Terms & Conditions

Access to My Credit File and/or My Credit Alert

1.       Introduction

1.1    This agreement applies when we, Equifax New Zealand Information Services and Solutions Limited (Equifax), supply you with My Credit File (a report providing you with your personal credit history as we hold it) or My Credit Alert (a credit alert telling you when your information is added or changed on your personal credit file).

2.       Your Identity

2.1    Before we provide you with My Credit File or My Credit Alert we need to satisfy ourselves that you are asking for your own personal credit file information. You:

a.        authorise us to make enquiries to help us satisfy ourselves you are who you say you are;

b.       will provide us with the information that we request to help us identify you.

2.2    If we are not satisfied with the information and we are not sure of your identity, we will not be able to provide you with My Credit File or My Credit Alert. You can help us by making sure the information you provide us is accurate, up to date, complete and not misleading.

2.3    We may use the information you provide us when you apply for My Credit File or My Credit Alert. You authorise us to do this. If you do not want us to do this you may opt out by checking the relevant box before completing your credit file order, or please contact us using either the email or postal address noted below. However, if you provide us with a copy of your driver's licence or passport or other identification documents or information to help us identify you, this is not a part of your personal credit file. We will keep any such copies for administrative and investigative purposes only. If you do not want us to keep a copy of this information, please contact us using either the email or postal address noted below. Your driver's licence number may be used to improve the accuracy of our services. We keep your driver's licence number in a hashed format to protect it from accidental misuse or disclosure. If you do not want us to do this, please contact us by using either the email or postal address below.

a.        Email: publicaccess.nz@equifax.com

b.       Post: Public Access, Business Information Services NZ, Equifax New Zealand Information Services and Solutions Limited,
Private Bag 92156, Victoria Street, Auckland 1142

2.4    We may also use the information you give us for the following purposes:

a.        to comply with relevant laws and regulations;

b.       to administer and update our databases and records;

c.        for data quality purposes;

d.       to investigate any complaint you make or someone you authorise makes on your behalf;

e.       to give you information about products or services that might help you to understand, manage, or pertains to, your credit information. If you do not want us to do this, please contact us using either our email or our postal address noted above.

2.5    The information on your personal credit file is given to our subscribers who use our services. However, we do not disclose your passport or your driver's licence to those subscribers.

2.6    You can view the summary of rights taken from schedule 4 of the Credit Reporting Privacy Act 2020 on the summary of rights page found here.

3.       Providing the Information to You

3.1    You must make sure that the address you provide us for sending My Credit File/My Credit Alert to (including any email address) is your current address. If you change any of your addresses, tell us immediately to make sure that any ongoing services we provide to you are provided to the correct address. You can do this by contacting Equifax New Zealand on 0800 692 733.

3.2    Be aware that email communication is sometimes less secure than other communication methods. We do not control email, and you receive emails at your own risks. If you share your email address with someone else you should be aware that the person you share the email account with may see your information.

4.       Payment

4.1    When you request My Credit Alert, or where you elect to pay for your My Credit File, you must pay our then current price, as set out on our website (or as we otherwise tell you). We might require you to make payment by an electronic means of payment.

4.2    After we receive payment, we will use our best endeavours to send you the information within the notified timeframe. But if we need to take further steps to satisfy ourselves as to your identity, there may be a delay in providing the information to you.

4.3    Where a My Credit Alert subscription has been established and the 2nd or later payment is declined, we will retry processing of this payment on the most recently supplied credit card on the next working day.

4.4    Where you have paid us but:

a.        You have requested a My Credit File Express and we hold no information about you; or

b.       we are not satisfied as to your identity,

          we will refund you the money you have paid us.

4.5    If you are applying for My Credit File and you are happy to wait for between 3 and 10 business days before we send it to you, we will provide it for free by your chosen delivery method to the address you provide us. But, if we need to take further steps to satisfy ourselves as to your identity, there may be a delay in providing the information to you. The 10 business days starts from the date we receive your adequate forms of identification in order to verify you.

5.       My Credit Alert - Annual

5.1    Where you apply for My Credit Alert, your subscription continues for one year. It will automatically extend for the following year and the then current annual subscription will be debited from your nominated credit card. But if you do not wish to continue to receive My Credit Alert, tell us at least 30 days before the end of your then current subscription year. Our fee for subsequent subscription years may increase.

5.2    You may not change your payment method during a subscription year. But, if you give us at least 30 days' notice before the end of our subscription year, you may select a different subscription method for the next year.

5.3    If you cancel your subscription part way through a subscription year, you are not entitled to any refund for the remainder of that year.

6.       Correction and Privacy Complaints

6.1    If you believe any of the following information we hold about you is incorrect;

a.        identity information we hold about you

b.       credit information we have collected from a subscriber

c.        public record information (e.g. bankruptcy, public notice, court judgment or directorship)

you can write to us and tell us what you would like corrected or investigated. Details of what your request should include are detailed here www.mycreditfile.co.nz/faqs. Forward this information to either email at publicaccess.nz@equifax.com or by post to Public Access, Business Information Services NZ, Equifax New Zealand Information Services and Solutions Limited, Private Bag 92156, Victoria Street, Auckland 1142. We will correct the information if we agree it is incorrect. If we do not agree it is incorrect, you may ask us to note that you asked us to correct the information but we have not done so.

6.2 If you have a privacy complaint, we have a complaints procedure. You can find that on our website www.mycreditfile.co.nz or email us at publicaccess.nz@equifax.com or by post to:

Public Access,
Equifax New Zealand Information Services and Solutions Limited,
Private Bag 92156,
Victoria Street, Auckland 1142.

7.       Accuracy of Information

7.1    We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the information in your personal credit file is accurate, however the information has been provided to us by third parties and we cannot guarantee its accuracy. Please tell us if you do not believe the information is accurate.

8.       General

8.1    Equifax New Zealand has copyright in the compilation of the information we use to supply information services to you in My Credit File and My Credit Alert.

8.2    Equifax New Zealand can vary these terms by giving you at least 14 days' notice. We will give this notice to the last address (including email address) you gave us, or by updating our website.