Dixon, Tim --- "Richard Gwynne Phillips v SA Police" [1995] PrivLawPRpr 37; (1995) 2(3) Privacy Law & Policy Reporter 53

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COMPLAINT: CREDIT RECORD ERROR

New Zealand Privacy Commissioner Case Note 1827 - June 1994

Privacy Act 1993 - Correction of credit information - Information Privacy Principle 7

A complaint was received by the NZ Privacy Commissioner alleging that a credit reporting company had failed to distinguish between the complainant and his father in providing credit ratings. The complainant alleged that because his information had not been corrected, which he had requested two years earlier, he had suffered inconvenience, humiliation and embarrassment when declined credit.

The credit company had no record of a previous request for the correction of the complainant's credit record. However, the company acknowledged that the complainant had already been denied credit as a result of confusion with his father's credit record.

The complainant's information was subsequently corrected and resolved with an apology and financial compensation of $200 agreed between the parties.

Tim Dixon