Creditinfo: Microloan Debt Can Be Stricken From The Record

Those who have been saddled with credit-ruining debt from an illegal microloan company can get have that debt stricken, the head of legal at Creditinfo says. She adds that there have in fact been instances of this happening.

As reported, a new episode of Kveikur, an investigative news show from Icelandic public broadcasting service RÚV, recently did an in-depth report on microloan companies operating in Iceland. In the course of their reporting, they found that these companies employ highly inflated compound interest on their loans, are operating illegally, and that these debts can ruin people’s credit ratings.

In a statement to the Grapevine, Laufey Jónsdóttir, the Data Protection Officer and Head of Legal at Creditinfo, says that RÚV’s reporting is incorrect in contending that someone in debt to a microloan company cannot have that debt removed from the Default Payment Registry (DPR) without paying it off.

“Creditinfo withdraws registrations from the DPR if an individual objects to it,” the statement reads in part. “Individuals will receive notifications of proposed registrations 17 days prior to the entry of the registration, including information concerning their rights to oppose. One can object to the registration on Creditinfo’s website where you log in with an electronic ID. All comments and inquiries can be submitted to a representative by clicking on the button Contact.”

Laufey says that there are people who have been indebted to these microloan companies but had the debt stricken from the DPR.

“There are examples of microloan transactions being taken out of the DPR even though loans have not been paid in full,” she says. “If an individual objects to the claim, whether registrations or proposed registrations, they are removed from the DPR. The claims must however not be confirmed by public acts (court ruling), and objections must be aimed at the creditor and state a reason for the objection. This is in accordance with Creditinfo’s operating license issued by Persónuvernd (Icelandic Data Protection Authority).”