Things you should know as a consumer
Your rights as a debtor on the PPSR
When you buy goods on hire purchase, lease or hire property, or use property as security for a loan, the secured party (seller or lender) will often register details of their security interest (financial interest) on the Personal Property Securities Register.
Those details include:
- your name
- your date of birth
- your address
- a description of the personal property.
This registration is referred to as a financing statement.
As the ‘debtor’, you should receive a copy of the information registered on the PPSR, which is referred to as a verification statement.
When the financing statement is registered or updated, the secured party is obliged to send you the verification statement, unless you have agreed in writing with the secured party that you will not receive this.
The verification statement includes a debtor PIN generated by the PPSR when a financing statement is registered. You’ll need this PIN if you ever request a correction of details entered by the secured party (see ‘Correcting inaccurate details’ below).
You can also ask for the debtor PIN from the secured party, or from us.
Terms and conditions
Always read the terms and conditions of any security agreement before signing it. A secured party may include clauses in their agreements relating to the PPSR, including a waiver of your right to receive a verification statement, and a requirement for you to keep the secured party informed of any change of your name or address or details relating to the property, for example, a change in the registration number of a motor vehicle.
Correcting inaccurate details
If you discover that details about the security interest recorded on the PPSR by the secured party are wrong, you have the right to ask for them to be corrected. If the secured party does not make the correction as requested then you can formally demand the change of these details. This is referred to as a change demand.
Disposing of property that is subject to a security interest
If you owe money on personal property you must not sell or dispose of the property without getting permission from the person or company to whom you owe the money.
If the secured party has registered their security interest on the PPSR, they may repossess the property, or seek repayment of the amount still owing from you.
Once you’ve repaid your debt
Once you have repaid your hire purchase or loan etc, the secured party must discharge the registered financing statement. In the case of consumer goods, this must be done within 15 working days.