Data Protection Act 1998/ Default History Questions

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I am dealing with a shortfall claim currently and have asked in writing for a copy of 2 valuations organised by this society in 1995. They have responded by quoting the above act stating that it is not obliged to supply me such vital information and it is not their policy surprise surprise. Also they have advised me that my history and default details would have been deleted two years after completion as the account would no longer have been current, the debt having been cyrstallised at completion of the sale in their words. They provided me with what they describe as an exception being brief notes which would have been kept on the socities internal account statement which is basically illegable and relating onlu to in house termonology and more like screen captures including meaningless fields.Surely this in a age of data storage is a joke?

Any advise on the above would be appreciated ASAP!

-- mike gale (mike_1690@hotmail.com), February 17, 2001

Answers

Mike,

The lender may not be obliged to provide you with copies of paper-held valuations under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998, but they certainly ought to be providing you with copies under Civil Procedure Rules ('CPR'). (CPR are discussed on this site under Repossession.)

As for the other information, the lender should have transferred this data onto microfiche or microfilm format, and be able to provide you with copies. Again, the lender doesn't have to provide copies of this data under the DPA, but it should do under CPR.

If you have actually served a SARN on the lender and you have been provided with meaningless codes and jargon, then the lender has infringed the Data Protection Act because the lender is obliged to provide data in 'intelligible' form. Ask the lender to get its act together and/or complain to the Data Protection Commissioner (if you want her to investigate, rather than simply to log a complaint, ask for an 'Assessment'.)

From October this year (2001) you will be able to use the Data Protection Act 1998 to ask for copies of data held in manual, paper, microfiche and microfilm formats. If the lender continues to claim exemption from the Act, then it must claim this under Schedule 7, and tell you so explicitly. Tell the Data Protection Commissioner if you have any concerns. (www.dpa.org.uk).

Of course, what you seem to be finding out is that the lender has very little in the way of original documentation on your 'case'.

-- Eleanor Scott (eleanor.scott@btinternet.com), February 18, 2001.


I SARNed my 'chasers' and received the same sort of stuff as Mike did - pointless screen captures and copies of letters that they had sent me...which naturally I had anyway! No big surprise there then. Eleanor's advice is good. Thanks Eleanor.

-- (_Believer14@excite.co.uk), February 18, 2001.

I'm with Eleanor on this - if they begin to sue you they will have to give you copies of paper/micro-film documents that explain and verify their claim. They will have to give you these after they begin court action against you (and this is partly why they are unlikely to begin court action against you).

They do not have to give you paper copies under the Data Protection Act but they do have to give you legible copies of electronically stored info. You can force them to do this whether they are suing you or not.

So what you should do now is write to them as Eleanor has said but make sure you say that you are requesting sight of the documents under the Civil Procedure Rules.

They'll probably refuse, which will be a clue that they have no intention of suing you - because they know they have to be seen to comply with Civil Procedure Rules.

Lee

-- Lee (repossession@bigfoot.com), February 19, 2001.


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