Bank's wrongful access to and disclosure of individual's credit report (May 2004)

CIPPIC assisted an individual in his efforts to obtain fair compensation for a significant violation to his privacy. The violation occurred when a ScotiaBank employee accessed and disclosed his credit bureau report to his fiancee without his knowledge or consent. Banks and other credit grantors are under a legal obligation in Canada to obtain individual consent before accessing, using or disclosing that individual's credit report. In this case, the bank employee failed to obtain the individual's consent before pulling up his credit report and disclosing it to his fiancee, who was seeking information on mortgage rates.

CIPPIC assisted the individual in his dealings first with the Scotiabank Ombudsman, then with the Canadian Bank Ombudsman, then with the Privacy Commissioner, and finally with Scotiabank's legal department. The Privacy Commissioner found, after investigating, that Scotiabank had violated the consent requirement in Principle 4.3 of the PIPED Act. Scotiabank admitted the error, but was unwilling to pay the individual more than $500 in compensation. The individual ultimately settled with Scotiabank.

Resources

Privacy Commissioner, letter, July 13,2005.