What is the Commerce Commission going to do with the evidence that it has, that BNZ misled the Commerce Commission during an investigation initiated by a whistleblower?
Justice for Optimizer Trust made this Official Information request to Commerce Commission
Response to this request is long overdue. By law Commerce Commission should have responded by now (details and exceptions). The requester can complain to the Ombudsman.
From: Justice for Optimizer Trust
Dear Commerce Commission,
With the FYI OIA request https://fyi.org.nz/request/8631-informat...
On 25 October 2018 the Commerce Commission released documents including one referenced as CC.SHQ.0031.0002 which was BNZ's response to the Commerce Commission.
BNZ clearly stated (in paragraph 3) that it did not compete with Smartpay in relation to the supply of mPOS services to customers.
This statement made by BNZ to the Commerce Commission during an investigation was directly contradicted by two submissions made by Smartpay to the Commerce Commission in 2019 and 2020 while the Commerce Commission assessed the proposal for Verifone to buy Smartpay's New Zealand business.
Please see in Appendix 1 (row 2 on the table) of it Cross-submission by Smartpay Holdings Limited on submissions received on the Statement of Preliminary Issues dated 2 March 2019, where BNZ is described as "potentially the largest supplier of mPOS"
The document is here: https://comcom.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf...
Please also see Submission by Smartpay Holdings Limited on the Statement of Issues dated 28 April 2020, where Smartpay is arguing that the sale of the business would not reduce competition. In paragraph 32 Smartpay specifically names BNZ as a direct competitor.
The document is here: https://comcom.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf...
Therefore, in 2018 BNZ said it did not compete with Smartpay on mPOS... but in 2019 and 2020 Smartpay said that BNZ was a direct competitor, and in fact is its largest competitor for mPOS.
The Commerce Commission has had this information for more than 12 months.
Paragraphs 117 and 118 of the Commerce Commissions Investigations Guidelines clearly states that to mislead or deceive the Commerce Commission during an investigation is a "criminal offence".
What is the Commerce Commission going to do now that it knows that BNZ's knowingly mislead or deceived the Commerce Commission during an investigation?
Please advise
Yours faithfully,
Justice for Optimizer Trust
From: Commerce Commission OIA Requests
Commerce Commission
Thank you for contacting the New Zealand Commerce Commission. This email
is to confirm that we have received your correspondence.
If your request is for information under the Official Information Act
(OIA) we will respond to it within 20 working days. You can check the
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If we need to clarify, or transfer your request, or extend the timeframe
for response, we will contact you shortly.
If your enquiry is not a request for information under the OIA, please
contact our Contact Centre, on 0800 943 600 or [2][email address]
OIA Co-ordinator
Information Systems | Organisational Performance
Commerce Commission l Te Komihana Tauhokohoko
44 The Terrace l PO Box 2351 l Wellington 6140 l New Zealand
E: [3][Commerce Commission request email]
This email may contain information that is confidential or legally
privileged. If you have received this email in error please immediately
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views presented in this email may not be those of the Commission.
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From: Commerce Commission OIA Requests
Commerce Commission
Dear Justice for Optimizer Trust,
We acknowledge receipt of your email dated 11 May 2021. We have not logged it as a request for information under the Official Information Act 1982 on the basis that it does not ask for information held by the Commission.
If you wish to make a complaint, you can do so using the webform on our website, by phone on 0800 943 600 or by email on [email address].
Please note we are not a dispute resolution service and generally cannot assist you to obtain a personal remedy. We cannot give you legal advice.
We assess every complaint we receive, but are unable to investigate all of them. Our focus is to make sure New Zealand markets work well and consumers and businesses are confident when buying or selling goods and services. This means that we tend to be most interested in the issues causing widespread harm to New Zealanders.
If you contact us to complain about a business or person you believe has breached consumer and/or competition law, we will consider your complaint according to our enforcement criteria. We receive thousands of complaints each year and do not respond to everyone who contacts us with a complaint. If we need more information we will be in touch with you.
If your complaint is about the Commission itself, the complaint will be read, logged and assigned to a manager to answer. The manager will make contact with you and may seek further information. Please our the Complaints Policy for information on how we handle complaints about the Commission.
Kind regards,
Mary Sheppard
OIA Coordinator
Commerce Commission | Te Komihana Tauhokohoko
44 The Terrace | PO Box 2351 | Wellington 6140 | New Zealand
www.comcom.govt.nz
show quoted sections
From: Justice for Optimizer Trust
Dear Commerce Commission OIA Requests,
Please note: a complaint about his has already been made and the Commerce Commission's CEO advised on 22 February that the Commission would respond within 20 days. This timeframe was not met.
In any case, please provide the following information:
What is the process for making the Commerce Commission aware that BNZ had deliberately deceived the Commerce Commission during the investigation into BNZ and Smartpay which was initiated by a whistleblower (who was employed by BNZ at that time)?
Yours sincerely,
Justice for Optimizer Trust
From: Commerce Commission OIA Requests
Commerce Commission
Thank you for contacting the New Zealand Commerce Commission. This email
is to confirm that we have received your correspondence.
If your request is for information under the Official Information Act
(OIA) we will respond to it within 20 working days. You can check the
maximum time limit within which Commerce Commission click here to access
the [1]Ombudsman’s OIA Response Calculator
If we need to clarify, or transfer your request, or extend the timeframe
for response, we will contact you shortly.
If your enquiry is not a request for information under the OIA, please
contact our Contact Centre, on 0800 943 600 or [2][email address]
OIA Co-ordinator
Information Systems | Organisational Performance
Commerce Commission l Te Komihana Tauhokohoko
44 The Terrace l PO Box 2351 l Wellington 6140 l New Zealand
E: [3][Commerce Commission request email]
This email may contain information that is confidential or legally
privileged. If you have received this email in error please immediately
notify the sender and delete the email, without using it in any way. The
views presented in this email may not be those of the Commission.
References
Visible links
1. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[Commerce Commission request email]
From: Commerce Commission OIA Requests
Commerce Commission
Dear Justice for Optimizer Trust,
We have passed your correspondence to the person who is looking into your other concerns about this matter, who will be back in contact shortly.
Kind regards,
Mary Sheppard
OIA Coordinator
Commerce Commission | Te Komihana Tauhokohoko
44 The Terrace | PO Box 2351 | Wellington 6140 | New Zealand
www.comcom.govt.nz
show quoted sections
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