Help needed - Barclaycard Data Protection Act response

[honda77]

My two brothers have both sent off Data Protection Act requests to Barclaycard. Both recived letters apologising for the delay and both have now passed the 40 day deadline, however today they have received the same letter stating:


"Further to your request for personal data held by Barclaycard, please find enclosed a copy of the relevant information from May 2004.

Statements that are prior to this date are not held on a computer system or a structured relevant filing system and therefore, they do not fall under the Data Protection Act 1998. They can be obtained from our Customer Services Dept at a cost of £3 per statement."

I have read through other Barclaycard posts who have had the same response but am not quite sure what to do now. I phoned Information Commissioner and they weren't much help so do I send another letter to Barclay??? (I don't want to have to start a claim for failure to disclose info -and its giving me a headache)

It seems obvious that over the coming weeks other people will be getting the same response from Barclays so can we work out a solution together.

Many thanks

[Bookworm]

Originally Posted by honda77

(I don't want to have to start a claim for failure to disclose info -and its giving me a headache)

It seems obvious that over the coming weeks other people will be getting the same response from Barclays so can we work out a solution together.

You have just answered your own question.

If every person who has had this ridiculous answer from them starts a section 7 claim, they'll soon realise the game is up. However, like for any other claim, you have to be seen to have given them every chance to comply. This is the letter I have sent them:

Barclays Data Protection
Radbroke Hall
Knutsford
Cheshire
WA16 9EU

[date]

LETTER BEFORE ACTION
Section 7 – Data Protection Act 1998


Dear Ms. Caffery,


ACCOUNT NUMBERS:


I am in receipt of the documents that you have supplied in response to my Data Protection Act information request dated [date]. The disclosure of personal data is incomplete in that at least the following documents are missing:

1) You have failed to provide a complete list of transactions and charges. All you have sent is a computer printout with no mention of dates at which charges had been applied, or how much were the individual charges.
2) You have provided no notes, or documents relating to instances of personal human intervention, nor confirmed that any did indeed take place at any time.

This is not an exhaustive list by any means, it is just an example of some of the information I am missing.

You have stated that statements prior to June 2004 are manually stored on microfiche and do not fall within the Data Subject Access provisions. Section 1 (1) of the Data Protection Act 1998 states:
"any set of information relating to individuals to the extent that, although the information is not processed by means of equipment operating automatically in response to instructions given for that purpose, the set is structured either by reference to the individual or to criteria relating to individuals, in such a way that specific information relating to a particular individual is readily accessible".
Furthermore, recent communication with the Information Commissioner’s office has brought further clarification:
“(…) if the information is filed by account number this information would be considered to form part of a relevant filing system as it would be similar to searching a computer data base for a specific account number.”

Since you have informed me that I can obtain additional copy statements from your Customer Services, there can be no doubt that the information IS readily accessible, IS filed in a relevant filing system, and therefore DOES fall within DSA provisions.

The time for compliance with my request has now expired. If you do not comply fully with my Subject Access Request within 7 days, I shall apply to the County Court for an order together with damages at the discretion of the court under s.7(9) Data Protection Act 1998.

Yours sincerely,

By all means, feel free to use it.

BUT at the end of it, this forum is about self-empowerment, and if you can't be asked forcing them to comply with your legal rights, you'll be doing exactly what they want you to do.
They win.
Again.

[honda77]

Thanks mate I will send them the letter today!