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Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how EC Credit Control (NZ) Ltd (“ECCC”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, holds, and discloses personal information in the course of its business operations. 

This includes personal information collected through ECCC’s websites – www.eccreditcontrol.co.nz, secure.eccreditcontrol.com, and www.eccreditcontrol.com as well as through our client engagements, debt collection and debt resolution activities, credit reporting services, deceased account care services, and any other functions or activities carried out by ECCC.

Should we change our website privacy statement for any reason, such changes will be posted to this page. However, if you have any questions relating to this privacy policy, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Who we are and what we do

ECCC is a New Zealand–owned credit management agency. Our core services relate to debt resolution. We perform these services on behalf of our clients. 

As a result, ECCC collects, stores and uses a range of personal information, largely about the clients that engage us and the third parties we interact with.

ECCC provides debt resolution services under the strict instructions of our clients.  Any personal information relating to third parties, including third party debtors, that is either provided by our clients or otherwise collected from the debtors or third parties when providing debt resolution services (client personal information) is collected, held, and used on behalf of ECCC’s clients.  ECCC does not use or disclose any client personal information for its own purposes.  

Information We Collect

ECCC collects and holds various types of personal information depending on the nature of our interaction with you. The categories of personal information we may collect include, but are not limited to:
  1. personal information, provided by you when you complete an online form or request for service on our sites, or otherwise provide this information to ECCC;
  2. information gathered via tracking URLs and tracing pixels in some of our digital communications and online services:
    • Tracking URLs are web links that contain additional information which allows us to understand when a link has been clicked and how our communications are being used. For example, they may tell us that a link in an email has been opened or which pages are visited after a link is clicked.
    • Tracking pixels are small, invisible images embedded in emails or web pages. When an email or page containing a tracking pixel is opened, the pixel may collect limited technical information, such as the time the content was viewed and the type of device or email client used.
  3. statistical non-personal information collected by our web server or third party systems we subscribe to for site traffic information e.g. Google Analytics. This can include the following types of information:
    • your IP address
    • the date and time of visits to the Site
    • the number of, and pages viewed
    • the referring site (if any) through which you clicked through to this Site;
    • technical information on browser connections
Where it is reasonable and practicable to do so, we will collect personal information directly from you.

Why we collect personal information

We collect and use personal information only for lawful purposes connected with our functions and activities, and only where the collection of that information is necessary for those purposes. The specific purposes for which we may collect, use, and hold personal information include:

  • Providing debt collection and debt resolution services on behalf of our clients.
  • Credit reporting and credit assessment activities.
  • Managing client relationships, accounts, and communications. 
  • Processing payments and managing financial transactions.
  • Complying with our legal and regulatory obligations, including obligations under the Credit Reporting Privacy Code 2020 (and any successor code) and other applicable legislation.
  • Administering and improving our websites, products, and services.
  • Website analytics and performance monitoring.

You can choose to not provide the personal information we request. This may result in ECCC being unable to provide services to you.

How we use your personal information

We will not use your personal information for any purpose that is not related to the services we provide or our legitimate business functions, or for any purpose for which you would not reasonably expect us to use the information. 

We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information held by ECCC is accurate, up-to date, complete, relevant and is not misleading before it is used or disclosed.

Who we disclose personal information to

We may disclose your personal information to the following categories of recipients, as necessary for the purposes described above:

  • Our clients: the creditor or business on whose behalf we are acting in relation to a debt or account.
  • Credit reporting agencies: For the purposes of credit reporting, credit assessment, and in accordance with the Credit Reporting Privacy Code.
  • Courts, tribunals, and regulators: Where required or permitted by law, including in connection with legal proceedings or regulatory inquiries.
  • Other debt collection or tracing agents: Where we engage third-party agents to assist in the recovery of a debt or the location of an individual.
  • Professional advisors: Including lawyers, auditors, and other professional service providers engaged by ECCC.
  • Government agencies and law enforcement: Where required or authorized by law.

Your personal information will only be disclosed to those employees and authorised personnel who have a need to know in order to provide or administer our services.

ECCC may disclose personal information to recipients located outside New Zealand in certain circumstances, including where we use overseas service providers, cloud-based systems, or analytics platforms (such as Google Analytics, which may process data in the United States).

Where we disclose personal information to a foreign person or entity, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient is subject to privacy protections that, overall, provide comparable safeguards to those under the Act, or that we have obtained your authorization, or that the disclosure is otherwise permitted under Information Privacy Principle 12 of the Act.

The countries to which personal information may be transferred include New Zealand, Australia and the United States. We will update this list as our arrangements change.

Keeping your personal information secure

ECCC takes reasonable steps to protect personal information from loss, unauthorized access, use, modification, disclosure, or other misuse. Our security measures include:

  • Restricting access to personal information to authorised employees and personnel on a need-to-know basis.
  • Using secure electronic systems and physical storage for personal information.
  • Implementing technical safeguards, including encryption and access controls, where appropriate.
  • Providing regular privacy and security training to our staff.
  • Reviewing and updating our security practices on an ongoing basis.

While we take all reasonable precautions, no data transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

How long we keep your personal information

We will not keep personal information for longer than is required for the purposes for which the information may lawfully be used. When determining how long to retain personal information, we consider the nature of the information, the purposes for which it was collected, any legal or regulatory requirements to retain the information, and the potential risks associated with continued storage.

When personal information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify the information.

Your rights

Under the Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to:

  • Request access to any personal information we hold about you. We will provide you with access to your personal information, subject to any grounds for refusal set out in the Act (for example, where disclosure would involve the unwarranted disclosure of the affairs of another individual, or where the information is subject to legal privilege).
  • Request correction of any personal information we hold about you that you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading. Where we are satisfied that a correction is warranted, we will amend the information. Where we decline to make a correction, we will, if you request, attach a statement of the correction sought to the information.

To make an access or correction request, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details set out in the Contact Us section below. We will respond to your request as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any event within 20 working days of receiving the request. There is no charge for making a request, although we may charge a reasonable fee for providing access to information where permitted by law.

Cookies

Our websites use cookies and similar technologies. A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your device when you visit a website. We use the following types of cookies:

Persistent cookies: These are used for the purpose of tracking website usage and traffic. These cookies do not read your hard drive or collect personal information.

Session cookies: These are used for our secure online debt management service. Session cookies provide security and allow you to access your account information during an online session. When you log out or close your browser, the session cookie is discarded.

Third-party analytics cookies: We use Google Analytics (and potentially other third-party analytics services) to collect anonymous statistical information about how visitors use our websites. Information collected by Google Analytics may be transferred to and processed by Google on servers located outside New Zealand, including in the United States. For more information about how Google uses data, please refer to Google’s Privacy Policy.

You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our websites and your ability to use certain features, including the online debt management service.