Mobile Phone firm sold customers info to rivals

nsabournemouth

BBC report that the OFT are looking at a network who sold customer details to other firms hence all those calls when your contract is up. They won't say who just yet but i think we have the right to know and if you are effected you should be able to get some form of compensation i say.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8364421.stm

OneADay

After the horse has bolted .... ofcom / oft cometh forth....
Then again its hardly a surprise - lots of dubious companies with dubious systems for managing data in the electronic age....

OneADay

The culprit list narrows - just on sky news - o2, vodafone and orange have denied they are the company.

Mobiles.co.uk_company_representative

I still get 5-10 offers of data a month (generally name/number/expiry date - the more valuable stuff has been refined with eg upgrade bands or current model), down from a high a few years ago admittedly but it's hardly a "dirty little secret" that data walks right out the doors of the networks and into the hands of middlemen/independents.

When an upgrade can land you commission of up to around £400 (for flogging a low-end Nokia to someone on a high tariff with no free add-on/gift) of course people are going to pay good money for the relevant data, and when you have 10,000 employees in your call/admin centres?

Good news, let's hope this does at least something to protect personal data. I suspect those arrested (and ultimately convicted) will only be the guys stealing or buying the data though, not the people who make real money out of it (and hence will be doing the same thing 6 months from now).

chrisj2006

I have absolutely no doubts that this is 3. I used to get phonecalls nearly every week from other mobile phone companies who tried to get me to sign up with them. They always started off with information that only 3 had and stated that they were an "agent" of 3. Eventually these phone calls petered off but am expected more seeing as my contract is up at the end of December.

OneADay

Even if someone is convicted - there seems to be no legal jail sentence involved, just a fine.

And this case might highlight data issues but it won't really do much to stop the practice. There is only finite amount of personal data and once its lost - its out there, a done deal that it will spread. :eek:

Just trying to put people's minds at ease, I am eherm!

OneADay

Damn it - its not 3 either (they have denied it).

And t-mobile only ones left who have not said anything and I am with them
damn it :mad:

stephel

It is T-MOBILE.....Its now showing on the BBC news website.

nsabournemouth

With the Iphone war in full swing and Vodafone getting in on the action this may be a big blow for Orange what with the merger coming on its way. There will be a big issue with trust now and Orange and their customer services aren't held very high.

Some are holding out for Vodafone to get it and this may just play in their hands.

SailorSam

I watched this on the 6 o'clock news. i don't understand why are they talking about fining T mobile, it's not the company that are selling details on, but rogue staff. If customers were to move T mobile would be losing out so it doesn't seem fair that they should be fined as well.
Doesn't it make more sense to fine whichever company buys the stolen records ?

maxtweenie

SailorSam wrote: »

I watched this on the 6 o'clock news. i don't understand why are they talking about fining T mobile, it's not the company that are selling details on, but rogue staff. If customers were to move T mobile would be losing out so it doesn't seem fair that they should be fined as well.
Doesn't it make more sense to fine whichever company buys the stolen records ?

Rogue staff or not, the company are ultimately responsible under the Data Protection Act. Quite simply, T Mobile should have had adequate security in place to prevent access to unauthorised staff, and also to track staff who do have authorised access. If they lose customers over this, it's their own fault.