Louis Jordan Early life and musical career What was significant about his early life? his father, James Aaron Jordan, was a music teacher and bandleader for the Brinkley Brass Band and for the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. Was he musical as a child? Jordan studied music under his father, starting out on the clarinet.
Does he credit any early influences?
Does Louis Jordan credit any early influences for his musical talent?
Jordan was born on July 8, 1908, in Brinkley, Arkansas, where his father, James Aaron Jordan, was a music teacher and bandleader for the Brinkley Brass Band and for the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. His mother, Adell, died when Louis was young.  Jordan studied music under his father, starting out on the clarinet. In his youth he played in his father's bands instead of doing farm work when school closed. He also played the piano professionally early in his career, but alto saxophone became his main instrument. However, he became even better known as a songwriter, entertainer and vocalist.  Jordan briefly attended Arkansas Baptist College, in Little Rock, and majored in music. After a period with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels (in which one of his colleagues was Leon "Pee Wee" Whittaker) and with local bands, including Bob Alexander's Harmony Kings, he went to Philadelphia and then New York. In 1932, Jordan began performing with the Clarence Williams band, and when he was in Philadelphia he played clarinet in the Charlie Gaines band.  In late 1936 he was invited to join the influential Savoy Ballroom orchestra, led by the drummer Chick Webb. Based at New York's Savoy Ballroom, Webb's orchestra was renowned as one of the best big bands of its day and regularly beat all comers at the Savoy's legendary cutting contests. Jordan worked with Webb until 1938, and it proved a vital stepping-stone in his career--Webb (who was physically disabled) was a fine musician but not a great showman. The ebullient Jordan often introduced songs as he began singing lead; he later recalled that many in the audience took him to be the band's leader, which undoubtedly boosted his confidence further. This was the same period when the young Ella Fitzgerald was coming to prominence as the Webb band's lead female vocalist; she and Jordan often sang duets on stage, and they later reprised their partnership on several records, by which time both were major stars.  In 1938, Webb fired Jordan for trying to persuade Fitzgerald and others to join his new band. By this time Webb was already seriously ill with tuberculosis of the spine. He died at the age of 34, after spinal surgery on June 16, 1939. Following his death, Fitzgerald took over the band. CANNOTANSWER
Ella Fitzgerald
Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", he earned his highest profile towards the end of the swing era. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "early influence" in 1987.

Jordan was a talented singer with great comedic flair, and he fronted his own band for more than twenty years. He duetted with some of the biggest solo singing stars of his time, including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Jordan was also an actor and a film personality—he appeared in dozens of "soundies" (promotional film clips); the one for "Caldonia" is the most readily available for viewing on various websites. He also made numerous cameos in mainstream features and short films, and starred in two musical feature films made especially for him. He was an instrumentalist who played all forms of the saxophone but specialized in the alto. He also played the piano and clarinet.

Jordan began his career in big-band swing jazz in the 1930s, but he became known as one of the leading practitioners, innovators and popularizers of jump blues, a swinging, up-tempo, dance-oriented hybrid of jazz, blues and boogie-woogie. Typically performed by smaller bands consisting of five or six players, jump music featured shouted, highly syncopated vocals and earthy, comedic lyrics on contemporary urban themes. It strongly emphasized the rhythm section of piano, bass and drums; after the mid-1940s, this mix was often augmented by electric guitar. Jordan's band also pioneered the use of the electronic organ.

With his dynamic Tympany Five bands, Jordan mapped out the main parameters of the classic R&B, urban blues and early rock-and-roll genres with a series of highly influential 78-rpm discs released by Decca Records. These recordings presaged many of the styles of black popular music of the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s and exerted a strong influence on many leading performers in these genres. Many of his records were produced by Milt Gabler, who went on to refine and develop the qualities of Jordan's recordings in his later production work with Bill Haley, including "Rock Around the Clock".

Jordan ranks fifth in the list of the most successful African-American recording artists according to Joel Whitburn's analysis of Billboard magazine's R&B chart, and was the most popular rhythm and blues artist with his "jump blues" recordings of the pre-Rock n' Roll era.  Though comprehensive sales figures are not available, he had at least four million-selling hits during his career. Jordan regularly topped the R&B "race" charts and was one of the first black recording artists to achieve significant crossover in popularity with the mainstream (predominantly white) American audience, having simultaneous Top Ten hits on the pop charts on several occasions.

Life and career
Jordan was born on July 8, 1908, in Brinkley, Arkansas. His father, James Aaron Jordan, was a music teacher and bandleader for the Brinkley Brass Band and the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. His mother, Adell, died when Louis was young. He was raised by his grandmother Maggie Jordan and his aunt Lizzie Reid. At an early age he studied clarinet and saxophone with his father. In his teens he was a member of the Rabbit Foot Minstrels and was playing professionally in the late 1920s. In the early 1930s he played in Philadelphia and New York City with Charlie Gaines. He recorded with Clarence Williams and briefly was a member of the Stuff Smith orchestra. With the Chick Webb orchestra he sang and played alto saxophone. In 1938 he started a band that recorded a year later as the Tympany Five. 

Jordan's first band, drawn mainly from members of the Jesse Stone band, was a nine-piece group that he reduced to a sextet after being hired for a residency at the Elks Rendezvous club at 464 Lenox Avenue in Harlem. The band consisted of Jordan (saxes, vocals), Courtney Williams (trumpet), Lem Johnson (tenor sax), Clarence Johnson (piano), Charlie Drayton (bass), and Walter Martin (drums). In his first billing as the Elks Rendez-vous Band, his name was spelled "Louie" so people could avoid pronouncing it "Lewis".

In 1942, Jordan and his band moved to Los Angeles, where he began making soundies, the precursors of music video. He appeared on many Jubilee radio shows and a series of programs for the Armed Forces Radio for distribution to American troops overseas. Jordan's career was uninterrupted by the draft except for a four-week Army camp tour. Because of a "hernia condition" he was classified "4F".

During the 1940s Jordan and the band became popular with such hits as "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie", "Knock Me a Kiss", "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby", and "Five Guys Named Moe". He recorded with Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, and Louis Armstrong and appeared in films. Within a year of his breakthrough, the Tympany Five's appearance fee rose from $350 to $2,000 per night. But the breadth of Jordan's success and the size of his combo had larger implications for the music industry. The blues singer Gatemouth Moore said, "He was playing...with five pieces. That ruined the big bands ... He could play just as good and just as loud with five as 17. And it was cheaper."

Jordan's "raucous recordings were notable for the use of fantastical narrative". This is perhaps best exemplified on "Saturday Night Fish Fry", a two-part 1950 hit that was split across both sides of a 78-rpm record. It was one of the first popular songs to use the word "rocking" in the chorus and to feature a distorted electric guitar. Many sources describe this recording, and some others by Jordan, as "jump blues", because "it literally made its listeners jump to its pulsing beat", according to NPR. One source states that "Saturday Night Fish Fry" had a "lively jump rhythm, call-and-response chorus and double-string electric guitar riffs that Chuck Berry would later admit to copying".

Jordan is described by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as "The Father of Rhythm & Blues" and "The Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll". The Hall also states that "Saturday Night Fish Fry" is "an early example of rap and possibly the first rock and roll recording". Not all critics agree with the importance of his work as a rock and roll influence. For example, Rolling Stone (magazine) offers this take on Jordan's recordings from the late 1940s: "... the early idol of both Berry and Bill Haley, came closest, but his jump 'n' jive story songs were aimed as much at adults as teens, and any hillbilly flavor in his records was strictly a comedic device". The article agrees with Sam Phillips that rock and roll "specifically addressed and was tailored to teenagers".

Another source describes Jordan's jump blues style as combining "good-natured novelty lyrics (some with suggestive double meanings); [pushing] the tempo; [strengthening] the beat; [layering] the sound with his bluesy saxophone and playful melodies."

During this period Jordan again placed more than a dozen songs on the national charts. However, Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five dominated the 1940s R&B charts, or (as they were known at the time) the "race" charts. In this period Jordan had eighteen number 1 singles and fifty-four in the Top Ten. According to Joel Whitburn's analysis of the Billboard magazine charts, Jordan ranks fifth among the most successful musicians of the period 1942–1995. From July 1946 through May 1947, Jordan had five consecutive number one songs, holding the top slot for 44 consecutive weeks.

Jordan's popularity was boosted not only by his hit Decca records but also by his prolific recordings for Armed Forces Radio and the V-Disc transcription program, which helped to make him popular with whites and blacks. He starred in short musical films and made "soundies" for his hit songs.

Stepping away from his rhythm and blues style, Jordan started a big band in the early 1950s that was unsuccessful. Illness kept him near home in Arizona thougout the 1950s.

In 1952, Jordan performed on June 1 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles for the eighth Cavalcade of Jazz concert produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. Jordan and His Tympany Five returned for the tenth Cavalcade of Jazz concert on June 20, 1954.

Jordan signed with Aladdin for which he recorded 21 songs in early 1954. Nine singles were released from these sessions; three of the songs were not released. In 1955, he recorded with "X" Records, a  subsidiary of RCA which changed its name to Vik Records while Jordan was with them. Three singles were by released by "X" and one by Vik; four tracks were not released. In these sessions Jordan intensified his sound to compete with rock and roll. In 1956, Mercury signed Jordan and released two albums and a handful of singles. His first album for Mercury, Somebody Up There Digs Me (1956), showcased updated rock-and-roll versions of previous hits such as "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens", "Caldonia", "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie", "Salt Pork, West Virginia", and "Beware!" Mercury intended this to be a comeback for Jordan, but it was not commercially successful, and the label let him go in 1958. He recorded sporadically in the 1960s for Warwick (1960), Black Lion (1962), Tangerine (1962–1965), and Pzazz (1968) and in the early 1970s for Black & Blue (1973), Blues Spectrum (1973), and JSP (1974).

In the early 1960s he toured in England with Chris Barber. Speaking in 2012, Barber recalled seeing Jordan at the Apollo Theater in New York:

Jordan remade some of his top hits for a 1973 LP, I Believe in Music: "Caldonia," "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby," "Saturday Night Fish Fry" and "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town". New material was also added.

According to a Billboard book, cited by the Blues Hall of Fame, Jordan had "18 No. 1 hits on the race and R&B charts spent a total of 113 weeks in the top slot, almost twice as many weeks as any other artist in the history of rhythm & blues".

One publication of the Smithsonian Institution provided this summary of Jordan's music.One important stylistic prototype in the development of R&B was jump blues, pioneered by Louis Jordan, with his group Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five. Jordan’s group ... consisted of three horns and a rhythm section, while stylistically his music melded elements of swing and blues, incorporating the shuffle rhythm, boogie-woogie bass lines, and short horn patterns or riffs. The songs featured the use of African American vernacular language, humor, and vocal call-and-response sections between Jordan and the band. Jordan’s music appealed to both African American and white audiences, and he had broad success with hit songs like "Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby" (1944).

Films 
The release of the 1945 musical short film Caldonia boosted Jordan's career due to roadshow screenings in support of his live performance. In addition to singing in many films and appearing in mainstream films such as Meet Miss Bobby Socks (1944) and Follow the Boys (1944). The success of Caldonia (1945) led to other race film roles for Jordan with Astor Pictures: Beware! (1946), Reet, Petite, and Gone (1947), and Look-Out Sister (1947).

His prolific use of film as a promotional vehicle broke new ground, garnering praise from Billboard, which wrote, "The movies have helped the one-nighters, which have also been helped by recordings, which have also helped the movies, which in turn have become more profitable. It's a delicious circle, and other bands are now exploring the possibilities."

Personal life

Marriages 
Jordan was married five times. His first wife Julia (also called Julie) was from Arkadelphia. Soon after their wedding Julia gave birth to a daughter, Patty, who turned out to be another man's child. In 1932, Jordan met Ida Fields, a Texas-born singer and dancer, in Hot Springs. They married that year. Ida was six years his senior and a member of a traveling dance troupe called the Florida Orange Blossoms. Ida sued Jordan for bigamy in 1943. He claimed she was aware that he was still married. Ida was awarded a $70,000 judgment, later reduced to $30,000. She began billing herself as "Mrs. Louis Jordan, Queen of the Blues, and her Orchestra" before Jordan stopped it by stalling payments. In another court case, Ida was awarded a settlement of $50,000. In 1942, Jordan married his childhood sweetheart, Fleecie Moore; they were later divorced. In 1947, Fleecie discovered Jordan was having an affair with dancer Florence "Vicky" Hayes and attacked him with a knife. She was arrested and charged with assault. Jordan married Vicky on November 14, 1951, in Providence, Rhode Island; they separated in 1960. He married Martha Weaver, a singer and dancer from St. Louis, in 1966.

Financial problems 
Jordan's popularity and success had waned by 1953. By that time, "rock 'n' roll had captured the world's attention, and Jordan's jumping R&B became a thing of the past". While he continued performing, this did not generate the level of income that million selling recordings would have provided.

In 1961, the Internal Revenue Service filed an income tax lien against Jordan. As a result, he sold property well below their worth to pay off debts. Musician Ike Turner stated in his autobiography, Takin' Back My Name, that he heard about his tax problems and contacted Jordan's booking agency in Chicago. Turner convinced the president of the company to send Jordan a check for $20,000. Jordan was unaware of this deed.

Jordan wrote or co-wrote many of the songs he performed, but he did not benefit financially from them. Many of the hit songs he wrote, including "Caldonia", were credited to his wife Fleecie Moore to avoid an existing publishing arrangement. Their marriage was acrimonious and short-lived. After their divorce she retained ownership of the songs. However, Jordan may have taken credit for some songs written by others—he is credited as the co-writer of "Saturday Night Fish Fry", but the Tympany Five pianist Bill Doggett claimed he wrote it.

Death 
Jordan died of a heart attack on February 4, 1975, in Los Angeles. He is buried at Mt. Olive Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, the hometown of his wife Martha.

Awards and legacy
On June 23, 2008, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution introduced by Arkansas Representative Vic Snyder honoring Jordan on the centenary of his birth.

The United States Postal Service featured Jordan and his film for Caldonia in 2008 as part of its tribute to Vintage Black Cinema. "Vivid reminders of a bygone era will be celebrated in June through Vintage Black Cinema stamps based on five vintage movie posters. Whether spotlighting the talents of entertainment icons or documenting changing social attitudes and expectations, these posters now serve a greater purpose than publicity and promotion. They are invaluable pieces of history, preserving memories of cultural phenomena that otherwise might have been forgotten. The stamp pane was designed by Carl Herrman of Carlsbad, California."

Jordan is described by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as "The Father of Rhythm & Blues" and "The Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll".  Another source states that with Caldonia (1945), Jordan was "already crafting the classic rock ‘n’ roll sound". The Hall of Fame states that "his classic “Saturday Night Fish Fry” (1949) is an early example of rap and possibly the first rock and roll recording".

The Blues Foundation hints that Jordan was a precursor to R&B: "Louis Jordan was the biggest African-American star of his era and that his "Caldonia" reached "the top of the Race Records chart, as it was known prior to the introduction of term Rhythm & Blues in 1949".

Some have suggested that Chuck Berry modeled his musical approach on Jordan's. Berry changed the lyric content from black life to teenage life, and substituted cars and girls for Jordan's primary motifs of food, drink, money and girls. Berry's iconic opening riff on "Johnny B. Goode" bears a striking similarity to the intro played by the guitarist Carl Hogan on the 1946 hit "Ain't That Just Like a Woman"; Berry has acknowledged the debt in interviews. Other sources also indicate that Little Richard was influenced by Jordan.  In fact, the artist said Caldonia was the first non-gospel song he learned; and the shriek (or "whoop") on the Jordan record "sounds eerily like the vocal tone Little Richard would adopt", in addition to the "Jordan-style pencil-thin moustache". James Brown and Ray Charles also said that Jordan's style had an influence on their work.

B.B. King recorded an album called Let the Good Times Roll: The Music of Louis Jordan. The band included Earl Palmer, drums, Dr. John, piano, Hank Crawford, alto sax, David "Fathead" Newman, tenor sax, and Marcus Belgrave, trumpet.

Jordan was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame; and in 2018 he posthumously received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. The Academy believes that he "led the way for rock and roll in the 50’s. His recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame include: 'Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens', 'Caldonia Boogie', 'Choo Choo Ch'Boogie', and 'Let The Good Times Roll’".

According to Cleveland.com, "Louis Jordan had a profound impact on several African-American music genres that evolved during the first half of the 20th century ... He helped make jump blues, jazz and boogie-woogie mainstream forces. Jordan’s legendary work would serve as a precursor to modern blues, rock and roll and R&B music".

Discography

Charting singles

Footnotes

References

External links

LouisJordan.com
Louis Jordan 1954–1958 "Rockin' Period" Discography at This is Vintage Now
Louis Jordan's boyhood home
Article About Louis Jordan  – by Dr. Frank Hoffmann
Jordan's musical shorts and films
Louis Jordan: 'Jukebox King' NPR's Jazz Profiles Documentary
 Louis Jordan recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.

1908 births
1975 deaths
American blues saxophonists
American blues singers
American rhythm and blues musicians
American jazz saxophonists
American male saxophonists
American jazz singers
Singers from Arkansas
Jump blues musicians
People from Brinkley, Arkansas
Mercury Records artists
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Urban blues musicians
East Coast blues musicians
X Records artists
20th-century saxophonists
Jazz musicians from Arkansas
American male jazz musicians
Black & Blue Records artists
Tangerine Records artists
Arkansas Baptist College alumni
20th-century African-American male singers
The Credit Reporting Privacy Code (CRPC) was issued by the Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff on 6 December 2004. It is one of several Codes of Practice issued by the Privacy Commissioner under section 46 of the Privacy Act.

The Code has been amended 6 times, with a 7th amendment pending, with the amendments as follows:

 Amendment No 1 – 1 April 2006 (now expired)
 Amendment No 2 – 1 April 2006
 Amendment No 3 – 22 February 2010; 
 Amendment No 4 – 1 October 2011 and 1 April 2012
 Amendment No 5 – 1 December 2011 and 1 April 2012
 Amendment No 6 – 1 April 2012

The Code replaces the Privacy Act's 12 Privacy Principles, with 12 Privacy Rules specifically customised for credit reporting matters.

Summary of the Code

The Code regulates into law matters related to credit reporting. The Code is however only limited to credit reporters that actually sell credit information, so at current the Code only applies to 3 credit reporting firms, Veda Limited, Dun & Bradstreet Limited, and recent newcomer Centrix Group Limited.

One of the most important aspects of the Code is that individuals now have the right to a free copy of their credit record. Not only that, individuals also have a right to a copy of all their Credit Information, which includes not only includes the normal credit record, but also other things such as a copy of your credit score, access log, and even the credit reporters internal file notes.

Other things the Code covers is procedures to handle complaints, maintaining an access log to your credit record, maximum time frames to report bad debts, credit inquiries, etc., having adequate subscriber agreements, allowing certain inquiries to your credit record without a consent being required, prohibiting debt collection agencies from bad debt listing debts under their account, requiring credit suppression where a person is a victim of identity fraud, and most recently, allowing positive reporting.

The 12 Privacy Rules of the Code

Rule 1: Purpose of Collection of Credit Information
Rule 2: Source of Credit Information
Rule 3: Collection of Credit Information from Individual
Rule 4: Manner of Collection of Credit Information
Rule 5: Storage and Security of Credit Information
Rule 6: Access to Credit Information 
Rule 7: Correction of Credit Information
Rule 8: Accuracy, etc., of Credit Information
Rule 9: Retention of Credit Information
Rule 10: Limits on Use of Credit Information
Rule 11: Limits on Disclosure of Credit Information 
Rule 12: Unique Identifiers

Rule 1: Purpose of Collection of Credit Information

Personal information must not be collected by a credit reporter unless the information is collected for a lawful purpose connected with a function or activity of the credit reporter and also that the collection of the information is necessary for that purpose.

Also a credit reporter must not collect personal information for the purpose of credit reporting unless it is Credit Information as defined under the Code, so such things as criminal records and ethnicity can not be included on a credit check.

Rule 2: Source of Credit Information

Where a credit reporter collects credit information, it must collect the information directly from the individual concerned, unless the credit reporter believes, on reasonable grounds:
(a)	that the information is publicly available information; 
(b)	that the individual concerned authorises collection of the information from another source; 
(c)	that it is required for any investigation under the law by any public sector agency, including the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, and punishment of offences;
(d)	that it is required for the collection of fines or taxes
(e)	for the conduct of proceedings before any court or tribunal (being proceedings that have been commenced or are reasonably in contemplation); 
(f)	the collection is from a debt collector that is enforcing a debt owed by the individual concerned

This Rule effectively lets the credit reporter to update someone's new address if it is supplied by other sources than from a normal credit inquiry.

Rule 3: Collection of Credit Information from Individual

Where a credit reporter such as Veda collects credit information directly from the individual concerned, such as a request for a copy of your own credit report, the credit reporter must take such steps (if any) as are, in the circumstances, reasonable to ensure that the individual concerned is aware of:

(a)	the fact that the information is being collected; 
(b)	the purposes for which the information is being collected; 
(c)	the intended recipients of the information;
(d)	the name and address of;
(i)	the agency that is collecting the information; and
(ii)	the agency that will hold the information;
(e)	whether or not the supply of the information is voluntary or mandatory and if mandatory the particular law (if any) under which it is required;
(f)	the consequences (if any) for that individual if all or any part of the requested information is not provided; and
(g)	the rights of access to, and correction of, credit information held by the credit reporter provided by rules 6 and 7.

A credit reporter must conspicuously display on the credit reporter's website a statement that sets out the purposes for which it collects credit information and the purposes for which the information will be used and disclosed.

It is worth noting that the credit reporter can not update your credit record with information you supply (e.g. residential address) supplied by the individual in order to get a copy of your own credit record, unless the individual consents to this. However such a consent is hidden in most credit reporters official application forms.

Rule 4: Manner of Collection of Credit Information

This rule states that Credit information must not be collected by a credit reporter by either unlawful means,	by means that, in the circumstances of the case, are unfair or intrude to an unreasonable extent upon the personal affairs of the individual concerned.

Rule 5: Storage and Security of Credit Information

A credit reporter that holds credit information must ensure that the information is protected, by such security safeguards as it is reasonable in the circumstances to take, against loss, unauthorised access and use, as well as any other misuse, including misuse by anyone with authorised access such as a subscriber.

That if it is necessary for the information to be given to a person in connection with the provision of a service to the credit reporter, everything reasonably within the power of the credit reporter is done to prevent unauthorised use or unauthorised disclosure of the information.

A credit reporter must take the following measures to safeguard the credit information it holds against unauthorised access or misuse:
(a)	develop written policies and procedures to be followed by its employees, agents and contractors; 
(b)	impose access authentication controls such as the use of passwords, credential tokens or other mechanisms; 
(c)	provide information and training to ensure compliance with the policies, procedures and controls; 
(d)	ensure that a subscriber agreement that complies with Schedule 3 is in place before disclosing information under rule 11(2); 
(e)	monitor usage and regularly check compliance with the agreement, policies, procedures and controls and the requirements of this code; 
(f)	identify and investigate possible breaches of the agreement, policies, procedures and controls; 
(g)	take prompt and effective action in respect of any breaches that are identified; 
(h)	systematically review the effectiveness of the policies, procedures and controls and promptly remedy any deficiencies; and 
(i)	maintain an access log.

The access log required by subrule (2)(i) must include a record of the time, date, subscriber purpose in relation to each access and must identify, or provide a means to identify, the specific user and must also include a record of the time, date, subscriber purpose in relation to each access and must identify, or provide a means to identify, the specific user.

Rule 6: Access to Credit Information

This rules states that an individual has the right of access to all of their Credit Information held by a credit reporter, and when provided with this information, the credit reporter must advise the individual that under rule 7, the individual may request the correction of that information.

The Code and the Privacy Commissioner have made it quite clear that an individual has the right of access to ones Credit information, and not just merely one's credit report, as Credit information (as defined under the Code) includes far more information, such as an access log, credit score, and even the credit reporters internal file notes.

While the Privacy Act does not allow a credit reporter to refuse an access request due to not using an official application form, unfortunately most creditor reporters do not abide by this. Legally, all they need is your full name, and your date of birth to identify your credit record, plus some ID to legally obtain your credit record.

Furthermore, section 7 of the Code states that the credit reporter is not able to charge for providing this information, unless the individual requests the information be provided within 5 working days, in which case a reasonable charge may be made.

Despite the Code expressly stating the 5 working days, credit reporter both Veda and Dun & Bradstreet instead use a time period of 20 working days contrary to this law.

Rule 7: Correction of Credit Information

Where a credit reporter holds credit information, the individual concerned is entitled to both request correction of the information; and to request that there be attached to the information a statement of the correction sought but not made.

A credit reporter that holds credit information must, if so requested by the individual concerned or on its own initiative, take such steps (if any) to correct that information as are, in the circumstances, reasonable to ensure that, having regard to the purposes for which the information may lawfully be used, the information is accurate, up to date, complete, and not misleading.

With regards to disputed debts, the Code requires the credit reporter at the very least flag it on its database as "disputed" (but still listed). Alternatively, the Credit reporter can remove the bad debt listing altogether. However the Privacy Commissioner has made it quite clear that if they merely flag it as "disputed", may mitigate the harm but does not constitute a correction under the law.

Rule 8: Accuracy, etc, of Credit Information

A credit reporter that holds credit information must not use or disclose that information without taking such steps (if any) as are, in the circumstances, reasonable to ensure that, having regard to the purpose for which the information is proposed to be used or disclosed, the information is accurate, up to date, complete, relevant, and not misleading.

A credit reporter must, when undertaking a comparison of personal information with other personal information for the purpose of producing or verifying information about an identifiable individual, take such measures as are reasonably practicable to avoid the incorrect matching of the information.

A credit reporter must ensure that a subscriber agreement that complies with Schedule 3 is in place before disclosing information under rule 11(2) as well as	establish and maintain controls to ensure that, as far as reasonably practicable, only information that is accurate, up to date, complete, relevant, and not misleading is used or disclosed;

Rule 9: Retention of Credit Information

A credit reporter that holds credit information must not keep that information for longer than is required for the purposes for which the information may lawfully be used, with Schedule 1 of the Code effectively stating the maximum time periods that credit information can be included on credit records.

The main maximum time periods are:

Repayment History Information – 2 years (for positive credit reporting)
Credit Applications – 5 years
Previous Inquiries – 5 years
Defaults / Collections – 5 years from the date of default
Court Judgments – 5 years
Bankruptcy – 5 years from the date of discharge, but where a person has been bankrupted more than once, it can be reported indefinitely

Rule 10: Limits on Use of Credit Information

Under Rule 10, a credit reporter that holds credit information that was obtained in connection with one purpose must not use the information for any other purpose unless the credit reporter believes, on reasonable grounds:
(a)	that the source of the information is a publicly available publication;
(b)	that the use of the information for that other purpose is authorised by the individual concerned;
(c)	that non-compliance is necessary to avoid prejudice to the maintenance of the law by any public sector agency, such as the Police, the IRD, or  for the conduct of proceedings before any court or tribunal (being proceedings that have been commenced or are reasonably in contemplation)

Rule 11: Limits on Disclosure of Credit Information

Under Rule 11, a credit reporter that holds credit information must not disclose the information unless the credit reporter believes, on reasonable grounds that the disclosure is authorised by the individual concerned (e.g. such as in a credit agreement) and is made to only a credit provider for the purposes of making a credit decision, by a prospective landlord, by a prospective employer where the position involves significant financial risk, or by a prospective insurance company.

Authorisation must be express and fully informed. It is not sufficient for a subscriber to simply notify an individual that a credit check will be undertaken as part of a credit application process. The authorisation need not be in writing, but the absence of written evidence may present a problem if the credit reporter is later required to prove that it believed on reasonable grounds that an authorisation existed.

Also, a credit reporting agency can disclose credit information to the Police, any enforcing Government agency, the IRD, and if required for any court proceedings, without the requiring of the individuals consent.

Rule 12: Unique Identifiers

To allay  "Big Brother" concerns, Rule 12 states that a credit reporter must not assign a unique identifier to an individual unless the assignment of that identifier is necessary to enable the credit reporter to carry out one or more of its functions efficiently (i.e. an internal reference number).

This reference number can not be the same used by any other organisation. However, the code has been since amended that a Credit reporter can now retain an individual's drivers licence number.

Criticism of the Code

The Code has several shortfalls such as:
	If you pay for your credit record, and find incorrect information, there is no legal obligation whatsoever for the credit reporter to refund the fee.
	The credit reporters subscribers are not even required to take the simple step notify the individual that a bad listing has been listed on your credit record. This is particularly troublesome where an account is in dispute and you will only find out if it has been listed on your credit record, through applying for credit, or paying the credit reporter for a credit monitoring service. One would imagine this gives the credit reporter a financial incentive to not keep accurate or open records.
	Furthermore, also when a bad debt listing occurs, one would think it is prudent for the subscriber to also at least notify the individual what information has been listed on their credit record, such as the date of default and the amount claimed as owed, just in case it is incorrect.
	In cases where a bad listing has proven to have been wrongly listed, the Code does not even require that any money wrongly paid to the creditor due to the bad debt listing to be refunded.
	Furthermore, where a subscriber or credit reporter has proven to of wrongly listed credit information, the Code does not require any of the sometimes substantial costs the individual may incur to get this information corrected to be reimbursed.
	While the Code specifically covers Credit Information, and not merely just credit records, the Code does not prohibit credit providers misleading individuals that they are only entitled to a copy of their credit report, as exhibited by both Veda's website and their application form.

The Privacy Commission is well aware of these shortfall's, and whilst the Commissioner has made numerous amendments to this Code in the past, she has chosen not to rectify any of these shortfalls in the Code.

References

External links
 Link to copy of the Code
 Link to Veda
 Link to Dun & Bradstreet
 Link to Centrix Group

Privacy law
2004 in New Zealand law Revolving credit is a type of credit that does not have a fixed number of payments, in contrast to installment credit. Credit cards are an example of revolving credit used by consumers. Corporate revolving credit facilities are typically used to provide liquidity for a company's day-to-day operations. They were first introduced by the Strawbridge and Clothier Department Store.

It is an arrangement which allows for the loan amount to be withdrawn, repaid, and redrawn again in any manner and any number of times, until the arrangement expires. Credit card loans and overdrafts are revolving loans, also called evergreen loan.

Typical characteristics
 The borrower may use or withdraw funds up to a pre-approved credit limit.
 The amount of available credit decreases and increases as funds are borrowed and then repaid.
 The credit may be used repeatedly.
 The borrower makes payments based only on the amount he or she has actually used or withdrawn, plus interest.
 The borrower may repay over time (subject to any minimum payment requirement), or in full at any time.
 In some cases, the borrower is required to pay a fee to the lender for any money that is undrawn; this is especially true of corporate bank revolving-credit loans.

A revolving loan provides a borrower with a maximum aggregate amount of capital, available over a specified period of time. Unlike a term loan, the revolving loan allows the borrower to draw down, repay and re-draw loans on the available funds during the term of the note. Each loan is borrowed for a set period of time, usually one, three or six months, after which time it is technically repayable. Repayment of a revolving loan is achieved either by scheduled reductions in the total amount of the loan over time, or by all outstanding loans being repaid on the date of termination. A revolving loan made to refinance another revolving loan which matures on the same date as the drawing of the second revolving loan is known as a "rollover loan", if made in the same currency and drawn by the same borrower as the first revolving loan. The conditions to be satisfied for drawing a rollover loan are typically less onerous than those for other loans.

A revolving loan is a particularly flexible financing tool as it may be drawn by a borrower by way of straightforward loans, but it is also possible to incorporate different types of financial accommodation within it – for example, it is possible to incorporate a letter of credit, a swingline (that is, a short-term borrowing that is funded on one day's notice), or an overdraft within the terms of a revolving credit loan. This is often achieved by creating a sublimit within the overall loan, allowing a certain amount of the lenders' commitment to be drawn in the form of these different facilities.

Examples
 Line of credit
 Home equity line of credit

See also
Installment credit
Debt-snowball method

References

Credit
Personal finance