GE money say they unable to retrieve transaction history!!

[deemoney]

Decided to check for any charges on my Debenhams card. Sent off my S.A.R on 1/2/07. I then received the attached letter;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PO Bo.>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21 March 2007

 

Dear Miss

 

Data Subject Access Request

Debenhams Account:

 

Thank you for your letter dated 1 February 2007, regarding your Data Subject Access Request. Please accept my apology for the delay in my response.

 

I have carefully noted the comments in your correspondence, however, I must advise that after extensive enquiries, I have been unable to retrieve any transaction history for your Debenhams account. Due to the amount of time that has elapsed since your account has been used the transaction details have been removed from our system. We have been unable to retrieve any statements from our archives, as they have not been retained.

 

I appreciate this does not fully meet with your requirements and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. This is certainly not our intention and I om sorry we are unable to provide the information you have requested on this occasion. As a gesture of goodwill I have arranged a cheque for £10.00 to be sent to you under separate cover. This will arrive in the next 7-10 working days.

 

Please accept my sincere apologies once again. If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Yours sincerely

 

David Cunning ham Customer Service Manager

Any ideas how I should reply to this letter. I was pretty sure that these establishments were supposed to retain this information for at least 6 years. some guidance would be appreciated.

[deemoney]

Sorry about the formatting I'm new to this!!

[deemoney]

I should have said, it's only been about 3 years that I've had the card although i no longer use it the account is still open

[MrBump]

Hi, I'd be very surprised if they don't have the data. You could try the following letter:

 

 

 

DATA PROTECTION ACT DISCLOSURE REQUEST

 

 

 

 

Section 7 – Data Protection Act 1998

 

Dear Mr Cunningham

 

Important – You should read this carefully

 

Account Number: ****************

 

Thank you for your letter dated 21 March 2007.

 

Please note that you have not yet complied with your obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998.

 

You state that you are unable to retrieve any transaction history for my Debenhams account. I find this difficult to believe since the Inland Revenue expect companies to hold ALL their (and therefore by default their customers) account/business transactions for at least 6 years and, allowing for delay in tax accounts processing, this, in some cases, means companies are obliged to hold at least 7 years' worth of data.

 

Taking this into consideration please note I require A COMPLETE LIST OF TRANSACTIONS AND CHARGES RELATING TO MY ACCOUNT HISTORY WITH YOUR ORGANISATION. Alternatively, a complete set of statements, appropriately filed, for that period will be acceptable.

 

If you fail to comply with this request I will have no alternative but to refer the matter to the Information Commissioners Office and, without further communication to you, file a N1 Form at my local Court, and take legal action against you for Non-Compliance. I will also ask, at the discretion of the court, for compensation in relation to all additional costs I have incurred due to your non compliance (e.g. fees for legal advice etc).

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

deemoney

 

If they have taken over 40 days I'd report them, it seems to speed them up.

 

Worst comes to worst you can claim for estimated charges every month that the account was open. It is up to them to provide your data to disprove this. Suzy H received this from GE: 'Where statements are missing we have made an assumption that a fee was charged to ensure you that you do not lose out financially. I have therefore removed a further £18.00 for each missing statement to over compensate. A total refund of £270.00 will be sent to you under separate cover.'

 

You should read her thread: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/store-cards/40553-suzy-h-ge-capital.html#post319551

 

Bump

[deemoney]

Thanks for the letter mr bump, I'll send it and see what they come back to me with, you never know they may surprise me!

 

It's funny that they can't find the necessary information when we request it but should they need to commence recovery action they always know the exact amount owed