying one of the dispute schemes first.

Part 5Help with a complaint

OAIC; Moneysmart

Moneysmart says that if you are struggling to get something fixed, a financial counsellor can help, free of charge. The OAIC describes the National Debt Helpline as a free hotline for debt problems whose financial counsellors provide free and confidential services. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the OAIC also names Mob Strong Debt Help, which offers free legal advice and financial counselling nationwide.