Old credit card statements

I'm trying to get machine-readable Visa credit card statements from First Direct.

They have six years of records of data about my spending which they can process into statements, print out, and post for a fee, but I really want the electronic data on which these statements would be based. (I can log in online and get the last 3 months, but not the full six years.)

The electronic data clearly exists *somewhere*. Do I have a right to have an electronic copy of what they record about me? The bank doesn't outright refuse to give me a copy, they just say things "it's not part of our service to give you that data" etc.

No one I've spoken to is clear about where the data is kept; it might be in a First Direct computer, or they fetch it on-demand from a Visa computer. I think it's another form of deflection on their part honestly: a way to avoid giving me the data by making it sound more complicated than it has to be!

Replies

  • You could request it as part of a SAR, but they only need to give it to in a format of their choosing - not yours.
  • I feel like coming at them as a customer, via their phone lines, isn't really working. What's the best way to escalate that this into a super-serious-subject-access-request (to which they can't say no) as opposed to a customer-request (to which they refuse to say yes!)?

    I guess write a letter to ... their data officer?

    It's hard to know the correct avenue for communication with these people, that will yield actual results. Talking on the phone is obviously getting me nowhere :(
  • Just send a letter, with your £10, asking for a SAR.
  • edited 8 October 2017 at 10:29AM
    Ben8282Ben8282 PPR
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    edited 8 October 2017 at 10:29AM
    Why should they do this for you?
    Yes you can request copies of old statements for which a per-statement charge is usually applied. But why should they provide you with more than that?
    I also have a feeling that provision of 6 years worth of statements, which is a service normally charged for, could not realistically be included in an SAR It is after all not information held about you as such and would probably be seen as a way to get out of paying the clearly stated charge for copy statements.
  • pogofishpogofish Forumite
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    I'm struggling to see any stoozing aspect to this...?
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