In 2016 the Privacy Commissioner found Veda Advantage Information Services (subsequently acquired by Equifax) in breach of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) by interfering with the privacy of the class of individuals identified as ‘members of the public seeking to access a free copy of their credit report from Veda Advantage’.
The ACCC has now announced that it has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Equifax Pty Ltd (formerly Veda Advantage Pty Ltd), alleging breaches of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).
UPDATE 2 October 2018: The Federal Court has ordered that Equifax Australia Information Services and Solutions Pty Ltd (Equifax) pay penalties totalling $3.5 million for misleading and deceptive conduct and unconscionable conduct in relation to credit report services. The penalties ordered were based on admissions made by Equifax and joint submissions on penalty made by Equifax and the ACCC.
The ACCC alleges that Equifax acted unconscionably in its dealings with vulnerable consumers including by making false or misleading representations, and using unfair tactics and undue pressure when dealing with people in financial hardship.
The ACCC alleges that from June 2013 to March 2017, Equifax made a range of false or misleading representations to consumers, including that its paid credit reports were more comprehensive than the free reports, when they were not.
Equifax also allegedly represented that consumers had to buy credit reporting packages for it to correct information held about them, or to do so quicker. In fact, Equifax was required by law to take reasonable steps to correct the information in response to a consumer’s request for free.
In addition, the ACCC alleges that Equifax represented that there was a one-off fee for its credit reporting services, when its agreement provided that customer’s subscriptions to the services automatically renewed annually unless the consumer opted out in advance. The ACCC alleges this renewal term is an unfair contract term, which is void under the ACL.
Data breach update
Separately Equifax USA has disclosed that a further 2.4 million customers were affected by its 2017 data breach.
