A wrong credit rating has led to a ruling issued by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today against CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd (CTOS) to pay a businesswoman RM200,000 in damages.
In passing judgment, Justice Akhtar Tahir said the credit rating agency was purely a repository of credit information and has no powers under the Credit Reporting Agencies Act 2010 (CRAA) to formulate its own credit score.
“CTOS’s main role is to collect, record, hold and store the information received. The company is also empowered to disseminate the information to its subscribers, and this includes financial institutions. However, by formulating a credit score, CTOS has gone beyond its statutory functions,” he said.
He ordered CTOS to pay RM200,000 in general damages to Suriati Yusof, 43, who owns a resort in Pulau Perhentian, for providing inaccurate credit rating, which resulted in her subsequent rejection for a car loan. She was also awarded RM50,000 in costs.
Suriati sued CTOS for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty in misrepresenting her credit rating, which she claimed led to personal and business losses, as well as damaged her reputation.
Akhtar said the CRAA existed so that credit agencies could provide accurate information to financial agencies and it was CTOS’s duty to do so, but it chose to ignore communication that it was not providing accurate information on the plaintiff.
“By choosing to be indifferent even after being alerted by the plaintiff, the defendant has clearly breached the duty of care owed towards the plaintiff,” he added.
