In recent years, with the rapid development of China’s credit reporting market, the credit reporting business in China has covered more and more entities and the application scenarios of credit reporting services have become increasingly diversified, giving rise to new situations and tasks facing the protection of rights and interests in the credit sphere. To better protect the legitimate rights and interests of information subjects and promote high-quality development of China’s credit reporting industry, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) recently released the revised Rules for Handling Credit Reporting Complaints (hereinafter referred to as the Rules).
Based on the development of China’s credit reporting market, the Rules follows the basic principles of complying with laws and regulations, bringing convenience and benefit to the people, providing relief in a targeted manner, and performing duties efficiently. It has fully revised and improved the previous rules for the handling of credit reporting complaints by ensuring smooth complaint channels, clarifying the jurisdiction, shortening the list of essentials for filing a complaint, optimizing the procedures, and standardizing the paperwork. The main revisions are as follows. First, the requirements are simplified while the procedures are optimized and standardized. PBOC branches are all required to announce the complaint channels on their official websites, and the requirements are simplified for verification of a complainant’s identity. The Rules also provides for some newly added processes, such as review of submissions, suspension of complaint handling, and consolidation of complaints. Moreover, there are now standardized formats for the documents, such as complaint letters, complaint response letters, and termination notifications. Second, the acceptance and handling of credit reporting complaints and the jurisdiction over such complaints are no longer separate. It is clearly set down that a credit reporting complaint shall fall within the jurisdiction of the PBOC branch of the place where the respondent is located. In this way, the entities responsible for accepting and handling credit reporting complaints shall be the same as those that exercise supervision over credit reporting, so that power is matched with responsibility. Third, the Rules enhances institutional design, which is aimed at guiding complainants to assert their rights by proper means. It specifies the criteria for acceptance of complaints, providing that complaints that meet the criteria must be accepted. Meanwhile, notification of the complainant is stressed regarding a complaint that does not meet the criteria for acceptance. By clearly setting the scope for credit reporting complaints that shall be accepted, the Rules will help provide credit reporting relief in a more targeted manner. Additionally, as to the submission of fraudulent information and the filing of complaints in someone else’s name, the newly added termination clause will apply, thereby guiding complainants to assert their rights in compliance with laws and regulations.
The Rules will be helpful in facilitating credit reporting complaints and reducing their cost, so that people will find it convenient to seek protection of their legitimate rights and interests associated with credit reporting and the quality and efficiency of complaint handling will be improved. Going forward, the PBOC will remain committed to the people-centered philosophy of development, uphold the principle of “providing credit reporting services for the people”, and put more effort into protecting the rights and interests of information subjects in credit reporting in order to promote high-quality development of China’s credit reporting industry.
