Personal Information Storage

Maka29

I would appreciate views on this.
Say you contact a solicitor for an accident claim but it's a week before the 3 year cut off date but they still ask you to send personal information such as pictures of injuries. After taking your information, they then turn around saying it's too close to the cut off date so can't proceed. That's not right? Would you be annoyed that you were asked for personal information when they knew they'd not have time to get reports?
How long should they keep this information for? They originally said 3 years but when I gave a poor review, they upped it to 10 years. Toys being thrown out of a pram. 

eskbanker

Their data retention policies shouldn't be affected by reviews, but the Data Protection Act/GDPR gives you the right to request erasure of your personal data, albeit not entirely unfettered, although if they're proper solicitors then they'd know that already!

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/individual-rights/right-to-erasure/

DullGreyGuy

Maka29 said:

I would appreciate views on this.
Say you contact a solicitor for an accident claim but it's a week before the 3 year cut off date but they still ask you to send personal information such as pictures of injuries. After taking your information, they then turn around saying it's too close to the cut off date so can't proceed. That's not right? Would you be annoyed that you were asked for personal information when they knew they'd not have time to get reports?
How long should they keep this information for? They originally said 3 years but when I gave a poor review, they upped it to 10 years. Toys being thrown out of a pram. 

How did you contact them? What sort of solicitors are they, small local family firm? Large firm advertising themselves as injury specialists?

Often initial contact isnt with an actual solicitor but some form of paralegal who'll do all the grunt work of setting up the file, gathering the evidence etc before its then reviewed by someone more senior/qualified to make the decision. 

Irrespective of the law of limitation any late claim there are always going to be concerns of what evidence exists of losses or if it's been lost to time... see a doctor a couple of months after whiplash has cleared up and you may be ok even if there was no GP or hospital record of the injury, seeing a doctor 2 years after it cleared up and you are likely on thin ice. Photos there won't help as whiplash has no visual clues but if you are talking cuts, road rash etc they can support it. 

I suspect had you talked directly to one of the solicitors then they'd probably simply said you've left it too late but speaking to someone who's not empowered to make that call I dont think its unreasonable for them to have gathered information to enable an informed decision by the senior. 

I would expect them to retain the records for 7 years which is the standard duration for a case given the 6 years you have to bring litigation against them for mismanagement/ breach of contract etc unless you are a minor then it would be 7 years after your 18th birthday. 

Maka29

Thanks for replies. It's a very well known firm that specialises in injury claims. It was a tripping accident. I saw the GP within minutes as I'd just left the GP when collecting a prescription, when I fell. I was seen by A+E, neurology and another couple of specialists over the next year to 14 months. So reports from the time do exist, of which I have copies.

Regardless the paralegal said it was too late as I contacted them a week before the 3 year deadline.

I said that was ok but wasn't happy that they asked for pictures. They asked for them knowing it was a week before the cut off date.

I made a right to be forgotten request. They first said 3 years as to how long they keep it for and I kid you not, when I wrote a bad review, they changed it to 10 years.

DullGreyGuy

Maka29 said:

Thanks for replies. It's a very well known firm that specialises in injury claims. It was a tripping accident. I saw the GP within minutes as I'd just left the GP when collecting a prescription, when I fell. I was seen by A+E, neurology and another couple of specialists over the next year to 14 months. So reports from the time do exist, of which I have copies.

Regardless the paralegal said it was too late as I contacted them a week before the 3 year deadline.

I said that was ok but wasn't happy that they asked for pictures. They asked for them knowing it was a week before the cut off date.

I made a right to be forgotten request. They first said 3 years as to how long they keep it for and I kid you not, when I wrote a bad review, they changed it to 10 years.

Who is the law firm? Many have a published retention schedule like https://www.nelsonslaw.co.uk/client-records-retention-schedule/ - as you can see with this outfit they mirror my view of 7 years for personal injury cases. 

Maka29

It's Scotland. I don't think I can be considered a client as it didn't go further and so shouldn't hold my information. 

Did they give incorrect information? Should they have taken case on as it was within the 3 year time bar by a week?

I've just come across another firm that says the the 3 year clock starts after you recover, if the injury incapacitated you for a long period. I was off work for 14 months.

Ergates

Maka29 said:

Regardless the paralegal said it was too late as I contacted them a week before the 3 year deadline.

Do you know it was the paralegal you spoke to who made that decision?  Or did they, perhaps, send you the request for details and then speak to someone more senior who said no (by which point they'd already sent the request to you).

Maka29 said:

I made a right to be forgotten request. They first said 3 years as to how long they keep it for and I kid you not, when I wrote a bad review, they changed it to 10 years.

Whilst they have no reason to keep the pictures etc, they could argue they now have a legitimate business interest in keeping your name and address on file as someone they don't want to do business with.

DullGreyGuy

Maka29 said:

It's Scotland. I don't think I can be considered a client as it didn't go further and so shouldn't hold my information. 

Did they give incorrect information? Should they have taken case on as it was within the 3 year time bar by a week?

I've just come across another firm that says the the 3 year clock starts after you recover, if the injury incapacitated you for a long period. I was off work for 14 months.

I have very limited experience of Scotts law but to the best of my knowledge it was still 3 years from the date of knowing, there's nothing in section 17 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1973/52 that immediately jumps out to say you can argue its until you're recovered. 

Maka29

I'd already written to them before the 10 year thing saying I would never use their services again.

It was a paralegal type person who called for extra information. It was another paralegal who made the decision as being too close to the cut off date ,over the phone first, then in writing by letter attachment saying that there was little chance of success. Then later in writing by email saying it was too close to the time bar.

They want to keep all details such as maps of the street layout I sent. 

I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole. This was the first and last time and well they know it.

Ergates

Maka29 said:

It was a paralegal type person who called for extra information. It was another paralegal who made the decision as being too close to the cut off date ,over the phone first, then in writing by letter attachment saying that there was little chance of success. Then later in writing by email saying it was too close to the time bar.

So you have an explanation as to why "they" asked for information and then said it was too close to the deadline:  It was two different people involved.

Ectophile

I made a right to be forgotten request. They first said 3 years as to how long they keep it for and I kid you not, when I wrote a bad review, they changed it to 10 years

I can believe that.  Though 6 years sounds more appropriate.  When I looked at GDPR for a club recently, I concluded that 6 years was right.

Suppose you decided to sue them for negligence.  You have 6 years to bring that claim.  They would be foolish to delete your information after only 3 years.  They would have no evidence of what happened, in order to defend themselves.