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Susan Schwartz

Credit-card holders risk being wrongly blacklisted by credit information providers because of mistaken identity, the Consumer Council said yesterday.

Out-dated data on their records also has left customers unable to get a loan, the council said.

The watchdog warned that a study of Credit Information Services (CIS) - a privately-owned agency that provides reference reports on individuals and firms to its 95 member banks, finance companies and credit card providers - raised concerns about the efficiency of data updates.

Members share credit information they provide to CIS, to help assess credit risks, with more than 540,000 checks requested each month.

According to CIS, from March to May this year, 1,584 consumers requested access to their personal data. A total of 425 records were amended - 82 of these being data provided by CIS members and 343 updated according to public records on bankruptcies and debt recovery.

Council spokesman Matthew Ng said it had made a number of recommendations to safeguard the accuracy of consumer credit information.

Dr Ng urged CIS and its members to cross-check data to avoid cases of mistaken identity.

'For instance, public records which do not contain Hong Kong identity card numbers are classified in CIS reports as matched if both the name and address are identical to an individual, and unmatched if only the name is the same.' He also asked for more frequent updates of data.

'Generally CIS members update the database on a monthly basis but during the transitional period they would not change information on a debtor who has repaid an outstanding loan.

'As a result, members may make an incorrect assessment of the debtor's creditworthiness on the basis of outdated information.'

Dr Ng said CIS should also consider refunding the $150 administrative charge levied on those who want to check their information. 'This is especially if consumers sustain damage to their credibility or finances because of inaccurate reports or for whatever reasons not the fault of consumers'.

Consumers were strongly urged to take the initiative and approach CIS to update any information on bankruptcy or debts.

A CIS spokesman said it was impossible to update data more frequently because the information cycle was monthly with banks issuing statements and bills every four weeks.

'I understand their concerns but it is difficult to implement in reality.'

The spokesman said the $150 administrative fee was reasonable and permitted under the Privacy Ordinance.

He said CIS gave 100 per cent refunds if it made a mistake in consumer data but not if the fault lay with a bank or financial institution. Those who had a clean credit record were only charged $20.

The economic downturn has led to a 200 per cent rise in the number of consumers defaulting on credit accounts. According to CIS, 39,115 consumers had delinquent accounts in the second half of last year - three times higher than the same period in 2000.



Credit blacklist warning issued