This statement explains how Family Finance Limited collects, uses, stores, shares and protects your personal information under the Privacy Act 2020. By signing our loan application or providing your information to us, you consent to its use as described below.
Who we are
Family Finance means Family Finance Limited and any party to whom we transfer our rights. Family Finance Group, we, us and our means Family Finance, its related entities and our network of approved dealers. You and your means our customers and anyone else who deals with us. Our address is PO Box 250, Kaitaia 0410; phone 09 408 1900; email admin@familyfinance.co.nz.
Information we collect
We collect only the personal information we need, including your contact details, identity documents (passport, driver licence), employment and income, financial position, credit history and repayment history, vehicle details, and technical information when you use our website.
How we collect it
Directly from you: on application forms, by phone, email, in branch, through our website, or with one of our dealers.
From others (indirect collection): we also collect information about you from third parties where we need it to assess, provide or manage our products and services, or where required by law. These sources include:
- Credit reporting agencies (Centrix and Equifax), bank statement retrieval services (illion / Experian), and identification service providers
- The Motor Vehicle Register (NZTA) under s241 of the Land Transport Act 1998
- Your employer, accountant, lawyer, referees, bank, landlord, guarantors and financial advisers
- Insurers, debt collectors, introducers and other service providers
- Government agencies including IRD, MSD, Immigration NZ, NZ Police and other regulators
- Publicly available sources and subscribed databases
Notifying you of indirect collection: under Information Privacy Principle 3A, where we collect your information from another source we will, where required, inform you as soon as reasonably practicable of the collection, its purpose, the source, and your rights of access and correction. By signing our loan application you acknowledge that we may collect your information from the sources above for the purposes set out in this statement.
Motor Vehicle Register (MVR)
Family Finance is authorised under s241 of the Land Transport Act 1998 to access the MVR to:
- verify vehicle details and registered ownership when assessing a vehicle as loan security
- confirm ownership during and after a loan
- trace borrowers in default to recover outstanding debts
MVR information is used only for these purposes — never for marketing. We keep a record of every enquiry (date, plate/VIN, user, reason) for at least 18 months. If you are on the MVR and do not wish your information to be disclosed to authorised agencies, you can opt out by contacting the Registrar of Motor Vehicles on 0800 108 809 or at transact.nzta.govt.nz.
Bank statement retrieval (illion / Experian)
When you apply for a loan, we use illion Open Data Solutions (now part of Experian) to collect recent bank transaction data for your loan affordability assessment under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003. You authorise this separately through the illion/Experian secure portal. They retrieve the data from your bank on your authority and provide it to us, and also hold and use the data under their own privacy policy.
How we use and share your information
We use your information to assess suitability for our products, manage your account, register security interests, comply with our legal obligations (including the CCCFA, AML/CFT Act and Privacy Act), prevent fraud, recover debts, and market relevant products where permitted. We may share it with the parties listed above, other members of Family Finance Group, our funders, our external dispute resolution scheme, auditors, and anyone we consider transferring our rights to. We do not sell your personal information.
Third-party information you give us
If you give us another person’s information (such as a guarantor), you confirm you are authorised to do so and have told them we will hold and use their information under this statement. We will also notify that person directly where required under IPP3A.
Storage, security and overseas transfer
We store information on our own systems and with cloud providers in New Zealand, Australia and Europe. We use access controls, staff training, monitored premises, encryption and regular reviews to protect it. Where information is sent overseas, we take steps to ensure it is protected to a comparable standard.
How long we keep it
We retain personal information for as long as needed for the purposes collected and to meet our legal obligations — generally at least seven years under the Companies Act 1993, AML/CFT Act 2009 and CCCFA. After that, we securely destroy or de-identify it.
Privacy breaches
If a privacy breach occurs and we consider it has caused or is likely to cause serious harm, we will notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals as required by the Privacy Act 2020.
Your rights
You can ask for a copy of the information we hold about you, or to have it corrected. If we refuse, we will explain why and you may ask for a statement of disagreement to be attached. To make a request or raise a privacy concern, contact our Privacy Officer at admin@familyfinance.co.nz or 09 408 1900. We will acknowledge within 3 working days and aim to resolve within 20. If you are not satisfied, you may complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner: 0800 803 909, enquiries@privacy.org.nz, www.privacy.org.nz.
Changes
We review this statement periodically. The current version is always available at www.familyfinance.co.nz.