Bank sends ALL my details to a.n.other....

mootran

My bank has sent all my financial nad personal details to someone else - thankfully they called me to let me know. The bank has offered compensation, BUT they've put the ball bank in my court to say how much. I don't want to look stupid - what sort of sum do you think i should be asking for?

amfiroda

this happened to a friend of mine with the Royal Bank of Scotland. they offered her £150 which she declined. She eventually settled at £500. The fine they can recieve from breaching the data protection act is huge so was a small price for them to pay.

Twinny99

amfiroda wrote:

She eventually settled at £500. The fine they can recieve from breaching the data protection act is huge so was a small price for them to pay.

I also know someone that this happened to and they were given £500.

Essenchill

So start higher than £500? Say triple that?!

Can you find out from anywhere what the fine they can recieve from 'breaching the data protection act' is (or roughly about!) and work from that? If you know that figure you could quote it in your claim?

amfiroda

The person that the bank had sent all her details to was actually her husband!!! Caused a huge domestic as he had no clue she had a loan or was in debt!! The bank initially thought because it was her hubby she would just accept an apology. She had to point out that they had nearly caused them to seperate!:mad:

going2die_rich

amfiroda wrote:

The person that the bank had sent all her details to was actually her husband!!! Caused a huge domestic as he had no clue she had a loan or was in debt!! The bank initially thought because it was her hubby she would just accept an apology. She had to point out that they had nearly caused them to seperate!:mad:

Before telling them any amount say that you are seeking legal advice since it wasn't just a case of doing something stupid, but in fact they had broken the law (Data Protection Act). Any mention of legal advice should have the compensation amount rolling up since bad publicity from any legal action wouldn't be worth the hassle of just handing out a few extra hundred pound. I'd also enforce the fact that it isn't the fact who it went to, but the fact it went to anyone but the right owner in the first place. Play on the, what would have happened had it not gone to the hubby and some other conman or fraudsters and ask them how often this happens. I'd even suggest being abusive as they will know doubt have to take it and more willing to throw money at you to calm down and make things right.

Banks wont want such incidents coming out as it prokes fear in its customers who normally panic and even move their funds or flood the helplines of the bank.

Wish they'd send out my details so that I could get some easy money!

Sisyphus

amfiroda wrote:

this happened to a friend of mine with the Royal Bank of Scotland. they offered her £150 which she declined. She eventually settled at £500. The fine they can recieve from breaching the data protection act is huge so was a small price for them to pay.

what sort of fine can they receive?

going2die_rich

Forgot to say, I'd ask for £2000. They can only say no after all, but I wouldn't be surprised if you could get more, not sure how much more as you'd need to know of past payouts and the amounts you could get through a court. It is a bit risky since it just went to the other half and not some stranger so might not be deemed as huge error, but an error all the same.

But I wouldn't personally go to court over it with it being your other half, might have considered it if it was someone else. Ask for £2k and see what they say, just scream plenty at them before demanding it. Make the threat of court, you don't have to follow through.

James

This may help:

If you've a complaint about any aspect of data protection - maybe you believe your personal information has been handled incorrectly - please read the section on the relevant legislation. This will tell you what we can investigate, what you should tell us and the possible outcomes you can expect.

Click Here

Visit this site to worth a read and worth telling them about the breach.

Click Here

Debt_Free_Chick

I don't think the Information Commissioner can automatically issue a fine - he would need to instigate criminal proceedings and any fine would be decided in a Magistrates' Court. The IC is more concerned about checking that the Bank has the right processes in place and that this is an isolated mistake. Mistakes are not punished - only failure to have the right systems & processes in place. In short, the Bank's whole system would need to be pretty shoddy for them to get a fine.

To be honest, given that the information when to someone with the same name at the same address, it does look more like a mistake than a deliberate flouting of the DPA. I don't think the DPA will even investigate. Even on their website they say you should try to solve the problem directly with the Bank first and only go to the Information Commissioner if the Bank is not co-operating.

As for compensation, it's usually for actual loss - but the bank seems to be making an offer to compensate for the "distress and inconvenience" their mistake caused. This is much more difficult to assess and will probably depend on the extent to which the distress is played up. There are no guidelines for the amounts to expect - even if you went to Court for compensation, the amount paid is entirely at the discretion of the Court.

Based on what others have received, ask for what you like - but expect them to lower back towards the £500 mark. If you get more, that would be a good result

mootran

Thanks! While all this posting was going on, i spoke to a lovely man at the Banking Code Conducts. He said to expect an offer of between £50-£150. But to start high at around £1000. He also said to speak to the Information Commisioner, who would more than likely send me on my way as there is no loss involved. In my case, the information was sent to someone who i didn't know - not my other half! However, I will be calling the Abbey back tomorrow and suggesting £1500, and seeing where it gets me.
Thanks to everyone's advice!