Non-motoring DPA query

[puggit]

A high street bank, who offer another way, have been chasing me up to pay money which I don't owe them (due to a cock up by them and their suppliers).

I've never given them my home number since I've moved here, they've always had my mobile number.

I rang them once recently and of course had to answer DPA questions. They asked for my home number and I gave it without thinking. The girl actually asked me to repeat it as I rattled it off quickly, as you do.

Is this legal? What recourse of action do I have?

[mybrainhurts]

Seek and destroy...

But check if it's legal first....

What's DPA..?

[puggit]

Data Protection Act!

[julianhj]

Can't see why it would be illegal - it's reasonable for them to ask for your contact details. The DPA is there to ensure your personal details are not abused. As for stopping them ringing you with marketing calls etc. you can ask them not to. Signing up for the telephone and mailing preference service might be a good idea too.

Of course, if you wanted them to simply remove your current home number from their systems, phone to tell them of a change. The fact is you could give them say, the local HM Revenue & Customs or McDonalds phone number, and the chap/lady in the call centre will overwrite your 'old' number.



>> Edited by julianhj on Saturday 28th January 15:25

[puggit]

My beef is that they took my phone number under false pretences - not whether it's right for them to hold it...

[kevinday]

I am not sure what you mean by them asking you DPA questions. Do you mean them simply asking personal questions? If so you could simply decline to answer, or ask why they need them. The DPA says they are only allowed to ask for such personal info as is required for the job they are doing/service they are providing. I do not think they have obtained information under false pretences, if they have simply ring them up and request the removal of the data from their records.

[julianhj]

puggit said:

My beef is that they took my phone number under false pretences - not whether it's right for them to hold it...

I'm a phone monkey for a financial services firm at the moment, and we have exactly the same procedure - 4 DPA questions followed by checking we have an up to date phone number. Definitely not illegal, as we're just checking our details are up to date. The girl you spoke to was merely ticking the boxes, so to speak, rather than trying to trick you - how would she or the bank know you didn't want them to have your home number?

Did you call 'em with your 'new' number?

>> Edited by julianhj on Saturday 28th January 17:43

[streaky]

puggit said:

My beef is that they took my phone number under false pretences - not whether it's right for them to hold it...

I presume you think that the bank has contravened either the Third Data Protection Principle: "Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed, or the Second: Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes, and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes. If the former, then the bank would argue that it was "adequate, relevant and not excessive" to obtain your telephone number for the purposes of contacting you and (BTW) to comply with the Fourth Data Protection Principle: Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. If the latter, then the bank will argue that the purpose is to contact you and that they do not (and you have no evidence to the contrary) use the data for any other purpose.

If, on the other hand, you are suggesting that the bank has contravened the First Data Protection Principle: Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully ..., more specifically, that they have failed to comply with the interpretation: In determining for the purposes of the first principle whether personal data are processed fairly, regard is to be had to the method by which they are obtained, including in particular whether any person from whom they are obtained is deceived or misled as to the purpose or purposes for which they are to be processed, and that you were deceived or misled as to the purpose or purposes for which they were to be processed, I fear you are still on a very sticky wicket. The "fair obtaining" (as it is known) Principle applies if the data have been used for any purpose other than that for which they were obtained - and you presumably have no evidence that this is the case. I suggest that a Tribunal would likely find that asking for your telephone number (as a customer of the bank) "so as to be better able to contact you" is reasonable and that no deceit or misleading was involved.

The bank might also cite the Anti Money Laundering Regulations 2003 (and the "Know Your Customer" principles) with which they and you are obliged to comply ... although the application of these are sometimes overstated.

You have the right to have erroneous data corrected (but not to have correct deleted - unless a Principle was contravened, and this would take court action). You have the right (ut a fee may be payable) to see those data the bank holds about you (Data Subject Access Request). You have the right to prevent processing of your data for the purposes of direct marketing.

You can check the bank's Register entry at: www.esd.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/esd/search.asp ... but the vast majority are sufficiently widely drawn that contravention would take a good deal of "creativity".

Of course, you could just write to the bank and ask for the data to be deleted. They might oblige.

Streaky