Committee: the Committee for Consideration and Settlement of Credit Information Violations and Disputes.

General Secretariat: the General Secretariat of the Committee for Consideration and Settlement of Credit Information Violations and Disputes.

Consumer: any natural or legal person engaging in credit transactions.

Member: any government or private entity that is a party to a credit information exchange contract with at least one credit bureau.

Company: a credit bureau licensed to collect and maintain credit information on consumers and provide the same to members upon request.

1. A claim shall not be accepted from a consumer unless such consumer attaches, together with their statement of claim, their company’s rejection of their objection, provided that such objection is on the same subject of the claim filed with the Committee.
2. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) shall sue violators before the Committee.

A claim may be filed, documents attached, replies made to litigants, and all necessary claim proceedings carried out via electronic means provided by the General Secretariat, as per the published terms and conditions, provided that anything submitted via such means shall have the same effect and credibility as that of paper documents.

The tasks handled by the General Secretariat include the following:

1. Registering claims, pleadings and documents and setting dates of hearings; and
2. Sending notices, pleadings and correspondence to the disputed parties and relevant entities.

The General Secretariat informs the defendant about the claim, and the defendant shall present their responsive pleading, along with the supporting documents, within the period specified in the notice. Notices and pleadings shall be directed to the disputed parties through, and within the time specified by, the General Secretariat.

1. Claims, material, documents, hearing dates, decisions, etc. may be communicated by all available means.
2. Disputed parties may use all methods before the Committee to prove their position, provided that these methods should conform with the nature of claims submitted to the Committee.

If the Committee decides to require any documents, information or pleadings from any person, whether such person is a party to the claim or not, or if it decides to seek the assistance of experts, whether from insider or outside the General Secretariat, it shall record this in the minutes of the hearing. The General Secretariat shall take the actions necessary to implement such decision.

A Committee secretary shall write the hearing minutes, which contain the date, opening and closing times, and place of each session, names of the Committee chairperson and members, and the disputed parties or their representative(s). The minutes also contain all procedures, facts, statements of the disputed parties and their allegations and defenses presented at the hearing session as well as the decisions taken by the Committee. They shall be signed by the chairperson, members and secretary of the Committee and the disputed parties or their representative(s). If one party or representative(s) refrains from signing, this shall be recorded in the minutes.

The Committee issues its decisions unanimously or by a majority vote of its members. In case that the number of its members exceeds three and the votes are equal, the opinion for which the chairperson votes shall prevail.

Anyone may file a grievance against the Committee’s decisions with the Board of Grievances within sixty days from the date of notification of the decision.

As regards any subject that is not covered in the Credit Information Law, its Implementing Regulations or this Regulation, the Committee may refer to the general provisions set out in the Law of Procedure Before Sharia Courts and its Implementing Regulations, the Criminal Procedure Code and its Implementing Regulations, and any other relevant regulations, in accordance with the nature of the cases presented before the Committee.

This Regulation enters into force 10 days after its publication on SAMA’s website, provided that it shall be reviewed and amended as the public interest requires.