2 September 2022
By email to: [FYI request #20166 email]
Attention: Darren Edward
CON0010532 Request for information about debt col ection agencies
We refer to your email to the Serious Fraud Office (
SFO) dated 7 August 2022 in which
you requested the following information:
i would like information to see if
Have any Debt Col ections Agencies ever been investigated by the serious fraud office for
their practices in regards to the points below;
a. Fair Trading Act 1986 21A s1, Companies demanding payment of unsolicited goods or
services complies that would contradict this act; and
b. Fair Trading Act 1986 21A s2, Companies are required to give all rights and obligations
to the recipient of their instruments; and
3. Confirm that the demand or payment complies with Unsolicited Goods and Services Act
1975 s4, s5; and
4. If the Demand for Payment is unlawful and breaches the above Fair Trading act it would
also breach the, Crimes Act 1961, 240 s2 a (i), b, c;
Would the serious fraud office investigate if a complaint was to be forthcoming by anyone
receiving such presentments by these Debt Col ection Companies for serious breaches of
the Fair Trading Act and the Crimes Act;
We have considered your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (
OIA).
SFO investigations into debt collection agencies
We have interpreted your request as asking us for any information we hold on SFO
investigations into debt col ection agencies. We have reviewed our records and note that
the SFO does not hold this information. Accordingly, this request is refused on the
grounds that the requested information does not exists, pursuant to s 18(e) of the OIA.
We note, the Commerce Commission, not the SFO, is responsible for enforcing the Fair
Trading Act 1986 (
FTA). If you think a business or person is not complying with the FTA,
you can make a complaint to the Commerce Commission at
[email address].
1
Opinion on SFO’s remit to investigate breaches of the Fair Trading Act and Crimes Act
We consider your request appears to be seeking an opinion from the SFO, rather than
referring to information that we hold; accordingly, we refuse this request on the basis
that it does not exist (s 18(e)). However, we have decided to provide you with information
that may assist you with your enquires.
The SFO is a highly specialised public sector agency that is mandated under the Serious
Fraud Office Act 1990 to detect, investigate and prosecute serious or complex financial
crime. The offences that the SFO investigates are primarily found in the Crimes Act
1961.
Each complaint received by the SFO is evaluated to determine whether any suspected
offence involves serious or complex fraud. Factors considered in this evaluation include:
a)
the suspected nature and consequences of the al eged fraud;
b)
the suspected scale of the al eged fraud, such as whether it is likely to
undermine public confidence in the integrity of New Zealand’s commercial or
financial markets;
c)
the factual, legal and financial complexity of the alleged fraud; and
d)
any relevant public interest considerations.
You can report a fraud via the SFO Website her
e https://sfo.govt.nz/contact/report-a-
fraud/. You are entitled to make a complaint about our decision to the Office of the Ombudsman.
They can be contacted at P O Box 10152, Wel ington 6143 or at
[email address].
Yours sincerely
Kylie Cooper
Deputy General Counsel
2
