Privacy Policy

1. Introduction:
   1. We recognise that your privacy is very important to you. This Privacy Policy has been prepared in accordance with the Privacy Act and applicable codes under the Privacy Act.
   2. By accessing and browsing the Website you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy (as amended from time to time).
2. What kind of personal information we collect:
   We may collect personal information about you including:
   1. your name, email address, residential address and contact telephone numbers.
   2. your IRD number and tax status.
   3. information about your existing loans and credit
   4. information about your current or previous employment, income, assets and expenses
   5. information about your identity and other personal details.
   6. details about your credit history, credit accounts, credit that may have been extended to you and your repayment history.
3. Where we collect personal information from
   1. Where possible we collect personal information directly from you when you interact with us through the Website (including when you apply for a Deferred Deposit Agreement (DDA) and provide us with the information we request for that purpose) or by other means (such as when you contact us with an enquiry). 
   2. If you proceed to apply for a DDA, we may collect “credit information” about you from “credit reporters” (as those terms are defined in the Credit Reporting Privacy Code 2020). By applying for a DDA either in person or through this Website, you authorise us to obtain credit information about you from a credit reporter to confirm your identity, verify your current credit obligations and to help us assess your ability to meet repayment obligations.
   3. If you are or wish to take out a DDA, we may also collect personal information about you from:
      1. your current or previous employers or business partners, accountants, lawyers, referees, banks, insurers, landlords, guarantors, co-borrowers, and financial advisers.
      2. credit reporters.
      3. identification service providers; primarily to fulfil our obligations under the Anti Money Laundering and Countering of Terorism Financing Act. 
      4. publicly available sources of information
      5. persons representing you or acting on your behalf.
      6. our agents or service providers like our referral partners and professional advisers, 
      7. any persons considered necessary to carry out your instructions.
      8. regulators, government authorities, courts or the Police 
      9. anyone else you agree.
4. Purposes for which we collect your personal information:
   We collect your personal information for the following purposes:
   1. contacting you.
   2. responding to queries.
   3. assessing your ability to pay amounts due under a DDA.
   4. providing you with information about us or our services;
   5. assessing your application for a DDA.
   6. establishing and verifying your identity, and carrying out credit and other checks;
   7. managing our relationship with you.
   8. managing your scheduled repayments and one-off payments with direct debit companies.
   9. preventing and defending instances of fraud, unlawful conduct, and other risks to our business.
   10. internal and external dispute resolution.
   11. enforcing our rights including debt collection, where necessary instituting legal action and enforcing any security interest we hold and assigning debts to third parties.
   12. undertaking securitisation activities and other activities relating to funding and capital requirements.
   13. any specific purpose notified to you at the time the personal information is collected or that you authorise.
   14. marketing products and services provided by us, Relevant Persons and third parties we have dealings with.
   15. compiling statistical data.
   16. complying with our legal obligations and assisting government and law enforcement agencies or regulators.
   17. enabling us to comply with our customer due diligence and other obligations under any anti-money laundering legislation; and
   18. any other purpose permitted by law.
5. Disclosing your information to other parties (including overseas):
   1. We may disclose information about you (including your identity) to Relevant Persons or third-party entities in New Zealand and overseas for any of the purposes described above. Third parties to whom we may disclose information about you (including your identity) include the following:
      1. co-borrowers (or potential co-borrowers);
      2. credit reporters.
      3. identification service providers.
      4. servicing system providers.
      5. your executors, administrators or persons representing you or acting on your behalf.
      6. our agents or service providers like debt collection agencies, referral partners, partner lenders, professional advisers, direct debit companies, private investigators, market research and data analysis providers, mailing houses, call centre operators and technology service providers;
      7. any persons considered necessary to carry out your instructions.
      8. regulators, government authorities, courts or the Police or other persons, where we act as an agent on behalf of that person;
      9. financial institutions such as banks and credit providers.
      10. insurers, assessors, underwriters, brokers, and other distributors.
      11. entities involved in our securitisation or other funding arrangements.
      12. our assignees or potential assignees or other entities who acquire an interest in our business; and
      13. anyone else you agree or to whom we are required by law to provide information.
6. Marketing communications:
   By accepting the terms of this Privacy Policy and providing us with your personal information, you also agree (in addition to the matters set out above) to us using that personal information for the purpose of informing you about our products and services, or providing your information to Relevant Persons and third parties we have dealings with to market our products and services or to market their products and services to you.
7. What are the consequences of you not providing the personal information we require?
   If you do not provide us with all of the personal information we have requested from you, we may not be able to complete your application for a DDA.
8. If you’d like to ask for a copy of your information, or to have it corrected, please contact us at 
9. admin@affordassist.co.nz, or by telephoning 0800 114 847
10. Amendments:
    We may amend this Privacy Policy at any time by amending the policy on the website. Any such amendments will apply from the date stated on the Website. By accessing the Website and/or continuing to use our services you will be deemed to agree to our updated Privacy Policy.
11. Assignment
    1. You may not transfer or assign any of your rights or obligations under this Privacy Policy to any person.
    2. We may transfer or assign all and any of our rights and/or obligations under this Privacy Policy to any person, without requiring your consent.
12. Governing Law:
    This Privacy Policy is governed by New Zealand law. The parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the New Zealand courts in respect of all matters arising under or in connection with our customer service terms or this Privacy Policy.
13. Defined Terms:
    In this Privacy Policy:

• Borrower means a natural person who has registered as a Borrower with us (and, if applicable, includes each registered co-borrower jointly and severally);
• Privacy Act means the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.
• Relevant Person means us or any related company (as defined in section 2(3) of the Companies Act 1993) of those entities, and any employee, director, officer, agent, and contractor of those entities, or such related company.
• we, us or our means AffordAssist Limited; and
• Website means the website at https://affordassist.co.nz/, or such other website as we or a Relevant Person may from time to time operate.

1. Interpretation:

In this Privacy Policy:

• headings are inserted for ease of reference only, and do not affect the interpretation of this Privacy Policy.
• references to you or your means the person accessing and using the Website and/or our services.
• references to the singular include the plural, and vice versa;
• references to a person include an individual, company, corporation, partnership, firm, joint venture, association, trust, unincorporated body of persons, governmental or other regulatory body, authority or entity, in each case whether or not having a separate legal identity.
• references to any party (including us) includes any permitted assignee or transferee.
• any reference to us includes an entity appointed to replace us as a contract servicer.
• references to any document (however described) are references to that document as modified, novated, supplemented, varied or replaced from time to time and in any form, whether on paper or in an electronic form; and
• a reference to any legislation is a reference to that legislation as amended or replaced from time to time and includes any regulations or legislative instrument made under it.