Just started a new job which involves money - I'm amazed at the amount of people who get really irate about data protection checks i.e. if you say you can't talk to someone about their sisters/fathers/husbands finances without their permission.

Its the law, and ultimately I am just protecting myself and your private data. So don't shout at me :)

I only get angry with folks doing your type of job when they can't explain why the data held on ME is erroneous in the extreme, and they then tell me that they can't tell me where the false data came from.

So I ask for it to be removed.

They then say 'You need to speak to the originator'

But I don't know the originator - the data is wrong, it's nothing to do with me, and YOU'RE the ones who're storing it. Can you tell me who the originator is.

No, that's confidential.

So, can you remove the data then?

No, you ned to talk to the originator...etc.

I think you've got a job that guarantees that you'll deal with upset people. :)

Oh right, well, the only data that we hold about people is data that people phone up and give us directly themselves. There is never a third party.

The only data protection checks we have to do is if they call up again and want to talk about their situation further. Quite often wives phone up and want to talk about their husbands situation for example but the nature of the information is sensitive (about debt) so we can't. Conversations go along the lines of

But he's my husband!

I'm sorry, the law says I can't talk to you about his situation.

But he's my husband!

Right. Sorry about that. You need to get him to call up.

But he's my husband!

Yeah...but...its just the law, you see....errrmmm...if your husband didn't want you to know, I would be breaking the law...as you can understand, I dont really want to do that..

How dare you! Me and my husband share everything! I know everything about him!

etc etc. Until they shout and slam the phone down. Drives me mad.

If you didn;t do what you are doing and refer them back to the law, it would be very easy for a warring couple to find everything out about the other very quickly and free rather than paying £££££££££££'s to get a solicitor to do it...

How dare you! Me and my husband share everything! I know everything about him!



I would perhaps point out to her that the very fact that she is asking YOU this question shows that her husband does not share EVERYTHING with her :D

I understand your position kathythebean, but I have also been in the position of having sent repeated copies of a general power of attorney to people like yourselves, and they still say that they haven't had authority to talk to me.

I'm sure that most of the issues are ones of education- many of the company employees that I have spoken to have contradicted each other as to their company's responsibilities under the data protection legislation. Some are not aware that current data protection laws only cover data held in certain circumstances, and not in others, and many do not understand what 'authorisation' actually comprises.

In many circumstances, when a company thinks they have authority they actually may not- it's very hard to verify for certain that the person on the other end of the phone is in fact the person that you think it is.

During my 'whistleblowing' case, I got upset when I tried to request my personnel file from the said company. They refused my request for me to see the data they hold on me. That got me angry. They used some little known loop hole that allows companies to not send personnel files to individuals wanting to use it to pursue a legal case.

After the case finished I re-requested it and got hold of the file, and understood why they did not want me to have it. with that file I would have been onto a sure fire winner with the case, and wouldn't have needed to settle.

Just started a new job which involves money - I'm amazed at the amount of people who get really irate about data protection checks i.e. if you say you can't talk to someone about their sisters/fathers/husbands finances without their permission.


It's because they're stupid Kathy.

Equally, people annoy me when they get the hump on because we (in a bank) ask for proof of ID before handing over piles of cash. I used to offer customers who complained the opportunity to sign a disclaimer along the lines of "The bank will never ever ask for ID from anyone who tries to draw money from my account, they will just hand cash over, whatever the circumstances or amount. In return I promise not to sue the bank when someone robs every last penny I own". Nobody ever took me up on that (thankfully!)

The other thing that I always laughed at was people who were overdrawn using the phrase "but it's my money". Erm...you're overdrawn, so it's not. :loopy:

...... to sign a disclaimer along the lines of "The bank will never ever ask for ID from anyone who tries to draw money from my account, they will just hand cash over, whatever the circumstances or amount. In return I promise not to sue the bank when someone robs every last penny I own". Nobody ever took me up on that (thankfully!)


I would have loved to see the look on their faces when you said that :D