RBS.co.uk keeps your data active after account close.

collyuk_2

just had an email from rbs.co.uk stating a mastercard was on the way but i closed my account 10 years ago.
when on the phone to the fraud team they asked me for first 2 lestters of mothers maiden name and date of birth to verify who i was, the problem is they seem to have kept all my personal details active and did not delete my personal data when the account was closed or even within 2 years of the account being closed, 
i have contacted them to let them know that its not nice to keep personal details and may have to find a way to sue them for having my data active all this time.
does anyone have any other ideas on what i should do.

eskbanker

You could submit a subject access request to them to establish exactly what data they do retain about you and what their purpose is for keeping it, checking to see if it's consistent with their published privacy policy.

If there's a discrepancy between what they've done and what they were entitled to do, you could report them to the ICO but don't expect it to be a source of compensation if you haven't actually suffered any loss....

TadleyBaggie

collyuk_2 said:

may have to find a way to sue them for having my data active all this time.

Good luck with that, what financial loss can you show.

It's not unheard of for financial companies to keep data for a long time, Amex for example are known to keep a "blacklist" so anyone who screwed them over in the past will never get another account.

[Deleted User]

Do any RBS accounts show on your credit report?

I thought banks deleted your data after six or seven years. 

collyuk_2

no nothing, infact i cleaned my credit report up quite a lot since 2012 thanks to this site
if RBS got hacked and all details stolen how would the old customer who thinks the account is closed find out their data had been affected and would they still pay for credit protection .........

ratechaser

As long as there is a justifiable commercial reason, they can keep data as long as the justification holds. Some banks will never deal with you again if you've defaulted on them, we hear stories of this happening from 20+ years ago...

That said, I would question why they would retain PII like your mothers maiden name - there's no obvious commercial reason for that unless they could somehow claim it helps them uniquely identify you from other people with a similar name. Definitely worth questioning this.

But sue them? Puuuuurleeease... 

RG2015

Did you find out why they were sending you a Mastercard?

collyuk_2

nope, no accounts found made in my name, on my account so will cllass the emails and phone calls as proof that i told them about it and deal with it if a card appears on my credit report

2021BJ

collyuk_2 said:

if RBS got hacked and all details stolen how would the old customer who thinks the account is closed find out their data had been affected and would they still pay for credit protection .........

They'd tell them the same way they would with anyone else. Why would you being an ex-customer make any difference to this?

someone

10 years seems excessive and beyond many statutory requirements. Are you sure you don't have any products with RBS (or NatWest?)? Mabe an old savings account with a nil balance?

blue.peter

When I closed my account with First Direct about five years ago, I was explicitly told that they'd retain my personal information "in case I ever wanted to return to them". That justification would last pretty much indefinitely. I had, and have, no problem with it, even though I have no expectation of going back to FD. It sounds as if RBS might be doing the same. Sending a credit or debit card when you no longer hold an account with them does sound a bit odd, though. (Mind you, I remember a time when credit cards were fairly new in this country and the banks caught a bit of stick for issuing unsolicited ones to all and sundry. I think that this was in the early 1970s - it was certainly when I was still at school.)

Holding on to your mother's maiden name etc. would make sense as a means of identifying you if you ever contact them - exactly as they apparently did use it.