Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003

Consumer credit contracts - Required disclosure - Request and guarantee disclosure

26B: Disclosure about dispute resolution schemes and financial mentoring services: hardship applications, arrears, credit declined, and complaints

You could also call this:

"What to know when you have credit problems or complaints"

Illustration for Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003

When you have problems with your credit, you need to know about dispute resolution schemes. A creditor must tell you about these schemes when you apply for hardship, or when you complain about something. They must also tell you when they decline your credit application. When you are having trouble paying back your credit, the creditor must tell you about financial mentoring services. They must do this when you miss a payment, or when you go over your credit limit. They must also tell you about these services when you apply for hardship. The creditor must give you this information in a clear and obvious way. They must follow the rules made under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003. If you want to know more about your rights, you can look at the section 57A(1)(a) and Part 3A of the Act. You can also check the regulations made under section 138(1)(dba). Note that Subpart 4 does not apply to the information the creditor must give you.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS626452.

This page was last updated on 28 January 2026 — View changes

Topics:

Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection

26A: Disclosure of transfer of rights of creditor under consumer credit contract, or

"When someone you owe money to sells your debt, they must tell you who the new owner is."

27: Right to cancel consumer credit contract, or

"You can cancel a loan or credit deal within 5 working days of getting the details."

Part 2Consumer credit contracts
Required disclosure: Request and guarantee disclosure

26BDisclosure about dispute resolution schemes and financial mentoring services: hardship applications, arrears, credit declined, and complaints

Information about the creditor’s dispute resolution scheme must be disclosed as follows:
by a creditor in every notice required under section 57A(1)(a) (obligations of creditor in relation to hardship applications):
by the creditor to the debtor, when the creditor receives a written complaint in relation to any enforcement action under Part 3A:
by the creditor to the debtor, when the creditor receives any other type of complaint described in the regulations.

Information about financial mentoring services must be disclosed as follows:
by a creditor, to a debtor who has made a default in payment or has caused the credit limit under the contract to be exceeded:
by a creditor in every notice required under section 57A(1)(a) (obligations of creditor in relation to hardship applications):
by a creditor who declines an application for a high-cost consumer credit contract, to the applicant.

The disclosure must be made—
in a prominent manner; and
in accordance with regulations made under section 138(1)(dba).

Subpart 4 does not apply to disclosure required under this section.

Notes

Section 26B: inserted, on 1 December 2021, by section 20 of the Credit Contracts Legislation Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 81).