Are barclays in non-compliance of the DP act?

[dunnie1]

I would like to claim (dunleavy vs barclays) for the further back than six years, back to 1994 when I opened my account. But Barclays have only sent me six years worth of data.

 

Does anyone know if they are therefore in non-compliance of the DP act, or are they only obliged to send you six years worth of data due to the statute of limitations?

 

thanks for your help and great website!

[Andy999]

They are obliged to send all the data that you ask for, if they told it. I believe banks keep records for a minimum of seven years.

[andyroo]

You would only be able to claim back the last 6 years anyway though, for anything before this its too late.

 

So its prob just as well they only sent you the 6 years as you dont want to punish yourself by looking at what you could have had...

[dunnie1]

thanks both.

 

You would only be able to claim back the last 6 years anyway though, for anything before this its too late.

 

So its prob just as well they only sent you the 6 years as you dont want to punish yourself by looking at what you could have had...

 

Andyroo, it seems its a bit of a grey area (have you got charges going back more than six years?) (thanks Vamp) It seems that they won't give you more than six years of data (or they've just chucked their data away as they're not allowed to keep longer than necessary under the DP act - in reality its prob more to do with obstructing people claiming back the charges!) BF states that if full disclosure is requested, this means ALL your account data, not just six years.

 

but if you already have your statements, or you even if you calculate a retrospective estimate based on the data you do have, you may be in with a chance due to section 32 (1) (b) of the Limitation Act 1980. Bankfodder talks about the deliberate concealment by the banks that their charges are unfair, and are thus presumably void from exclusion by the statute of limitations.

 

Don't think anyones tested it yet though - and the chance of success is certainly less than guaranteed...but if we're talking about what I think is in the region of £3000 - £4500 in my case then its worth a crack surely?

 

However I will chase barclays for the lst six years first, get a feel for the procedure and see about the pre-six year claim later.

 

thoughts anyone?

[andyroo]

Sounds like a sensible thing to do. Test the water before diving in at the deep end.

 

Nice to see another fellow member from Cardiff too...

[dunnie1]

nice one, been to court yet? we could be court buddies!

[andyroo]

Barclays have just filed their defence and I've just recieved my court questionnaire (http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/barclays-bank/20439-andyroo-barclays-bank.html). At what stage are you to at mo?

 

 

PS: How do you post links where you click on the text to access the link (looks tidier than above)? Normal HTML doesnt seem to work...

[dunnie1]

Early stages my friend, haven't sent my prelim letter yet, will do tom I think. the hold up is due to me trying to decide on whether to claim contractual rates of interest. i.e instead of the court default of 8%, going for barclays own unauthorised overdraft rate of 27.5%, or it that's rejected their authorised fee of 15.9% (9.9% if , like I signed up to their "additions" rubbish).

 

As you can appreciate, it makes a hell of a difference to the final figure!

 

As for your html question, there's a button labelled "insert link" (looks like a globe and a paperclip in the reply box. I just select the text I want as the link, then clcik that button, and insert the URL. It then becomes a clickable link.

 

Hope thats helpful.

[dunnie1]

Recieved this letter regarding DP non-compliance:

 

Please be advised that statementinformation arising from the period prior to and possibly during 1999 to 2000 is mnaually stored in the form of Microfiche. As these records are not stored by refernece to the individual and are not "readily accessible" within the meaning of the Data Protection Act, they fall outside the class of documents to be produced pursuant to a subject access request.

 

Accordingly we are unable to disclose any further statement documentation to you pursuant to your request under the Data Protection Act. You may hwoever contact your local branch to obtain further statement information that may remain available.

 

The bank is not attempting to obstruct or delay you. We are however ensuring that all SAR made to BArclays are dealt with in the same way, whether or not they relate to default fees, so that all requests are processed fairly and properly.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

Peter Townsend.

 

Utter rubbish as all data seems to be stored on Microfiche (fiche period is mentioned in top right corner on all statements thay have sent) and its irrelevant that barclays don't store the data properly, i.e. "as these records are not stored by reference to the individual" this is still personal data and not aggregated for statistical purposes, so does fall under an SAR. (as far as I can see)

 

 

Looks like its time for some court action... comments welcome.

[blueskies]

There seems to be a bit of confusion in this thread about the DPA.

 

The DPA requires a company to provide ALL the information held about someone if they receive a SAR requesting it, not 6 years or any other time period.

 

If you have requested all of the details they hold and they have not provided it then they are in breach of the DPA and steps can be taken against them.

[dunnie1]

Yes Blueskies, there was some inital confusion but ok now. I plan to claim back monies owed from31/01/2000 (see separate thread) as this data has already been provided to me. Separately I will also file a claim against barclays for DP non-compliance in an attempt to retreive account data from account opening (sept 1994) to 31/01/2000. depending on the outcome of this I will either start an estimated claim or repeat process and test the six year cut-off mentioned in the statute of limitations (section 32 (1) (b)

 

I'm keeping the claims separate in order to stay within the small claims track.

[matd]

I'm already in the process of getting together my claim (http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/barclays-bank/14724-matd-barclays.html) - my statements arrived a week ago and I've been compiling the charges and interest to date. The statements only start from January 2000, but the account was opened in 1992 (it was a student account, then I somehow ended up with an Additions account in 1996 - I'm guessing that my account number may be the same although the account package changed).

 

I've looked at the template letter here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/6986-data-protection-act-non.html and I'm following the instructions for information arriving within the 40 days but being incomplete - i.e. 6 years' worth of statements, not 14 years'.

The 40 days is now up (statements arrived last week, 40-day deadline ended 3 days later). No further statements have arrived, so I shall send template 2:

 

"Dear Sir/Madam

 

 

I am in receipt of the documents that you have supplied in response to my Data Protection Act information request dated 12th July 2006. 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 for the period from September 1992 to December 1999

2) You have provided no notes, or documents relating to instances of manual intervention.

 

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

Accordingly, I have to tell you that you have not yet complied with your obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998.

 

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 to enforce compliance, together with damages at the discretion of the court."

 

So, I send this letter off to Barclays, but what happens then? How do I progress the request for the remaining statements - either I can't find the next step of the claim or I'm not looking in the right place. What happens after my 7 days is up? Presumably I then have to file something with the court to get the statements.

 

Now, I'm willing to go to court if need be, but I want to know what I'm letting myself in for, so that I can prepare.

My spreadsheet of charges is just about finished, so I could also send my LBA soon. Will sending a letter threatening action jeopardise my case at all.

 

Also, my parachute isn't setup yet - I'm waiting for the 1st of september when my salary gets paid in and the majority of my bills have been paid out before I move DDs and SOs around. Has anyone had their account closed down after a non-compliance letter has been sent?

 

As the poster above, my claim for charges before 2000 will be separate to my post-2000 charges claim.

[dunnie1]

wll, you can either use www.moneyclaim.gov.uk or file a claim manually using the small claims court lawpack (see ad top right of page). haven't done it yet myself, but plan to. when filing a claim, there's help in the templates section called

dp non-compliance particulars of claim

to help you. either barclays will eventually give in( or the court will force disclosure) and sent u all your data, or they won't, but when you come to make an estimated claim for the period not covered by your statements you can show the court you tried everything possible in order to get that data, and it will be up to the bank to prove otherwise.

I would start one claim for the monies owed where you have proof of charges (i.e. your statements) and start an estimated claim for everything else. (after you've taken them to court for dp non-compliance.

 

read alanfromderby 's thread for more info, thats who I was chatting to.

[matd]

Thank you Dunnie. So, just to get this correct:

 

1) Open parachute account

 

2) Send a letter threatening action if they don't send me my remaining statements within 7 days of receipt.

 

3) Force compliance through Moneyclaim Online if remaining statements not forthcoming.

 

4a) If they send my remaining statements claim for the period 2000 to 2006. I can use the prior statements to collate an estimate of previous charges (used to help calculate interest on bank charges in the complex spreadsheet)

 

4b) If they still don't comply, then just make a best guestimate of my previous charges 1992-1999. Use this estimate to fill in the "estimate of previous charges" cell in the spreadsheet for the 2000 - 2006 claim.

 

5) Start a claim for 2000 - 2006's charges.

 

Should I wait until I find out the outcome of the 2000-2006 claim until I start proceedings for charges prior to 2000, or should I file them both at the same time? I'm worried that one may jeopardise the other.

 

As far as the charge for filing the claim for non-compliance, do I claim that back along with the charge for filing the claim 2000-2006?

 

Also, how much does it cost to force compliance through moneyclaim?

Many thanks for helping!

[dunnie1]

Sorry Matd, didn't get an email notification of your response.

 

I'm starting two claims. ones for the post six year money AND dp non-compliance (and to remove an unfair default notice on my credit record) presumably as well as my money back I will get a judgement or forced compliance for dp non-comp, whiich I will then use to strengthen my SECOND case for the pre-six year money. (this might be slightly diff to my last advice but I've altered my approach)

 

i.e. "i tried to get the data prior to six years ago but they obstructed me (quote previous judgement)

 

this should put you in a positive light and show you tried your level best to resolve the issue before this second court action, and also explain why you've had to estimate the claim.

[matd]

p.s. does anyone know if I can also request a copy of the original agreement I signed when I opened my account, as part of the DPA request?