mistaken identity

[teaboy2]

Yes they would i believe, though i wouldn't put it past them to accidently intentionally leaving that info out. Just report them to the Information commissioners office they will investigate it. Has your wife complained to the court itself?

[Jasper1965]

they were completely evasive on the telephone when my partner asked the same question. they wouldn't confirm where they got the information. can i specifically request where they got the information with a SAR? her name would be the main thread in any search so surely they would have to provide this...

 

Employers details aren't freely available through the normal databases ie the CRA's and would normally only be made available by the data subject upon application for credit. Clearly this information is being skimmed and filed in such a way that it doesn't appear to have been disseminated by the CRA's. Maybe the recent government contracts for debt collectors have made it a little easier to access and share this information, who knows but at face value employers details are not published by the CRA's so there remains the very big question over where this information originated.

 

It might be worth filing a complaint about companies like this having access to one's employment records with your wifes Union, perhaps somebody somewhere is being a little naughty?

[BARFLY]

that's the way i view it. either some trace agent has accessed this information illegally, or else the lea or council have provided the details at the drop of a hat without verifying that the debtor being chased is actually their employee. i'm leaning toward the former.

 

i hadn't thought to complain to the court. perhaps a letter to explain the mistaken identity and a suggestion that they correlate our address with that of the debtor who received the CCJ. oh, and the absence of a middle initial for my partner..

[Bazooka Boo]

http://www.trustonline.org.uk/

 

You can check if you have any CCJ's using the link above, costs £8.

[BARFLY]

Just been thinking, should it have been HFO that i sent the letter to rather than Turnbull Rutherford? Don't want to waste any time. Will TB just reply that it was HFO that did the searches etc? Or are TB equally liable in that they sent actioned the Request for Statement of Earnings?

[DonkeyB]

Turnbull Rutherford actually RUNS HFO Services - it's on the OFT CCL register. They cannot really claim anything done by their 'client' is not their responsibility, as they themselves are actually responsible for HFOS's actions.

[BARFLY]

thanks donkey. i'll sit back and wait.

 

i've been reading the forums and it seems they might have breached section 55 of the DPA unless they can give a good explanation as to where and how they obtained her employment records. and as previously suggested by some members if they suggest it's from the lea then she'll be asking the data controller of the lea why her information was released

[BARFLY]

Anyone know whether the OFT has actually revoked HFO's CCL? I've just read this on another site and when I type in the licence number of HFO on the CCL register search nothing comes up, nor does it when you type in HFO...

 

I'm not sure whether I can paste links here otherwise I would.

[the_shadow]

Hmm u sure their not there... I've always searched on "HFO *"

 

The public register is running very slooooooowwwww for some reason.

 

S.

[BARFLY]

Sorry. You're right. They're still there:oops:

[Tootles1971]

shame! Let's hope soon they won't be! Good luck with all your complaints.

[BARFLY]

just an update:

 

heard back from TR with an apology, an offer to write a letter of apology to my partner's employer, and an offer to donate £100 to a charity of her choice.

 

however, they have still not provided a copy of their official complaints procedure (requested 3 times, now), have not provided the details for their Data Controller (requested 3 times, now) in that they feel there is no reason for a SAR as they have not processed any of my partners data:???:. they insist that the data they processed was that of her namesake and they have no information whatsoever in regard to her! really, well where did they get her employment details? what about the application to the court with her details? they are again steadfastly evading the major issue of where they obtained the employment details. i have a feeling they have somehow accessed Local Education Authority records. legally? that would be the question. if they have nothing to hide they surely would turn around and say we got the information from such and such.

 

will complaining to the oft, trading standards, information commissioner get to the bottom of where they got the details?

[cerberusalert]

Your partner is entitled to a lot more than a £100 donation to charity.... she has been libeled & her job put in jeopardy.

[DonkeyB]

Agree Cerbs. War footing! However, they have effectively caved in. That's the OFT pressure kicking in. Tactics time!

[coledog]

Compo for your partner plus £1,000 to the charity of your Choiice - CAG

[DonkeyB]

£900 to you, £100 to CAG? We can get that.

[cerberusalert]

Put it this way the average claim is £1k just for an incorrect default on a credit file, this is far far worse because they involved your employer, claimed wrongly an attachment of earnings etc.

[BARFLY]

CAG would be an excellent choice. They've even promised to send a copy of the receipt for the donation.

 

But just to clarify: HFO did not register a CCJ against my partner, but against her near namesake. The CCJ was registered elsewhere. There have been no defaults or even searches registered on her credit file.

 

 

Basically they have performed some searches and come up with the wrong person, haven't double checked that they had the right person and sent the application to the court, and have subsequently led her employer to believe that she is being pursued for an outstanding debt

 

they have failed to disclose from where they obtained her employment details, the description of which is pretty specific, not merely "teacher". she believes the only place that would hold that description would be in her employers records:shock: so have they accessed her records form the LEA? if so, is that legal? this is the main point of contention. would a SAR force them to reveal the scope of their search? someone, somewhere, has breached the Data Protection Act. her employer? HFO? her union? surely, if HFO had obtained these details from a lawfully accessible source they would say so and be done with it.

 

i would still say it is pretty dire: they have besmirched her name with her employer and somehow obtained her employment records and won't say from where

[cerberusalert]

DCAs & tracing agents employ all sorts of dubious methods. One of which is telephoning neighbours and gleaning information from them. They do this by trawling the electoral roll looking for someone of a particular name gaining their address and then 'phoning the neighbours for info.

 

A neighbour could have innocently said that they knew Ms Bloggs and inadvertently told them she worked at such and such a place when pressed.

[BARFLY]

thanks cerberus. no wonder they dont want to say how they got the details. that would have led neighbours to believe she was being pursued for an unpaid debt. in this case, however, the neighbours wouldn't know the exact description for her job, nor even the school where she worked.

[Bazooka Boo]

WoW! £100 compo eh! I would take that as their admission they knowingly have royally screwed up and know full well that if you sought legal advice and took action against them, they will have to pay you substantially more than that, at least another zero on the end would satisfy me not to take legal action against them, but it would NOT stop me from reporting them to everyone I could think of, including the media, for their act of impunity.

[BARFLY]

Update.

 

More stonewalling.

 

They do not need to supply a copy of their complaints procedure as my partner is not their "client" and they are "unable to forward a copy".

 

They will not fulfill a SAR as they have not processed any information regarding my partner:!: "We are unable to assist you with the SAR because it has been established that this has been a case of mistaken identity and the information held on file does not belong to you" Uhm...what about the court papers in her name and to her employer; what about where and how they obtained the employer details..?

 

Lastly, they have offered to send the cheque for £100 under seperate cover made payable to my partner "which will conclude the matter"...the cheek of it.

 

 

Any advice here. Will we get any further with this complaining to all and sundry? I want to take it further because their complete refusal to acknowledge any question as to where they got her details makes me think it was unlawful. But will anyone compell them to ever disclose this?

[Tootles1971]

I always think it is important that people do register their complaints with the relevant bodies. It may not help you per se, but the more people who speak out about these appalling practices the better it will be for the public at large.

 

Has your partner spoken to the LEA about her concerns that her data has been misused? I think that should also be pursued.

 

If they have not "processed" any information about her, then how are they managing to send her letters?! Surely that counts as having records in her name?

 

They are being utterly ridiculous in that response. With so many posts about HFO, there must be a cagger who knows who to send a complaint in to. Hopefully someone can pick that up for you.

 

I am appalled at the way she's been treated. I hope you can get some help from the people you complain to.

 

Tootles

[Bazooka Boo]

Barfly, IMO, and what I would now do is to send them one final letter, asking them whether the letter you received DD/MM?YYYY is their final response to the matter, if it is, could they please send you a letter stating as such, or that it is their final response and if you are not happy, you should contact....(whoever) Failure to do so, will result in you escalating your complaint to the following, but not necessarily limited to, the OFT, TS, the Information Commissioners Office, and the national media.

 

 

Regarding HFO, you MUST MUST MUST make a formal complaint to the OFT&TS via http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/UsefulContactsByCategory/Governmentcitizensandrightscontacts/DG_195948

 

They are being closely monitored!

[BARFLY]

Thanks Tootles, Bazooka. I will contact them once again to confirm this is their final response. There has been no contrition whatsoever on their part and obviously something to hide. Just have to remember their first response when my partner asked for an apology to her employer - "that won't happen":mad2:Unless they increase their "gesture of goodwill" - otherwise known as hush money- substantially, and explain where they got the employment details, I'll be writing to TS, OFT etc. in about a weeks time. The "final response" is what's needed. Didn't want to take the time to write to whomever, wait, and then receive a letter in a few weeks time stating I needed to exhaust their complaints process first.

 

God knows what these scumbags are like when they decide you really are a debtor. Phone calls to neighbours? letters to employers? threats of bailiffs? etc.