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The Bureau Krediet Registratie (BKR) appears to be erecting unnecessary barriers for people who want to see their own file. In doing so, the BKR is acting in violation of the Privacy Act. It does this by, among other things, making it quicker and easier for people who pay, than for people who want to make use of their legal rights without paying any money for it.

The NOS is reporting this today on the basis of various lawyers. The BKR collects data on loans, debts and arrears of Dutch citizens. Each new loan is checked with the BKR. A telephone that costs more than 250 euros and is paid monthly must also be registered with the BKR.

Debts in your file

Being able to see your own file and thus determine whether a debt is registered, for example, can sometimes be useful. For example, if you want to take out a new loan. But the BKR waits a maximum of 28 days before responding to a request for information. People who pay between 5 and 12.50 euros will get a response much quicker. Usually within a few minutes and sometimes within a few days.

However, this is not allowed. Legally, it may take up to one month to provide information. If it can be done more quickly, companies are obliged to do so. So the BKR is, too; after all, it can access the data within a few minutes. This means that it should actually respond much more quickly to an incoming request.

Contrary to GPDR

The Personal Data Authority informs the NOS that it is currently investigating the way in which the BKR operates. If the line of the NIS is followed, there are in any case indications that the BKR acts in violation of the European privacy rule GDPR. That makes it possible for it to be fined.

However, the BKR argues that it incurs costs to provide access, and that it compensates for this with the paid variant. But according to the lawyers with whom the NOS spoke, this is also in conflict with the GDPR. It is also striking, for example, that someone who wants free access has to make a special request by post. For a fee, people can log in and get to see information right away.

The BKR states that if it is found to be in breach of the law, the rules and procedures will be amended.

This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.