Bailey v Veda Advantage Information Services and Solutions Limited

The case of Bailey v Veda Advantage Information Services and Solutions Limited involved a dispute between the plaintiff and the defendant credit reporting agency, Veda. The plaintiff sought to challenge Veda's publication of credit information about him, arguing it was misleading or deceptive under section 52 of the Trade Practices Act. Veda moved to have the claim struck out, arguing that the information was exempt from the prohibitions in section 52 by virtue of section 65A of the Trade Practices Act, which provides exemptions for prescribed information providers.

The court had to determine whether Veda's publications of credit information were exempt from the prohibitions of section 52 of the Trade Practices Act under section 65A. The court found that the plaintiffs would be precluded from proving their claim as currently pleaded, as the exemption in section 65A applied to the information Veda published. The court noted that the exemption applied to credit reporting agencies like Veda, which were considered prescribed information providers. The court also found that the plaintiffs needed leave to amend their pleadings to prove a different case, as the exemption in section 65A meant the current pleading would not succeed.

In light of the above, the court proposed to strike out the plaintiffs' amended statement of claim with liberty to amend. The court also proposed to strike out the plaintiffs' claim under section 52 of the Trade Practices Act, as the information in question was exempt under section 65A. The court proposed to grant Veda's costs of the motions. The court urged the parties to seek to agree on the orders to be made.

The court made orders that the proceeding be listed on 7 November 2007 at 9.30 am for the making of orders, including orders as to costs.