Complaints about credit providers keep the OAIC busy
The financial services industry figured prominently in complaints and inquiries to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner during the year to June.The OAIC handled 16,166 privacy inquiries and 2841 privacy complaints. Complaint numbers were down 33 per cent from the 4239 complaints received in 2013/14.However, the OAIC annual report said the number of complaints was higher than in earlier years, which "may reflect a growing awareness in the community of privacy issues."There were 1150 inquiries about credit reporting matters - one of the biggest issues raised by people contacting the OAIC.When it came to organisations attracting complaints, Dun & Bradstreet, Veda, Credit Corp, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Westpac were all in the top ten.The OAIC said a large number of complaints about personal information held by credit providers were rejected because credit related provisions of the Privacy Act allowed the credit providers to hold the information.But there were also a significant number of credit related complaints resolved by updating credit information, removing incorrectly listed defaults or by unlinking credit files that had been incorrectly linked.