Credit Reporting Policy
1. Overview
Finservice Pty Ltd (Mortgage Express), authorised Corporate Credit Representative (Corporate Credit Representative Number 397386) of BLSSA Pty Ltd (Credit Licence Number 391237) (Lender) is required to comply with the credit reporting provisions in Division 3 of Part IIIA of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Credit Reporting Code (CR Code), which regulate the handling of credit information and credit eligibility information (as defined by the Privacy Act and collectively referred to in this policy as credit data).
Mortgage Express may collect, hold, use and disclose credit data about you, if you apply for and/or are provided with commercial or consumer credit by the Lender, if you guarantee the obligations of a third party under the credit arrangements with a Lender, or if you are associated with an entity that applies and/or is provided with credit with a Lender.
The credit data collected by Mortgage Express may relate to consumer credit (for example, if a customer seeks credit to purchase a property for their own personal use) and to commercial credit (for example, if a customer seeks credit to purchase a property for their business which they operate as a sole trader, or if a personal guarantee is provided in support of a credit application).
This Credit Reporting Policy explains how Mortgage Express handles credit data. Other policies may apply in addition to this policy, for example:
- Mortgage Express may provide you with a credit data collection statement at or around the time of collecting your credit data which may refer to this policy and give more specific information about the handling of your credit data to be collected at that time;
- Mortgage Express’ Privacy Policy located at http://www.mortgage-express.com.au/legal/ will apply to the handling of your personal information (that is not credit data) by Mortgage Express; and/or
- where otherwise expressly stated by Mortgage Express (including in this policy) or by law.
2. Collection of credit data
The kinds of credit data that Mortgage Express collects and holds may include:
- “identification information” (which may include your full name, previous name, alias, date of birth, gender, current and last known address and two previous addresses, the name of your current or last known employer and driver’s licence number);
- a copy of documents that include such identification information (such as your driver’s licence, birth certificate or passport);
- “consumer credit liability information” (which may include information about existing credit provided to you such as the name of the credit provider, whether that credit provider is a licensee for the purposes of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, the type of consumer credit, the day on which it was entered into, the terms and conditions that relate to the repayment of the amount of credit and that are otherwise prescribed by regulation, the maximum amount of credit available, and the day on which the credit was terminated or otherwise ceases);
- “repayment history information” (which may include whether or not you have made a payment on time, when it was due and when it was paid);
- a statement that an information request has been made in relation to you by a credit provider;
- the type and amount of consumer credit or commercial credit that you have sought in an application to a credit provider, who has made an information request in relation to you;
- “default information” (which relates to certain overdue payments of consumer credit of at least $150 which are overdue for at least 60 days provided you have been given written notice to you of the overdue payment and you have been notified as required by law);
- “payment information” (which relates to a statement to a credit reporting body that payments that were previously notified to a credit reporting body as overdue by way of default information are no longer overdue and the date on which they were paid);
- “new arrangement information” (which relates to information about new consumer credit arrangements you may have made with Mortgage Express, in relation to consumer credit you currently or previously held with Mortgage Express, to deal with any defaults by you that Mortgage Express has provided default information for to a credit reporting agency or any serious credit infringements by you that Mortgage Express has reported to a credit reporting agency);
- “court proceedings information” (which relates to Australian court judgements against you in proceedings, other than criminal proceedings, about credit provided to you or applied for by you);
- “personal insolvency information” (which includes certain information about you on the National Personal Insolvency Index, for example, a debt agreement proposal given by you, a debt agreement made by you or if you are declared bankrupt);
- “publicly available information” relating to your credit worthiness (which includes your eligibility to be provided with consumer credit, or history in relation to consumer credit, or capacity to repay an amount of credit that relates to consumer credit);
- any opinion of a credit provider that you have committed a serious credit infringement in relation to credit provided to you by that credit provider; and
- “CRB derived information” (which includes personal information derived by a credit reporting agency from the credit information it holds that has any bearing on your credit worthiness and is used, has been used or could be used in establishing your eligibility for consumer credit).
Mortgage Express may also create credit data from personal information (including credit data) it collects from a credit reporting agency. This includes any information that has a bearing on your credit worthiness and which may be used to establish your eligibility for consumer credit, such as internal assessments, calculations, credit scores, summaries and evaluations.
Credit information may be collected by Mortgage Express:
- directly from you or from third parties acting on your behalf;
- from a credit reporting body (such as Equifax and Dunn & Bradstreet);
- from a business which provides information about commercial credit worthiness; and/or
- from other parties as permitted by the law (for example, the Lender and other credit providers).
If you do not provide or agree to the collection of the credit data requested, we may be unable to provide you with our products and/or services (for example, we may not be able to accept or assess any credit application made by you or a business you represent).
3. Purposes
Mortgage Express collects, holds, uses and discloses credit data in order to conduct its business, to provide its products and services and to meet legislative and regulatory requirements. This generally involves, but is not limited to, collecting, holding, using and disclosing credit data to:
- assess an applicant’s and guarantor’s eligibility for credit and credit worthiness;
- undertake identification and verification processes in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act or any other relevant laws;
- monitor and adjust credit limits for customers or revoke the provision of credit;
- administer customers’ credit and accounts;
- facilitate collection of overdue accounts;
- resolve complaints; and
- undertake such other activities as are authorised or required by law.
4. Disclosures
Mortgage Express may disclose your personal information (including credit data), to the extent authorised or required by law, to:
- your representative, such as your lawyer or financial advisor;
- our related entities;
- our professional advisors (such as our lawyers, accountants and auditors) and other third parties who provide services to us or on our behalf (such as conveyancers);
- credit reporting bodies;
- the Lender;
- other credit providers;
- mortgage insurers and other mortgage intermediaries;
- valuers;
- proposed or actual guarantors of a credit application made by you;
- debt collection agencies;
- third parties (and their professional advisors) that may wish to, or has acquired an interest in the credit provided by the Lender, or in our business; and
- such other persons as are authorised or required by law.
5. Direct marketing
Mortgage Express will not use your credit data for the purpose of direct marketing, except as authorised by you or otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act.
6. Refusal of credit applications
Mortgage Express may refuse applications for credit made by you individually or with other applicants.
If a refusal is based wholly or partly on credit eligibility information obtained from a credit reporting agency either about you, another applicant or a person who is the proposed guarantor in relation to an application, then Mortgage Express will notify you in writing that your application was refused on this basis.
If that credit eligibility information was about you, Mortgage Express will also provide with you with the name and contact details of the credit reporting agency that provided the information, along with any other details required by the Privacy Act or CR Code.
7. Credit reporting bodies
Credit Data and other personal information provided by us to credit reporting bodies such as Equifax and Dunn & Bradstreet may be included in reports provided by credit reporting bodies to other credit providers, to assist them to assess your credit worthiness.
If a customer fails to meet its payment obligations or commits a serious credit infringement, we may be entitled to disclose this information to credit reporting bodies. A serious credit infringement includes:
- fraudulently obtaining a loan;
- fraudulently evading (or attempting to evade) obligations in relation to a loan; or
- an act that a reasonable person would consider indicates an intention to no longer comply with obligations in relation to a loan.
You may contact a credit reporting body to request that it does not:
- use credit reporting information about you for the purpose of pre-screening of direct marketing by a credit provider; or
- use or disclose credit reporting information about you if you believe on reasonable grounds that you have been or are likely to be a victim of fraud.
You may obtain a credit reporting body’s credit management policy by requesting a copy from them, or it may be available on their website.
You may also request a copy of your publicly held credit file from a credit reporting agency, subject to certain terms and conditions.
You can contact the credit reporting agencies, Equifax or Dunn & Bradstreet on the details below.
Equifax
Equifax Customer Resolutions Team
PO Box 964
NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2059
https://www.equifax.com.au/personal/articles/understand-your-credit-file
Dunn & Bradstreet
Dunn & Bradstreet Public Access Centre
PO Box 7405
ST KILDA ROAD VIC 3004
8.Correction
Mortgage Express takes reasonable steps to ensure that the credit data it collects, uses or discloses is accurate, up-to-date and complete.
If you believe any of your credit data held by Mortgage Express is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading you may make a written request to Mortgage Express, addressed to the CEO seeking a correction. Mortgage Express may need to consult with credit reporting bodies and other credit providers in relation to your request for correction. Mortgage Express will respond within a reasonable period after your request is made.
Please note that the section of our Privacy Policy under the heading ‘How to correct your personal information’ outlines the process that will apply if your request relates to the correction of identification information or any personal information that is not credit data.
9. Access to credit information
You may request access to your credit data held by Mortgage Express by writing to us. Generally, Mortgage Express will provide you with access, except in limited circumstances where Mortgage Express is permitted or required by law to deny access.
No fee will apply to the making of a request for access, but Mortgage Express may charge a fee (that is not excessive) to provide you with access to any such requested credit data.
Mortgage Express will respond to your request within a reasonable period after your request is made, which will generally be within 30 days.
Mortgage Express is permitted to provide access to certain information requested by you in a way that preserves the confidentiality of the methodology, data analysis methods, computer programs or other information that is used to produce the derived information. This applies, for example, to “CP derived information” (which is defined by the Privacy Act to generally mean personal information about you, that is derived from information received from a credit reporting body (such as Equifax or Dunn & Bradstreet), that has a bearing on your creditworthiness, and is used or has been used or could be used in establishing your eligibility for consumer credit).
10. Storage of credit data
Mortgage Express takes such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to protect your credit data held by Mortgage Express from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
Credit data may be held by us electronically or in hard copy form, and we employ security protections appropriate for the form in which that information is held (eg, passwords linked with authorised user access and physical document security).
11. Overseas disclosure of your personal information
Generally, we will not disclose your personal information to overseas organisations without an Australian link, except upon your request or with your consent, or if we are otherwise permitted or required to do so by law.
12. Transparency
Mortgage Express will display this Credit Reporting Policy on the Mortgage Express website at http://www.mortgage-express.com.au/legal
If you (and any other person or body) request a copy of this Credit Reporting Policy, Mortgage Express will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to provide this policy in the requested form.
13. Amendment
Mortgage Express undertakes periodic reviews of its policies and procedures to ensure that the credit data held is managed appropriately.
Mortgage Express reserves the right to amend or replace this Credit Reporting Policy at any time. You should review our current Credit Reporting Policy each time you provide us with credit data.
While Mortgage Express has taken care to ensure that this Credit Reporting Policy is accurate and current, Mortgage Express makes no warranty as to its accuracy or currency and accepts no liability for any loss or damage suffered directly or indirectly by you as a result of your reliance on the content of this policy.
14. Complaints
If you believe that we have breached our obligations under the credit reporting provisions of Part IIIA of the Privacy Act or the CR Code, we encourage you to contact or lodge a complaint with Mortgage Express to discuss your concerns. To do so, please contact our CEO via the contact details below.
We will confirm receipt of your complaint within seven days along with the time frame we require to investigate your complaint and provide you with a response. We will endeavour to respond as quickly as possible, and will generally do so within 30 days of receiving your complaint.
If the breach is considered to be serious, the CEO may escalate the complaint internally within Mortgage Express.
If we do not respond within 30 days or if following our response you are still not satisfied, then you may contact external bodies that deal with privacy complaints, including our external dispute resolution service provider or the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
15. Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
More information about your rights and our obligations in connection with your personal information and credit data are available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au.
16. Contact information
You may contact our CEO if you require further information about the ways we manage your credit data or other personal information.
Harcourts Australia CEO
31 Amy Johnson Place, Eagle Farm, Queensland 4009
Phone: (07) 3839 3100
Email: Adrian.Knowles@Harcourts.net
