legal advice re data protection

grazzzz

sorry in advance if long winded but have they broken the law .

my old financial advisor retired and sold his clients on to a company called compass !
i am currently due to ill health still live with my ex wife until our house is sold we dont get on at all !
today i get a phone call from the new financial advisor from compass to say he reviewd my pensions after the meeting he had the other week ! i asked what meeting ! it turns out his tele department rang my home ,my ex wife made an appointment to see him . he's turned up a few days later ,my ex told him i wasnt well so couldn't attend the meeting and he has divulged all my info and left her my pension statements, at no point has he asked for proof of my wifes identity (she could have been the cleaner ) and he had never ever spoken to me and the pensions are in my name only i never gave him instructions to talk to her or anyone about my financial affairs . i am livid will be seeking expert advice but surely he has broken the data protection act by giving away my info
advice please
Thanks

grazzzz

this i think is in the wrong section will repost

dunstonh

i am livid will be seeking expert advice but surely he has broken the data protection act by giving away my info

Who you livid with the most? Your wife for acting fraudulently or the adviser for believing her?

but have they broken the law .

No. A data protection breach with maybe a warning to take more care in future. Your ex-wife on the other hand may have done if she was making false representation for financial gain.

grazzzz

dunstonh wrote: »

Who you livid with the most? Your wife for acting fraudulently or the adviser for believing her?



No. A data protection breach with maybe a warning to take more care in future. Your ex-wife on the other hand may have done if she was making false representation for financial gain.

Am i entitled to any compensation ! what if i did not want my ex to know my financial situation as the divorce isnt final yet ? they have given her info without my permision sharing info with 3rd parties is breaking the data protection act !

dunstonh

Am i entitled to any compensation !

No.

what if i did not want my ex to know my financial situation as the divorce isnt final yet ?

You mean you are trying to defraud your wife?

they have given her info without my permision sharing info with 3rd parties is breaking the data protection act !

It's a breach but its a warning to be more careful in future breach as it hasnt cost you anything financially and as you are trying to act unlawfully by not disclosing assets to the other party then you dont really have any moral high ground

mikey72

Personally I'd talk to your solicitor first if I was you.

jamesd

As part of discussions of a divorce settlement each of you will have been required to make a complete and accurate disclosure of your assets. If the information disclosed reveals that you misled the court then you need legal advice on how to reduce the penalty.

If this causes your existing solicitor to believe that you have misled them about your financial situation then you may also find yourself needing a new solicitor.

grazzzz

dunstonh wrote: »

No.



You mean you are trying to defraud your wife?



It's a breach but its a warning to be more careful in future breach as it hasnt cost you anything financially and as you are trying to act unlawfully by not disclosing assets to the other party then you dont really have any moral high ground

Im not trying to defraud my wife as i have to do a complete financial disclosure ,however getting divorced is like playing poker and i wanted this info to be shared further down the line not given to her by a guy who had no right to do so ! how would you feel if your info had been given to a third party without your consent !
i am going to complain to the ombudsman !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dunstonh

i am going to complain to the ombudsman !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You cant complain direct to the ombudsman

jamesd

To complain the first step is to complain to the company. If the company doesn't come up with an acceptable resolution the next step is a complaint to the ombudsman. If you go to the ombudsman before the company the complaint will be passed on to the company to deal with.

grazzzz

So i have spoken to the ICO who advise me that a breach of my personal info was committed and to discuss this first with the company !
Rang them yesterday the managing director contacted me back ! he admitted it wasn't correct to give my details over to a third party however in his companies defense the info he had been given about our circumstances was that we had a "linked account as we had many years ago bought joint life insurance so his advisor presumed it was ok to talk to my ex about my personal pension and thinks his company has been decieved by her as she should have told them we are nearly divorced .
Do you think this is a normal practise would you talk about someones affairs you had never met to a third party !
As an example
i still have a joint account at barclays which both of us pay money into just to pay the household bills as currently due to my illness we unfortunetly still live in the same house until its sold however i have 2 other accounts with barclays which are solely mine just because we had a linked account doesnt mean she can access the other 2 accounts at the bank surely the same principle applies !
Remember i have never spoken to this company before i got the phonecall to say he had reviewed my pensions after the initial meeting with my ex without my permision and before that i had had no contact with my original financial advisor for 5 years (this company brought his cient list when he retired)
Yet this guy came to my house discussed my pensions with her and left her 2 up to date statements !
so what should i do next ?