BILL 2 – 2004
BUSINESS PRACTICES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

 
Part 6 -- Credit Reporting

Definitions

106 In this Part:

"credit information" means information about an individual's credit, including the individual's name, age, place of residence, previous places of residence, marital status, spouse's name and age, number of dependants, particulars of education or professional qualifications, place of employment, previous places of employment, estimated income, paying habits, outstanding debt obligations, cost of living, or obligations and assets;

"report" means a written, oral or other communication respecting credit information of an individual;

"reporting agency" means a person, whether in British Columbia or not, who

(a) provides reports for gain or profit,

(b) provides reports on a routine, non-profit basis as an ancillary part of a business carried on for gain or profit, or

(c) is designated by regulation.

Consent for report

107 (1) A person must not obtain from a reporting agency a report respecting an individual for a purpose referred to in section 108 (1) (a) [to whom reports may be given] without the consent of the individual.

(2) A person may obtain the consent of the individual by any method that permits the person to produce evidence that the individual consented, including by prominently displaying the information respecting the consent in a clear and comprehensible manner in an application for credit, insurance, employment or tenancy.

To whom reports may be given

108 (1) A reporting agency must not knowingly provide any credit information about an individual in a report, except in a report given

(a) to a person who, it has reason to believe,

(i) intends to use the report in connection with extending credit to, or collecting a debt of, the individual,

(ii) intends to use the report in connection with the individual entering into or renewing a tenancy agreement,

(iii) intends to use the report for the purpose of evaluating the individual for employment, promotion, reassignment or retention as an employee,

(iv) intends to use the report in connection with underwriting insurance involving the individual,

(v) intends to use the report to determine the eligibility of the individual under an enactment, if the information is relevant to a lawful requirement, or

(vi) otherwise has a direct business requirement for the report in connection with a transaction,

(b) to the government of Canada, the government of a province or a municipality in Canada or to an agent of the government of Canada, the government of a province or a municipality in Canada,

(c) to a law enforcement agency in Canada, concerning an offence under the laws of Canada or of a province, to assist in an investigation or in the making of a decision to undertake an investigation

(i) to determine whether the offence has taken place, or

(ii) to prepare for the laying of a charge or the prosecution of the offence,

(d) in response to a court order,

(e) to the director, to assist in an inspection under this Act, or

(f) under the written consent of the individual to whom the information relates.

(2) A person must not obtain from a reporting agency a report about an individual except in the circumstances referred to in subsection (1).

Contents of reports

109 (1) A reporting agency must not include in a report given under section 108 (1) (a) [to whom reports may be given] any of the following:

(a) information, unless the name and address of the source of the information is recorded in its files or can be readily ascertained by the individual;

(b) information not based on the most reliable evidence reasonably available;

(c) unfavourable information, other than unfavourable credit information, unless the reporting agency has

(i) corroborated the information, or

(ii) made reasonable efforts to corroborate the evidence on which the information is based, and the lack of corroboration is noted with and accompanies the information;

(d) information about a legal proceeding in which the individual is a nominal defendant or in which the cause of action is primarily other than for a liquidated amount;

(e) information about legal proceedings, accounts or debts that, on their face, are statute barred;

(f) information about a judgment 6 years after the judgment was given, unless the creditor or the creditor's agent confirms that all or part of the judgment remains unpaid and the confirmation appears in the reporting agency's file;

(g) information about the bankruptcy of an individual 6 years after the date the individual was discharged from bankruptcy, unless the individual has been bankrupt more than once;

(h) information about criminal or summary conviction charges against the individual unless the charges have resulted in conviction;

(i) information about a conviction of the individual under the laws of Canada or a province 6 years after the date of conviction or, if the conviction resulted in imprisonment, after the date of the individual's release or parole, but information about a conviction must not be reported if

(i) the individual has been granted an absolute or conditional discharge, or

(ii) after the conviction, the individual has been granted a free pardon;

(j) information given orally, unless the content of the oral report is recorded in the reporting agency's file;

(k) information about the race, belief, colour, sexual orientation, ancestry, ethnic origin or political affiliation of an individual;

(l) information concerning any member of the individual's family other than the spouse as provided for in this Part;

(m) information about the payment or non-payment of lawfully imposed fines 6 years after the fine was imposed;

(n) information about a legal proceeding 12 months after the date the proceeding began, unless the current status of the proceeding has been ascertained and is included in the report;

(o) any other information adverse to the individual's interest 6 years after the event that gave rise to the information;

(p) any other prescribed information.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) (a), a person who provides information to a reporting agency for remuneration or other benefit except salary is not a source of information.

(3) In a report given under section 108 (1) (b) [report given to a government], a reporting agency must not provide information about an individual except the following information:

(a) name;

(b) current address and former addresses;

(c) current place of employment and former places of employment.

Notice of denial of benefit or increase of cost of benefit

110 (1) If a person who receives a report given under section 108 (1) (a) [to whom reports may be given] uses information contained in the report to

(a) deny all or part of a benefit to an individual, or

(b) increase the cost of a benefit to an individual,

either wholly or partly because of information contained in the report, the person must give written notice of the denial or increase to the individual and, if the report was about another individual, that other individual.

(2) The person must give the notice

(a) not later than 30 days after the decision was made, and

(b) in person or by mail to the last known address of each individual.

(3) For the purpose of this section, a notice that is sent by mail is deemed to have been given at the time it is sent.

(4) On the written request of the individual made within 60 days after receipt of the notice, the person must inform the individual of the name and address of the reporting agency.

(5) The notice must contain a statement of the individual's right to request the information referred to in subsection (4).

Explanation

111 (1) An individual may give to a reporting agency, in writing of not more than 100 words, an explanation or additional information that relates to the information kept by the reporting agency about the individual.

(2) The reporting agency must retain the explanation or additional information with the other information the reporting agency keeps about the individual and must include the explanation or additional information in any report given about the individual if the explanation or additional information relates to any information in the report.

False or misleading information

112 (1) A person must not supply false or misleading information to a reporting agency.

(2) A person does not contravene subsection (1) if, at the time the information was supplied, the person did not know that it was false or misleading and, with the exercise of reasonable diligence, could not have known that it was false or misleading.