Red/Lowell AGAIN

[alsagerman]

Re: Red/Lowell AGAIN

You may have seen my post on other threads. The ICO is the best place to query suspected DPA violations. They are now a watchdog that has been given teeth that bite and a bite that hurts. As of 6 April 2010, the ICO can impose a Financial Penalty Notice (FPN) of up to £500K on any data controller/user breaching the DPA.

ICO has already hit two firms with FPNs of £40K and £60K, respectively. Remember, however, that a complaint in isolation isn't enough for ICO to hit a transgressor with a fine. They wait until they have a number of complaints about a data controller/user before hitting them.

Bombarding ICO with complaints about PPCs and DVLA is one wait to frustrate the activities of PPCs and stop DVLA "selling" motorists' personal data to these parasites.

Thank you bluebottle. I hadn't seen your other posts but this is interesting information.

[bluebottle]

Re: Red/Lowell AGAIN

Thank you bluebottle. I hadn't seen your other posts but this is interesting information.

Some years ago, not long after I had retired from the police force, a firm I had never heard of started bombarding me with unsolicited mail. When I telephoned the firm, they admitted they weren't even registered, as required by the DPA.

That was my cue to notify ICO, or Data Protection Registrar, as it was then. Within a matter of days, I had a telephone call from one of their Investigation Officers, who happened to be ex-police like myself. He took a Statement of Complaint from me and that's the last I heard of it for two weeks. Then I received a call from the Investigation Officer to say they had executed a magistrates' warrant under the DPA and seized the firm's software and hardware, which was subsequently ordered, by the courts, to be forfeited and destroyed.

Believe me, the ICO has some AWESOME powers - and ICO isn't afraid to use them. They really do look after the little guy, even though it may not seem that way to start with.

Here are a few organisations who have p****d-off the ICO and been hit with FPNs -

22/11/10 - A4E: £60K; Hertfordshire County Council: £100K
8/2/11 - Ealing Council: £80K; Hounslow Council: £70K
10/5/11 - ACS Law: £1K
9/6/11 - Surrey County Council: £120K
28/11/11 - North Somerset Council: £60K; Worcestershire County Council: £80K
6/12/11 - Powys County Council: £130K
30/1/12 - Midlothian Council: £140K

[Brian]

Re: Red/Lowell AGAIN

annoying that ACS ONLY GOT HIT WITH A 1K FINE..)

xx

[bluebottle]

Re: Red/Lowell AGAIN

Outrageous, this firm is running roughshod over the OFT guidelines on debt collection!

When are the OFT going to clip their wings?

OFT subscribe to the policy "give them plenty of rope to hang themselves with". OFCOM have the same policy with telecom operators and ICO with DPA infringements. Once enough complaints are received to trigger enforcement action, it is taken.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Red/Lowell AGAIN

annoying that ACS ONLY GOT HIT WITH A 1K FINE..

That was because Andrew Crossley pleaded poverty - link:

"Were it not for the fact that ACS:Law has ceased trading so that Mr Crossley now has limited means, a monetary penalty of £200,000 would have been imposed, given the severity of the breach."

[Angry Cat]

Re: Red/Lowell AGAIN

OFT subscribe to the policy "give them plenty of rope to hang themselves with". OFCOM have the same policy with telecom operators and ICO with DPA infringements. Once enough complaints are received to trigger enforcement action, it is taken.

That is the key:
once enough complaints are received!

Consumers really must complain en masse about these firms, if they want something done.

In an ideal world, 30-50 complaints need to be sent off at the same time.

[bluebottle]

Re: Red/Lowell AGAIN

annoying that ACS ONLY GOT HIT WITH A 1K FINE..)

xx

It wasn't ACS the business that go hit with the fine. It was a PERSONAL fine on the person who ran ACS Law. The ICO has to take account of a person or business's ability to pay a fine before deciding how much to fine them.

[bluebottle]

Re: Red/Lowell AGAIN

That is the key:
once enough complaints are received!

Consumers really must complain en masse about these firms, if they want something done.

In an ideal world, 30-50 complaints need to be sent off at the same time.

Sometimes, it doesn't take that many complaints to trigger enforcement action. If the nature of complaints are serious enough to warrant immediate or prompt action, OFT can move remarkably swiftly, with the assistance of local Trading Standards Departments.

Since Consumer Direct came into existence, consumer protection enforcement is a lot more co-ordinated. A wrong 'un can be spotted quickly and action taken.

Remember, when you ring Consumer Direct, your complaint is emailed to your local Trading Standards Department within 1-2 hours, at the most, of you lodging your complaint and, also, to OFT HQ, in London, where they collate complaints and watch for patterns of complaints and consumer protection issues, noting WHERE they are and WHO is responsible for them. If the circumstances warrant it, OFT can get local TSOs (Trading Standards Officers) to deal with issues fairly quickly.

[Angry Cat]

Re: Red/Lowell AGAIN

Sometimes, it doesn't take that many complaints to trigger enforcement action. If the nature of complaints are serious enough to warrant immediate or prompt action, OFT can move remarkably swiftly, with the assistance of local Trading Standards Departments.

Since Consumer Direct came into existence, consumer protection enforcement is a lot more co-ordinated. A wrong 'un can be spotted quickly and action taken.

Remember, when you ring Consumer Direct, your complaint is emailed to your local Trading Standards Department within 1-2 hours, at the most, of you lodging your complaint and, also, to OFT HQ, in London, where they collate complaints and watch for patterns of complaints and consumer protection issues, noting WHERE they are and WHO is responsible for them. If the circumstances warrant it, OFT can get local TSOs (Trading Standards Officers) to deal with issues fairly quickly.

In an ideal world, that is what should happen!
But in reality, it doesn't happen!

The OFT is a painfully inefficient slow moving machine that is run by civil servants who given their orders from above (and I don not mean heaven)

Much work went into getting the OFT to impose 'Requirements' on Link Financial Limited. Approximately 30-50 Link Financial victims sent off complaints to their local TS and the OFT. This was not without difficulty, as both local TS offices in Caerphilly and Lambeth (the home authorities) were far from helpful...

It is an uphill battle to gain any justice in relation to bad business practices employed by DCA's.

However, faint heart never won battle:beagle::beagle::beagle: