Scottish Power - data protection

vortmp

Hi,
I have bought a house and inherited a Scottish Power prepayment meter. I wanted to change to a normal one. I phoned SP and got stuck at the "we need your date of birth to proceed for reasons of data protection." I've never given it to them, I don't want to give it to them as I'm being more careful about what information I give companies. He wouldn't do anything without it, I asked if there was something else we could use, "no, it is required for data protection." Surely a system should be able to cope with something other than a date of birth to proceed. I could have just made one up anyway.
It's not a good start.
tmp

naedanger

vortmp wrote: »

Hi,
I have bought a house and inherited a Scottish Power prepayment meter. I wanted to change to a normal one. I phoned SP and got stuck at the "we need your date of birth to proceed for reasons of data protection." I've never given it to them, I don't want to give it to them as I'm being more careful about what information I give companies. He wouldn't do anything without it, I asked if there was something else we could use, "no, it is required for data protection." Surely a system should be able to cope with something other than a date of birth to proceed. I could have just made one up anyway.
It's not a good start.
tmp

I suspect they need it to check your credit rating but they might be using it for some other purpose.

If you formally complain (in a letter or email) saying you believe they are asking for unnecessarily personal data in breach of the data protection act then they may state why they need this information.

Alternatively you could switch to another supplier.

Eric_Disley

It's a security check. Nothing to do with "data protection". Always annoys me when CS say this.

naedanger

Eric_Disley wrote: »

It's a security check. Nothing to do with "data protection". Always annoys me when CS say this.

Your data of birth is personal data and so is covered by the data protection act.

Hannah16

Hi

I was with scottish power a few years back at previous address and then i left and was rented to someone else. When that person left I was sent a letter to an address i had never registered, this letter contained all my information. I called scottish power twice begging them to stop sending letters as I was fleeing domestic violence and they said they would after i would pay an outstandind amount,which i did. Again they sent another letter and i emailed them and called them again telling them that I had died so they should stop sending letters but they still carry on. I sold property in feb 2016 and my tennat moved out a month before.

Please someone tell me what i can do.

Hannah

[Deleted User]

It works both ways OP...Scottish Power are allowing you to use their prepayment meter. Its not a cheap item in itself and take it from me these prepayment meters get damaged and bypassed allowing the theft of energy on a regular basis losing the suppliers millions .Therefore SP need some information from you as proof as to who you are, so you can be traced, and a date of birth is one of the first steps.
I find it very odd that you can t supply this to one of the countries largest supplier without making a fuss over it, in fact its downright suspicious.
You will probably find all the other suppliers acting in the same manner when it comes to exchanging prepay to credit meters in fact Eon sensibly go one stop further and will do credit checks on new customers even with credit meters.

GingerBob_3

My energy supplier doesn't have my date of birth at all. My internet provider has a false date of birth. This is all for reasons of data protection - MY data protection. The best way to protect YOUR data is to disclose it to as few a number of people as possible.