Energy Firm passed my data on

bandana22

born_again wrote: »

So to cut to the chase.

You received a phone call about a debt that WAS NOT in your name.

So where is the distress or loss in that?

I have just answered you in post #61

Have a look ....

Manxman_in_exile

born_again wrote: »

So to cut to the chase.

You received a phone call about a debt that WAS NOT in your name.

So where is the distress or loss in that?

You could put it another way: how much would you pay not to receive a 'phone call from a DCA when you know they must be wrong?


I think I'd pay up to £50 (including nothing).

waamo

born_again wrote: »

But as soon as the collection agency uttered can we speak to XXX which was not the customers name. Then it is clear it is a simple error.
Had they had the OP's name, address etc then that would be a good case. But a simple telephone number.
Given the way some people change their numbers. It could be a case of that number was that persons previous number and it had never been updated.

Why would the energy company check the details they held? As far as they are aware they are correct as given by the debtor.

Think of it like this. You move and get given the same telephone number as the previous occupant had. They fail to pay the utility bills and inform the co's of the updated details. Is that a breech of GDPR if the debt is passed to a collection agency and they then contact the you owner of the house?

Whilst being entirely true I don't see what relevance this has other than yes it's a breach of GDPR to pass on incorrect details. The op has a ruling from the ICO to confirm this.

If a GDPR breach occurs then you are entitled to compensation. It's a bit like if your plane is delayed you are entitled to compensation. You might not think it's right but it exists.

Faith177

waamo wrote: »

Whilst being entirely true I don't see what relevance this has other than yes it's a breach of GDPR to pass on incorrect details. The op has a ruling from the ICO to confirm this.

If a GDPR breach occurs then you are entitled to compensation. It's a bit like if your plane is delayed you are entitled to compensation. You might not think it's right but it exists.

They offered him £50 but that wasn’t good enough

waamo

Faith177 wrote: »

They offered him £50 but that wasn’t good enough

I'm aware of their offer and make no comment other than to say I've stated what I would settle for earlier in this thread. I've seen no argument that would convince me to alter that position.

Hermione_Granger

Edited to make it correct.

waamo wrote: »

If a GDPR breach occurs then you are entitled to compensation. It's a bit like if your plane is delayed you [STRIKE]are[/STRIKE] may be entitled to compensation. You might not think it's right but it exists.

bandana22

Faith177 wrote: »

They offered him £50 but that wasn’t good enough

The £50 was not good enough. Number one reason, they did not accept that their procedures were at fault

This now has been verified by the ICO.

So it is not just the £50 but their lack of acknowledgement they negligent.

I can now go to court with the ICO judgement to back up my case, should it get that far. True the judge might say £50.

However, the point is, for a period of time I was unaware of the extent of how far my data had been passed. I did not know what consequences might occur. I tried to get the information from the debt collection agency, but they were worse than useless. I could not rely on what they told me, as two different people would tell me two different things.

I had to trace back to the company that passed on my details. I then had to get them to find out exactly what had happened and what data was passed on etc.

This all took several weeks and a lot of emailing, calling etc. During that period I did not know exactly all the circumstances or what might transpire from all of it.

You can now look back and say it was just my phone details that were passed. All I had to deal with was 'a few nasty letters' as an earlier poster put it. However at the time you do not know exactly what the circumstances are. This was the fault of the company.

Now if that all transpires to be worth around £50 compensation, so be it. You might think different if you had gone through the same experience. Or you might value £50 more than I do.

JGB1955

I came across this post this morning.... it is REALLY still going? Someone needs to get a life. Go out for a meal with your significant other on the £50, then get on with living. Nobody's died. You haven't been robbed. Get over it.

Manxman_in_exile

Well if they won't improve their offer to something you find acceptable, you'll need to claim against them.


You may find useful step by step guidance on the earlier CAG link or here: https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/general-legal-issues/1434580-urgent-data-protection-act-1998-breach


That thread takes somebody who doesn't know what they're doing through a data protection breach claim, including what they can and can't claim for.


Unfortunately it's a very long and complicated thread, but it does contain info you may find useful. I'm afraid the OP/claimant suffers from Aspberger's and this seems to cloud their judgment. Because of this, other posters eventually lost patience and stopped contributing. There's a lot of questionable stuff posted by the OP, but the others try hard to keep him on track. (Some here may remember him as the guy who got chucked out of Sainsburys in Norwich for refusing to remove his motorcycle helmet when asked to do so by security. They also made other weird posts here and on Pepipoo).


I don't think you'll get any better answers here than you've had.

bandana22

JGB1955 wrote: »

I came across this post this morning.... it is REALLY still going? Someone needs to get a life. Go out for a meal with your significant other on the £50, then get on with living. Nobody's died. You haven't been robbed. Get over it.

As it happens we are indeed going out for a meal tonight.

As for getting on with living ..... I do that too .... indeed.

Part of that living a life is challenging the big boy companies. Li'l ole me against big ole them.

I've had £50 or £100 gestures from companies for much less than the topic of this case.

I'm a nobody to them .... I totally get that. However, I personally find a degree of satisfaction in taking a company to task and proving my point.

But as they say ..... horses for courses .....