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worried123

apologies, i am not sure where to put this thread or what to call it and not sure whether anybody can give their input. however...

this sounds like a very strange question, however i would like to know whether this is legal or acceptable under the data protection act etc....and i have no idea who to approach.


is it acceptable/legal (obviously unethical) to call at peoples homes (uninvited etc) and input data stating whether their home is occupied...it would also record the time etc....short and sweet.

thank you.

davidmcn

worried123 wrote: »

is it acceptable/legal (obviously unethical) to call at peoples homes (uninvited etc) and input data stating whether their home is occupied...it would also record the time etc....short and sweet.

Nothing intrinsically unlawful about it.

The question is really who is doing it and what are they doing with the data?

SpiderLegs

I’m struggling to understand what on earth this means.

goodwithsaving

You're right, it's a strange question and it freaks me out that somebody out there would think of 'watching' me and my movements, and whether I am in my home.


Is this to do with afore-posted about neighbour issues?

worried123

no....its connected with my job...part of my job..i dont do this particular aspect of my job (input data on occupancy) as it doesnt seem ethical but i am expected to do it.

Adereterial

It would entirely depend on the purpose of such visits and the gathering of that data. Unless you’re prepared to explain what that purpose is, no one is going to be able to answer you. It may be entirely legal and ethical (such as gathering evidence of a criminal act), or not.

AdrianC

So your employer has people going round and logging whether residents are at home at specific times or not - and you want to know if that's legal?


Think about couriers or the postie. They try to deliver something needing a sig, there's nobody in, they log that. Perfectly legal.

I presume, though, that this is something more than that. Some kind of door-to-door sales or survey or the like? If you don't like your employer's business, then resign.

Comms69

worried123 wrote: »

apologies, i am not sure where to put this thread or what to call it and not sure whether anybody can give their input. however...

this sounds like a very strange question, however i would like to know whether this is legal or acceptable under the data protection act etc....and i have no idea who to approach.


is it acceptable/legal (obviously unethical) to call at peoples homes (uninvited etc) and input data stating whether their home is occupied...it would also record the time etc....short and sweet.

thank you.

Well the act of storing such data is not illegal, obviously.


- not sure it's unethical.


But there is the possibility there's a conspiracy to commit burglary involved here

davidmcn

AdrianC wrote: »

I presume, though, that this is something more than that. Some kind of door-to-door sales or survey or the like?

Yes, if someone is cold-calling then it might be useful to know that they've already e.g. unsuccessfully visited at 2pm on a Tuesday, so they should probably try at another time/day. I don't see anything unlawful or even unethical about them doing that.

theartfullodger

Such data of unoccupied properties would be useful to fraudsters and crooks. Cunning business idea

Ask your employer (? zero hours contract ?) for their legal authority to carry out such surveys.

SmashedAvacado

an address is potentially capable of being "personal data" for the purposes of GDPR and this use gives you information about individuals - their movements. Its not as simple as getting an amateur view> whilst it may not be unlawful to have the data, the GDPR contain various rules and regulations about how that data must be kept and processed. And failure to do this can attract a big fine.