Data protection breach and poor service

davidmcn

born_again wrote: »

The Postal Services Act 2000 clearly states that it is certainly illegal to open someone's post, or delay it reaching the owner.

The Act says: "A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person's detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him."

Neither point is relevant in this case though, as the letter wasn't (as far as we know) delayed while it was in the postal system, and it's been correctly delivered (i.e. to the address stated on the envelope). The current occupier isn't committing any offence merely by opening it.

Manxman_in_exile

And I think the question of mail redirection is an irrelevant red herring.


The solicitors are clearly under a professional duty to ensure that (presumably) confidential documents are sent to their client at the address he has notified them of; not some previous address.


If the OP is dissatisfied* with the response from their lawyers I'd contact them again saying I'm still unhappy and can they confirm that the correct route to escalate their complaint is to go to the SRA?


I don't see why they shouldn't complain to the ICO. The solicitors were simply wrong in sending the documents to the wrong address - which there is no excuse for doing. The OP's decision not to take up mail redirection has nothing to do with the solicitors' failure to do the most basic thing: sending correspondence to the correct address.


Also I would certainly not use this firm again.


*Of course I have no idea what would satisfy the OP - I would probably settle for a grovelling and unconditional apology.

System

Please Mr ICO I didn't put mail redirection in place so my tenant had to open a letter to find out whether it was important or not and then handed to my letting agent to forward to me.

Why do you need to be so childish? I just offered a suggestion for the OP.

[Deleted User]

vsman1 wrote: »

Why do you need to be so childish? I just offered a suggestion for the OP.

Try offering better suggestions maybe?

System

Try offering better suggestions maybe?

The topic relates to data protection so I suggested contacting the Information Commissioner's Office for further advice, what's wrong with that advice?

What better advice would you suggest?

LilElvis

vsman1 wrote: »

The topic relates to data protection so I suggested contacting the Information Commissioner's Office for further advice, what's wrong with that advice?

What better advice would you suggest?

Whilst data protection is in the title the OPs primary problem appears to be their solicitor's handling of their case - for which (as already advised) the SRA would be the body to handle complaints, after having followed the firm's complaint handling procedure. They are free to complain to the ICO regarding the mis-addressed correspondence, but this appears to be a minor issue.

System

Whilst data protection is in the title the OPs primary problem appears to be their solicitor's handling of their case - for which (as already advised) the SRA would be the body to handle complaints, after having followed the firm's complaint handling procedure. They are free to complain to the ICO regarding the mis-addressed correspondence, but this appears to be a minor issue.

Great advice. I did have my own issue with a company not using my data correctly (pre-GDPR) but never followed it up. It was more of an annoyance than anything (I had used an accountant and then stopped using them....but they kept sending me out a "it's time for your tax return" message, and told them I didn't need them. They eventually got the message.)

LilElvis

vsman1 wrote: »

A reminder of the forum etiquette rules:

Please be nice to all MoneySavers:
There's no such thing as a stupid question and, even if you disagree, courtesy helps.

Please be sensitive:
This may be a web forum, but you're still talking to other human beings. Repeatedly or harshly saying someone's wrong, especially on boards like DebtFreeWannabe, Bankruptcy or Benefits, can lead to upset.

We're proud that many people whose financial problems exacerbate mental health issues seek help in the forum, but this means you may be berating someone who's clinically depressed. Please think twice before posting judgmental comments.

Sorry, but your post is more than a tad hypocritical for someone who has had an entire thread and several posts deleted by the moderators for breaching forum rules. If you feel that a post breaches the rules then report it to the moderators to adjudicate. If you simply dislike the tone a member takes then add them to your "ignore" list so that you don't have to view their posts.