Data Protection Act

Danger Phoenix

Danger Phoenix

Danger Phoenix

Soldato
Joined
21 Jul 2004
Posts
6,368
Location
Harrow, UK
Are companies allowed to share the data they have about you with you? I have read and been told many times that companies cannot give information to you from your records because of the DPA... surely if the information is about you, there shouldn't be a problem?
 
The DPA is a wall that people hide behind because they either have not read it, do not understand it or hope that you haven't either

It have a right to all recorded information that relates to you personally. The company may charge a small fee to cover the cost of obtaining and sending it to you.
 
How data protection affects me

1. What are my rights under data protection?

The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to see the personal information held about you by businesses and organisations in the public and private sectors. This is known as the right of 'subject access'.
 
I was just thinking about it because often when companies call you saying that they are from XXX company regarding my XXX account, I tend to ask them to confirm my details first to ensure they are who they say they are... and they don't seem to do that because of the DPA (or so they say) :confused:
 
Danger Phoenix said:
I was just thinking about it because often when companies call you saying that they are from XXX company regarding my XXX account, I tend to ask them to confirm my details first to ensure they are who they say they are... and they don't seem to do that because of the DPA (or so they say) :confused:
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Thats different, they will disclose data they hold about you upon written request (usually with a small fee) after you have proved your identity.

You can't ask them to divulge data about their client to the 1st person who answers the phone. That would break the DPA
 
rick827 said:
Thats different, they will disclose data they hold about you upon written request (usually with a small fee) after you have proved your identity.

You can't ask them to divulge data about their client to the 1st person who answers the phone. That would break the DPA
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What happens if they call up saying "Hi, my name is Bob and I am calling about your contract with O2... can you please confirm your full name, address and date of birth?"

Surely I have the right to some proof that they are from O2 by them first confirming my name and maybe the contract I am on or something?
 
On a similar note, one of my friends got a letter from some solicitors saying he had downloaded a game and now had to pay £XXX etc etc... now why had his ISP given out details of his name and address? Surely that would have breached the DPA?
 
Danger Phoenix said:
On a similar note, one of my friends got a letter from some solicitors saying he had downloaded a game and now had to pay £XXX etc etc... now why had his ISP given out details of his name and address? Surely that would have breached the DPA?
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That's a scam...
 
Danger Phoenix said:
On a similar note, one of my friends got a letter from some solicitors saying he had downloaded a game and now had to pay £XXX etc etc... now why had his ISP given out details of his name and address? Surely that would have breached the DPA?
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Sounds scammish, but the DPA allows for data to be given to law enforcement agencies with a valid request, so I'm assuming that the solicitors informed the police, who would've gotten the details (edit: if it was legit.)
 
Danger Phoenix said:
Surely I have the right to some proof that they are from O2 by them first confirming my name and maybe the contract I am on or something?
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Chicken and egg.

If they disclose to you and you are not the subject in question then they have breached the DPA. However, if you disclose to them you may be falling for a scam.

Best bet is to ask which dept they are calling from and then ring them back through the main published company number.

On a side note, T-mobile once refused to have any dealings with my wife because the person who took the details in the shop spelt her name incorrectly and ticked Mr instead of Mrs. Idiots.
 
[DOD]Asprilla;11835779 said:
Chicken and egg.

If they disclose to you and you are not the subject in question then they have breached the DPA. However, if you disclose to them you may be falling for a scam.

Best bet is to ask which dept they are calling from and then ring them back through the main published company number.
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With O2 if you mention the fact that you are not happy to just give out your details to someone that is cold calling you they will usually give you some information to confirm that they have your details. For example they may say "The numbers of your postcode add up to 15" and other such things.
 
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