deposit scheme data protection breach?

asmo75

hi, this is an odd one but i was after advice, obviously, on a strange matter of data protection.

we lived in a property a few years back and then left and had our deposit returned via the DPS as is the norm. 4 years later(yesterday), the estate agent we were with back then accidentally registered a brand new deposit for £825 at that old address in my name with my contact details.
There are a few things here that dont add up, we are no longer associated with them, nobody is renting the property as it was sold but mainly how they would even be able to do that by accident! The DPS say that if i wanted to pursue it then technically it is my deposit but thats not what we're looking for.

My thoughts are more to the fact that accident or not, my name, address, email and phone number have been used to register a deposit on a property 4 years after i ceased any contact with that estate agent. have they broken any data protection laws here or others that i dont know about? When i sopke to someone in charge at the estate agents he was very very flustered like he understood the severity of the "clerical error" but hoped that i didn't.

please advise if you can help.

cheers

Miss_Samantha

Mistakes happen. At a letting agent's office mistakes happen more often.

They haven't breached data protection, and obviously you haven't go any claim to that 'deposit'.

asmo75

thanks, obviously i know we have no claim to the deposit that doesnt exist and would never pursue that but can they really hold my details indefinitely and use them like this? it was just a worry is all.

Miss_Samantha

No, they cannot keep your details "indefinitely".

But since the legal time limit for many things is 6 years it makes sense to keep details of previous tenants for 6 years after they left. So there is nothing exceptional with them still having your details after 4 years.

lewishardwick

<<Beaten to it>>

nkkingston

The broad advice is to keep any documents relating to financial matters for at least seven years, so the agents should still have those details since they're relevant to their own accounting for any fees you paid them at the time etc. What's probably happened is they have someone else on their books with the same or a very similar name as yours, and they've pulled up the wrong details when they've gone to submit the deposit.

The data protection act stipultes that your information is:
used fairly and lawfully
used for limited, specifically stated purposes
used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive
accurate
kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary
handled according to people’s data protection rights
kept safe and secure
not transferred outside the European Economic Area without adequate protection.

They can argue that they should still have it, because it relates to their internal accounting, but they haven't kept it safe because they've accidentally reused it. The first thing to do is let them know they've done it, and you're unhappy about it. If you're unhappy with their response, you can escalate it, but I wouldn't expect much redress. They're storing it for the right reasons, and within a reasonable timeframe, and it's human error that's caused the problem, so the response will probably be "train your staff to double check information".

Guest101

asmo75 wrote: »

hi, this is an odd one but i was after advice, obviously, on a strange matter of data protection.

we lived in a property a few years back and then left and had our deposit returned via the DPS as is the norm. 4 years later(yesterday), the estate agent we were with back then accidentally registered a brand new deposit for £825 at that old address in my name with my contact details.
There are a few things here that dont add up, we are no longer associated with them, nobody is renting the property as it was sold - and? perhaps the new owner is renting it out? but mainly how they would even be able to do that by accident! The DPS say that if i wanted to pursue it then technically it is my deposit - it's not. but thats not what we're looking for.

My thoughts are more to the fact that accident or not, my name, address, email and phone number have been used to register a deposit on a property 4 years after i ceased any contact with that estate agent. - quantify your loss. Otherwise there's no pay out here. Of course feel free to report to the ICO have they broken any data protection laws here or others that i dont know about? When i sopke to someone in charge at the estate agents he was very very flustered like he understood the severity of the "clerical error" but hoped that i didn't.

please advise if you can help.

cheers

There's nothing here beyond a wrap on the knuckles (or a fine if this is a 2nd/3rd/4th offence) by the ICO

agrinnall

Guest101 wrote: »

There's nothing here beyond a wrap on the knuckles (or a fine if this is a 2nd/3rd/4th offence) by the ICO

Is that similar to a pita bread on the knuckles?

RAP - a quick, sharp knock or blow.

:rotfl:

Guest101

agrinnall wrote: »

Is that similar to a pita bread on the knuckles?

RAP - a quick, sharp knock or blow.

:rotfl:

It being the ICO it could well be, but fair point!

Mossfarr

I had a similar issue a few months ago. Completely out of the blue I received a text message from a letting agent confirming my appointment to view a rental property. I had not made any appointments and had not had any contact with the letting agent. I contacted them immediately and they were quite offhand about it, saying "oh ok we must have got the wrong name". I was frantic assuming that somebody was using my identity.
I went to the house at the appointed time and there were three couples waiting to view the property, the agent didn't turn up.
I phoned them again when I got home and insisted on speaking to the manager to try and find out what was going on. It turned out that it was simple mistake - one of the staff had clicked on my name on their database instead of a very similar name next to mine. Apparently I had registered with them EIGHT years ago when I was looking for a house to buy. They never weeded their database so my name was never removed!
I made sure they removed my name after that. - phew!!