I started this process in November last year when I sent my SAR to Joyce Tudor at Retail Regulatory Risk in Edinburgh. I requested statements for my student account and my personal loan account (both now closed) and enclosed the requisite details i.e. account # and the £10 fee.

I got a letter back saying that I hadn't included enough detail so I responded with another letter to Joyce including my sort code and the "£5" fee that she said was required. The £5 cheque has been cashed, they have had a lot more than the 40 days I said I would allow them and yet I still haven't received any statements.

What should I do next? They are driving me crazy! I am thinking of addressing the SAR to my old branch manager what do you think?

Danny, the bank has 40 days to fulfil your request and as soon as that has expired, they have failed to comply with your request and you are in a position to take them to court for non-compliance. I believe it is easy to do and once filed, the courts can force disclosure of the requested information and can also award you damages (though this is at their discretion).

If you have sent them two cheques (one for 10 one for 5) I'm a bit confused why they asked for the second one for a fiver, but be sure that the SAR and 10 pound you sent originally was all you are required to send - the 40 days started from the day you sent that letter and it has therefore be outstanding since that date.

Have a look on the forums for non-compliance claims - possibly in the library.

I sent my first SAR with a cheque for £10. Their response (from Joyce E Tudor) was that they needed more account info and a cheque for £5 not £10 (the £10 cheque I originally sent was neither cashed nor returned). So I sent my second SAR with a bit more account info and a cheque for £5 instead - this was cashed but my statements haven't materialised and it's been over 60 days now!

In order to threaten them with court action for non-compliance wouldn't I need proof that my second SAR with more info was delivered - I foolishly sent it first class and not recorded delivery.

I think the fact that the 2nd chq was cashed is proof enough. isnt it?

Yes, the banking of it would be enough, but that cheque might not be relevant......

You see, a data access request is a request for all information that the bank holds on you the individual not on your account number. They don't need your account number to process your request and are using this as a delaying tactic. Your first letter with name and address should have been sufficient to process your information and the receipt of this letter including your £10 cheque is when your deadline would have started from.

Did you send the first letter recorded? If so then use this. If not, then as anni says, the proof is in banking of the second cheque and you will have to use this as your proof. Just to clarify....

Suppose your £10 letter went off 80 days ago and your £5 letter went off 60 days ago. If you sent the £10 letter recorded then use the recorded slip as proof of sending - your request has been outstanding 80 days. If you didn't send it recorded then use the cashing of the £5 cheque as proof of sending - your request has been outstanding 60 days.

On another note, I would give them 7 days to comply and if you haven't received anything by the 7th day, tell them you will be filing your claim on the 8th day. Don't let them get away with it!

In due course the banks must run out of ways of delaying the requests that they receive but in the meantime we must keep to the stipulated timeframes and when they are not adhered to then report them to the relevant authority.

We need to let them know that the worm has turned.

Ppman has just got me thinking, I would also make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office. There is a complaint form on their website (search ICO in google).

What harm can it do.

I sent copy letters to them when I was getting no joy from Barclaycard last year so if we all do the same then hopefully action can be taken due to them being in breach of the Data Protection Act.

Thanks for all the great advice - I think as neither of my SAR letters were sent recorded delivery, I will use the cashed £5.00 cheque as evidence that they have exceeded the allowed 40 day timeframe.

I think I will write a letter and this time send a copy to both Joyce E Tudor at Retail Regulatory Risk in Edinburgh (who my former correspondance was from) and my local branch manager (the name of which I have just got hold of after a cheeky phone call) and hopefully either one of them will pull their finger out and get the statements sent to me.

I am thinking of stating that I am conscious that they are using delaying tactics and that unless I receive my statements within a final 7 day time frame I will consider this non compliance to the Data Protection Act and that I will file a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Financial Ombudsman and consider filing a court case in order to release the information - what are your thoughts?

Excatly what you should put, well nearly. Don't consider filing a court claim against them, you WILL file a court claim against them!!

The £5.00 fee sounds like a 'Historical Statement Charge.'

If they think that's what they are doing for you, and not a DPA-SAR then that's probably why they haven't bothered complying.....

Don't consider filing a court claim against them, you WILL file a court claim against them!!

I have just sent two letters off recorded delivery - one to Joyce E Tudor @ Edinburgh and one to my local branch manager stating that unless I receive my statements within the next 7 days I shall be filing an official complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Financial Ombudsman and I shall seek a Court order obliging them to do so together with damages at the discretion of the Court and without any further notice...Hopefully they will get the message!! I will let you know how it goes!

PS You'd have thought....

Data Protection Act 1998

Subject Access Request

...at the top of the letter might have been sufficient enough for them to realise what I was asking for - I can't make it much clearer than that!

indeed you can't!

It's all about calling your bluff - testing your knowledge, seeing how much you know.