Stag Party Claim

[FreDJoneS]

Hi All,

 

Firstly, thank you for looking.

 

I'm currently in contact with the complaints manager (?) from a company we recently used for a stag party.

 

Initially, I just wanted some form of compensation for being sent to the wrong location for one of the activities this specialist stag party organiser had arranged. We incurred cost for transport above what we should have, and had a 4 hour delay to our day as a result, which meant the entire evening was further delayed.

 

I have been emailing back and forth with the same person who has claimed that we were provided free food and drink which is a lie.

 

There were other issues in the selling method they used- on two separate occasions I was offered a free weekend away for me and my partner, nothing of which materialised, but I have evidence of one of the offers claiming a value of £380. I will be pursuing this along with costs incurred for transport and some kind of compensation for the knock on effect to the rest of our evening.

 

To make things worse, the contact had offered transcripts of my conversations. She forwarded only 2, and then when I pursued the rest she took the approach that I have to pay £20. I replied stating that I believed this was above the prescribed maximum and that I believed they were in breach of the Data Protection Act. She came back stating their lawyers agreed the Privacy Policy in August 2009. I replied stating that the information was irrelevant as the issue occurred prior to August 2009, she then corrected her wording and stated that it has always been the same and was reviewed and agreed in August.

 

The company are not ABTA or AITO accredited, but I have all correspondence which makes an interesting read if anyone should think this might be useful?

 

I am wondering if anyone has any thoughts as to how best to pursue this? I have stated that I would be moving toward guidance with the Information Commissioners Office if no reply was received within 7 days.

 

I have also found that SAR prescribed maximums are £10 if no manual collation is required of £50 if manual collation is required- I'm only asking for transcripts so this would be automatic correct?

 

Thanks in advance, and sorry if this is a bit long winded!

 

FreD

[FreDJoneS]

PS any thoughts on my latest response (yet to be sent)?

 

7 days have passed, and again you choose to ignore my email. You leave me no choice. I will contact the Information Commissioners Office to find where I stand regarding the Subject Access Request, prior to seeking legal advise. If your £20 is deemed acceptable by the ICO then I will request you to take payment from the £21 you already owe me. As I will be requesting this information to justify my case, I will also pursue reimbursement of said fee, be it £10 or £20.

 

I should add to my last email that there was in fact an additional offer of a weekend away as a ‘sales incentive’ by RedSeven. Attached are the emails which show as much communication as happened on the specific offer. Please note the offer is valued at £380.

 

This will be added to other costs I am seeking to recover, as outlined below.

 

I am confident that the inconsistencies in your handling of this complaint will stand my claim in good stead.

Edited October 19, 2009 by FreDJoneS

[ScarletPimpernel]

A company is allowed to have its own policy on providing information - for example, many banks charge £5 a sheet for copy statements - but this does not take precedence over the law. Compliance is their problem, not yours.

 

Personally I wouldn't waste any more time or effort pointing this stuff out to them. Send them a standard SAR letter and enclose the statutory fee of £10. Ensure you send it by Recorded or Special Delivery. They have 40 days to comply; if they do, you have the information you have asked for - if they don't, send them a letter before action giving them 7 days to comply, and then take them to court to get an order to comply and damages at the court's discretion. The law is very clear, so if they fail to comply, you will win.

 

I'd also send a clear, dispassionate letter setting out all of your points of complaint, and what you see as the remedy. Make clear that only a written answer is acceptable, and don't speak to them on the phone. Give them 14 days to reply, after which you can send another letter before action and then sue them if they don't respond satisfactorily. Again, make sure it's sent by trackable means.

[FreDJoneS]

Thank you for your response. I would just like to clarify I have been in touch mainly by email in the process of this complaint, but by putting things in writing, does this mean all correspondence should be via recorded post? I've kept all email correspondence to date. Is there a SAR that is specific to this kind of case? I was thinking something along the lines of this one would suffice? (I've modified a template slightly)

[your address] [their address] [DATE] Data Protection Act 1998 Subject Access Request Dear Sir/Madam ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxxxxx Please supply me with copies of all the data which you hold on me in relation to any matter and in any form and for any period of time. Please note that I require disclosure of any personal data which you hold on me for the entire period of my dealings with you. The Subject Access is not limited to my transaction history. Additionally, where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any member of your staff, or any other person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my business with you. If you are unable to supply this data because there has been no such manual intervention, then please be so kind as to confirm this in your response. I enclose the statutory maximum fee of £10. You have 40 days in which to comply. As it is your wrongdoing and mishandling of my account which has created the necessity for this Subject Access Request, I shall also be reclaiming the enclosed £10 DPA subject access request fee. If there is specific information which you require in order to satisfy yourself as to my identity, please let me know by return. However, please note that the above address is the one which you normally use to communicate my private business to me and which you have hitherto found to be acceptable. Yours faithfully, [signature] [name]

[FreDJoneS]

Sorry about the above reply something strange is happening to the formatting, as such the paragraphs are merging together.