RIYADH: The Consumer Protection Society (CPA) has announced that it would defend parents if private schools access their credit records without permission.

In a statement released recently, the CPA’s spokesman Abdulrahman Al-Qahtani said that while it has signed an agreement with private schools that parents with debt of over 30 percent cannot register their children, this does not mean that schools are allowed unfettered access to credit records.

An agreement to bar children of parents with high levels of debt has been signed between the Saudi Credit Bureau (SIMAH) and several private school, Al-Qahtani said.

Al-Qahtani said that schools must get permission from parents every single time they want to get access to their records held by SIMAH. Violations would be reported to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). He said the CPA has been empowered by the Council of Ministers to protect the rights of consumers in the country. It takes up consumer issues at government and private bodies.

SIMAH is the country’s sole licensed national credit bureau offering consumer and commercial credit information services to clients in Saudi Arabia. It began operating in 2004 under SAMA.