Be warned!! Currys & your data

[Canthisgetanyworse]

Hi, Iam posting this to warn people about sending any Laptop or Pc back to Currys with any data on it, you always think that the person fixing it could have a nosey this actually confirms that they do and your personal information may not be as safe as you think...

I will start at the begining...

I have had 1 massive problem with Currys which started 6 months after purchasing a laptop online. The 1st time it broke I was interigated my "The Tech Guys" over the phone before they agreed it needed to be sent in for repair... a week later & with no explaination the laptop came back working... 4 months later same fault same procedure got it back, 4 weeks later AGIAN same fault... you know how it goes.. never once did anyone mention a replacement etc.. (which I later found out from Trading Standards should have been offered!) my warranty ran out on the laptop end of October 2006 (4 weeks after the last repair, which the tech guys told me was covered for 3 months) suprise suprise the laptop broke again!! same fault only this time no warranty... called Currys after sales... absolutely no way were they helping me.. told me to call The Tech Guys.. I did this they confirmed that I was still covered from the last repair... Currys again... NO CHANCE!! basically it was no warranty no repair!! I was disgusted with the attitude of the aftersales customer advisor as he was quite rude so I asked to speak to his manager... he put me on hold then came back & advised me "he doesnt want to speak to you!!" nice customer care.. I obviously complained about this & got cut off... Fuming I called back & to my releif spoke to somone who actually agreed with me that it wasnt right & I deserved a new laptop!! he even spoke to the Tech Guys & his Team Leader to confirm..Yep I was entitled.. he pick the model too & arranged delivery...

I called the following week to chase this it t be told ah right... Head Office has over ruled this decision, you cant have 1 now..!! the girl on the phone actually agreed this was wrong as there were notes on my account & authorisation from the Team Leader saying I could have 1!!!??? her advise to me was to write to the MD of Currys UK - Mr Peter Keenan.. i did this & sent it recorded delivery as advised by Consumer Direct..

I got nothing.. no reply!... so I contacted Currys again via email... then I got a reply confirming it had been received in Peter Keenans office & they would be in touch... NOTHING!!! so back to Consumer Direct.. who then decided it was time for Trading Standards to get involved... finally after 4 months of Trading Standards intervention & me hearing nothing from Currys!! they arranged for me to send my broken laptop back which was done on 28/02/02.... 5 weeks after they took my laptop back I finally received the long awaited call from Currys.. the lady was lovely to be honest & did everything she said I received a brand new laptop & £40 worth of vouchers from Currys a day later!!!

Now to the warning... as you can see I didnt have it easy with Currys but I had thought that it was finally over & was more than happy to recieve a new laptop & £40 in vouchers.. I was upset though that I had lost all my data from the old laptop as when it broke it did so suddenly so I had no option to delete or retrive..

Seeing as though the old laptop had gone back in Feb I reisigned myself that the hard drive would had been wiped & destroyed... WRONG!!!

2 days ago.. on 10/04/07.. at about 10.30pm... I received a msn request, with a message "Hello I am adding you coz Im the guy that fixed your laptop"

I was shocked.. the only laptop I had that had broken had been sent back to Currys head office in Feb...I accepted...asking the person who he was.. he told me he had fixed my laptop & he thought I would thank him???? I asked how he had my details.. he said well I fixed it it popped up I was trying to do you a favour as it had some "stuff on it"!!! he went on the ask me if I wanted my "pic & stuff" back.. I was very shocked & felt very violated!! some stranger contacted me privately basically telling me that as he had fixed the laptop it was ok for him to look at my private & personal pictures, let alone take home my email address & use it!!!

He even had the cheek to tell me not to worry as he "wasnt some teenage geek" but he was 21!! I told him I wanted the hard drive back & asked what else he had seen & knew (there were pictures of my son on there too, friends faimily..) he said nothing but asked me "would you be mad with me if i had looked"!! errr YES!!!!!

I blocked him in the end & fortunately due to my job (I work in Fraud) I was able to contact someone in Currys head office in the Risk dept to advise them off this... they were gobsmacked & just kept apologising! I had screen shot all the conversation with the guy who contacted me & sent that too... my boyfriend later spoke to the guy who then claimed it was his mate! how many people had my info!????? this convo was also sent to Risk at Currys

I am currently awaiting further information from Currys but did receive a call from there Customer Service Dept today (again they were very shocked & offered me there apologies!!) as to what they are going to do about this whole situation.. I couldnt sleep with worry the night it happened.. what exactly does this guy(s) know about me????

I have logged a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office who regulate the Data Protection Act after speaking with them.. they told me that this was a very serious matter.

I am not quite sure what to make if all this at the moment as is all seems a little sureal that I trusted Currys to destroy my data & its obvious that they did not do this...

Can anyone offer me any information.. have I done enough?? I am so so angry!!

Thanks

[Canthisgetanyworse]

Currys seemed to have gone quiet on me since they recieved full details of these conversations, all I know now is that a Mr Kelvin Fradley is dealing with the investigation & I have his email address at DSGI....I did not go into detail regarding the conversations with the employee from Currys on this site but I can assure you that they were worrying.

I have asked 3 times now in the last 2 days for Currys to confirm that my data or hard drive has been destroyed, they still havent confirmed this, Identity theft is very common in this day & age whoever has accessed my hard drive would find this easy to do thanks to Currys!

[monkey_uk]

Jeez, this is shocking!

[Spiceskull]

Lost for words...did Curry's/Tech Guys actually confirm they would destroy the data/hard drive when you sent the machine in for replacement?

[Canthisgetanyworse]

Hi,

They didnt speak to me at all.. it was all done via trading standards, but I have since found out that The Tech Guys when they get the laptops back as faulty etc have to wipe all the data from the hard drives so no one can access any documents & data this has a name I think it was blackening or something?..when they sell the laptops on they have brand new hard drives in then, this actually came from the guy who contacted me!!! I then obviously pointed out that he had accessed all my data & documents.. his reply was "well come on I did fix it"..... does that make it all ok..??

I think the thing that has most freaked me out about all this is that the guy had the balls to contact me at night from his own home or definately not from within Currys... then to find out that there is possibly 2 of them thats looked at my data makes it all worse!

I sent the laptop back to them and if I had removed the hard drive firstly I am sure they would have told me I had tampered with it so no replacement, I trusted them with my data just like I had when it was repaired the 3 times previously.. was it the same guy everytime that looked on it? who knows?

[BankFodder]

Obviously a very serious matter here.

Can I ask what kind of remedy you feel that you would like here.
Your situation is tricky as it is not immediately possible to identify any loss on your part.

However, the issue which springs to my mind is that there has been a breach of confidentiality.
I don't think that you could expect a cash remedy in the courts but I would have thought that you could reasonably require sworn evidence as to the whereabouts of the disk and a full explanation of the train of events as it still seems a little unclear to me.

Would you be interested in talking to the press? i think that they would be very interested and I think that the public needs to know that this kind of thing occurs. I think that only some publicity would put pressure on Curry's to tighten up their act.

[Canthisgetanyworse]

Hi,

I agree there is no financial loss here & I would definately be interested in talking to the press as I have received a reply today from Mr Fradley who is basically saying that their employee was acting with good intentions!!!??? he has agreed to possibly place at my request a CIFAS warning on my credit file & also at my request return to me my old hard drive which is still on Currys premises..

I am angry that Currys have made what I feel a very serious breach into something trivial, I honestly didn't sleep the night the guy contacted me as I was so worried!

I could show you the conversation & the response from Currys privately if you wish to see for yourself just how this company seems to operate... I am totally disgusted & think that Currys should be ashamed that they can defend the action of this employee, who obviously has spun them a sob story & got away with it!

Thanks.

[BankFodder]

I have sent you a private message.

Please respond

[h4x3r]

omg VERY shocked

SO
So did you get your new laptop? And currys kept your old laptop?

What must of happend they kept your old laptop and sold it as refurbished, without destroyig the hdd they just done a quick format.

See if it was a computer they would of destoryed the hdd but with laptops they just do a quick format on it and it is very easy to recover data

The way it works when it gets into the wrong hands the infomation spreads VERY fast

im sorry to here what happend but if u got everything logged u need to take them to court

[Canthisgetanyworse]

Hi,

I did get a new laptop yes, it was a member of Currys staff that accessed my documents etc and who contacted me via msn at night..... kinda makes it worse though as these guys are in a position of trust & he abused it, Currrys tried to say he was acting in my best interests but have sinse said that the guy was wrong and his credibility was questionable.

I have no idea what I am suppose to do about this, people are very shocked but no one seems to want to help?

[monkey_uk]

what did bankfodder say in his pm to you?

have you acted upon it?

[crh]

you didnt agree to the CIFAS warning did you?

those things are the kiss of death

[Canthisgetanyworse]

Nope! its being dealt with by the Information Commissioners Office....