When we supply a service on account, we are a credit provider — and credit information is some of the most sensitive information anyone holds about you. This policy sets out what we collect, who we give it to, what your rights are, and how to get it fixed if something is wrong.
Pear Australia Pty Ltd (ABN 94 624 986 554) of 25 Gordonia Grove, Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 supplies telecommunications services. When we let you use a service and pay for it afterwards, we are a credit provider under Part IIIA of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and the credit information we hold about you is governed by that Part and by the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code.
Our Privacy Policy covers personal information generally; this policy covers credit information. Pear has no related bodies corporate — everything here is done by Pear itself, or by a service provider under contract to us. This policy is free of charge: it is published at peartelco.com.au, and we will provide it in any reasonable form you ask for, at no cost.
We disclose credit information to one or more credit reporting bodies — the businesses that compile credit reports for credit providers. We do not print their names here, because bodies merge and are renamed faster than a printed list can keep up. Ask us at any time, free of charge, and we will tell you which ones we use and how to contact them.
A credit reporting body may include what we give it in the reports it supplies to other credit providers. Each has its own credit reporting policy, can give you a free copy of your credit report and can place a ban — ask us and we will point you to the right one.
We also disclose credit information to:
Your credit information is managed in Australia by our own people — we do not run an offshore call centre and we do not send credit information overseas for account management or collections. We also do not use credit eligibility information to market to you: the Privacy Act restricts that to narrow pre-screening arrangements, and you can ask a credit reporting body to exclude you from those.
Two categories of credit information get special treatment under the Privacy Act. Repayment history information records whether each payment was made on time. Financial hardship information records that a hardship arrangement was in place, and sits alongside the repayment history it relates to — a regime that commenced on 1 July 2022 so that asking for help does not look like a default. Hardship information stays on a credit report for 12 months, repayment history for two years.
Only credit providers licensed under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act may collect or disclose repayment history or financial hardship information. We do not disclose either unless the law permits a provider like us to do so, and if that changes we will update this policy and tell you first.
Asking for help is not a black mark. If you are having trouble paying, tell us early — our Financial Hardship Policy sets out what we can do, and while we assess your request and for as long as you keep to an agreed arrangement, we will not list a payment default against you. Where an arrangement affects anything we report about you, we will tell you before it happens.
You have the right to see the credit information we hold about you, and to have it corrected if it is wrong, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. Both are free.
If you believe you have been, or may be, a victim of fraud — including identity theft — you can ask a credit reporting body not to use or disclose your credit information. That is called a ban period.
Tell us as well, and we will tell you which credit reporting bodies to contact. If an account with us was opened fraudulently, or a listing we made is not yours, we will correct it and have it removed, and we will not pursue you while we investigate.
We keep credit information secure: access is limited to the people who need it for their job, it is held in systems protected by access controls and encryption, and we destroy or de-identify it once we no longer need it. If credit information is caught up in a data breach likely to cause you serious harm, we will contain it, assess it quickly and notify you, the credit reporting bodies concerned and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.
Unhappy about a credit check, a listing or a correction? Tell us first, under our Complaint Handling Policy — 1300 007 327 or hello@peartelco.com.au. We acknowledge within 2 working days and decide within 30 days, in writing.
If that does not settle it, you can take the matter further at no cost and without our permission: the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner on 1300 363 992 or at oaic.gov.au, or the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman on 1800 062 058 or at tio.com.au. We review this policy at least once a year.
Prefer a copy on file? Download the Credit Reporting Policy as a PDF →
