Faq

Clear Name works hand in hand with Credit Simple and selected lenders to allow consumers to pay their outstanding defaults online.

Consumers with outstanding defaults may be eligible for a discount via Clear Name. Plus, your credit score may improve once your defaults are paid off, and having a good credit score means you may get better deals from credit providers.

We can’t guarantee that using Clear Name specifically will improve your credit score, but in general, paying off debts usually results in an improvement in your credit score.

Clear Name is a business of illion New Zealand.

Information is provided by you or by Credit Simple on your behalf. Refer to the Privacy Policy for full details on how personal information is collected.

Credit reporting is an area that’s highly regulated. Credit reporting companies such as illion and the lenders who provide them with information have to comply with credit reporting regulations and privacy legislation. However, as with all things in life, occasionally there are mistakes, so we encourage consumers to regularly check their credit score and credit file.

You can dispute anything on your credit file from within your Credit Simple dashboard, after you’ve signed up to get your credit score and before you go through the Clear Name process. You can also contact the credit reporting agencies and/or the credit provider directly.

Using Clear Name is free for consumers.

If you pay a debt through Clear Name, the company you owed the debt to pays us a commission. We’re up-front and transparent about this – it’s how we can fund Clear Name and keep it free for consumers.

No. If you’re not sure you’re in a position to pay now, you can still check it out and see what you owe without having to go through with the payment process.

A default is information about a payment to a credit account that is at least 30 days overdue, where the credit provider has notified the individual in writing about the overdue payment and the overdue payment is equal to or over $100. A default remains on your credit report for 5 years from the date of default.

If it feels as though you're struggling with money problems, the best thing you can do is ask for help. Click here for some of the most useful resources to seek help from.

To protect your data, it is encrypted at all times and we do not share your information with any third party without your permission.

That depends on a number of factors including how much the debt is for, and how long it’s been unpaid. This amount is set by the lender.

No. Clear Name is an online debt collection services provider and does not pass your information to anyone without your consent.

Depending on the financial institution, it may take up to 5 days before the processing of any of your payments are settled.

If you set up a Payment Instalment Plan using Clear Name, the ‘Estimated Completion Date’ for the plan is an estimate based on the date that your last payment instalment is due. However, it may take up to 5 business days for your last payment to clear through the financial institution. As a result, in some cases, the Estimated Completion Date may be a date in the past while you are waiting for the last payment to clear.

If you set up a Payment Instalment Plan using Clear Name and you miss or defer a payment, that payment will be added to the end of your originally scheduled payment plan. You can miss or defer up to a maximum of 3 payments. After 3 missed or deferred payments, you cannot defer any further payments and a 4th missed payment will result in your payment plan automatically being cancelled. You will no longer be eligible for any discount that was applicable, but any funds paid so far will be counted towards your repayments.

If you set up a Payment Instalment Plan using Clear Name and your circumstances change, you can make up to a maximum of 5 changes to your plan (however, please note the limit of deferring up to a maximum of 3 payments described above). After the 5th change, you will no longer be able to make any further changes. Missed or deferred payments from the previous payment schedule will be added to any rescheduled plan.

If you cancel your payment instalment plan (or if it is automatically cancelled as a result of missed payments), you will not be eligible for any Discount that would have applied to the applicable Debt if you had completed the Payment Instalment Plan in full – this means that no Discount will apply to any payments that you have already made under the Payment Instalment Plan. You will not be entitled to a refund of any amounts that you have paid under the Payment Instalment Plan.