Credit-records code aims to guard your good name

WHEN it comes to credit references, what you do not know can hurt you - a lot.

The mortgage for your dream flat will remain a dream if a sub-standard bill-payment history means you cannot qualify for the loan. Or that shiny new credit card with the nifty award scheme will never make its way into your pocket if your record contains too many black marks.

Credit reports can wreak havoc on your financial affairs, but few people know much about these reports or the companies that compile them - which is why the Privacy Commissioner's newly released code on credit-reference services is so important.

The new code, which was gazetted on February 27 and takes effect on November 27, will make it easier for people to take an active approach to their credit history by requiring that those refused credit be given immediate access to their records so they can find out whether the refusal was based on accurate information.

Hong Kong banks and credit-reference agencies - the largest of which, Credit Information Services (CIS), holds more than a million records on 300,000 people - have nine months to reprogramme their computers and delete unnecessary information.

The new rules limit the types of information in your file to the following: identification particulars, notices of default or repayment, any records indicating you moved house or gave a false address to avoid paying a debt, court records on bankruptcy or debt judgments, hire-purchase data, credit applications, data about lost or stolen credit cards, and information on which lenders have seen your file.