I'm glad I didn't hold my breath - after sending this, a few days after the last message above... Dear Egg, I'm glad that you have amended your illogical ID request policy, but I've now been trying to obtain my information for 44 days and am no closer to doing so. I have still not heard anything from you regarding my data subject information request. Please can you update me as a matter of urgency. Bumpy ...I heard nothing for ages, until today, when I got this: Dear Bump,I work on the Data Subject Information Request Team and I have taken ownership of your case. I am writing to advise you that your request is being treated as high priority. We will endeavour to process your request within the next 7 working days.Should you have any further questions regarding this, please do not hesitate to contact me. Regards Mr Eggy Account Servicing, DSIR Team Egg Not good enough ... I've now been waiting far too long. Off come the gloves: Dear Mr Eggy, As you will be aware I have been trying to obtain my data since February. I believe that Egg has breached the Data Protection Act in preventing me from accessing my data. There are eight Data Protection Principles ('the Principles') in the Act, sometimes referred to as the Principles of 'good information handling' which data controllers are required to comply with.I believe that Egg has contravened the sixth data protection principle of the Data Protection Act 1998. The rights to subject access under sections 7 to 9 of the Act fall within this principle, which states, 'Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under this Act.'As a result I have registered a complaint with the Information Commissioner, who is currently investigating this case. You should be aware that your data controller is personally responsible under law for breaches of the Act. If I am forced to pursue this matter through the courts there is a real possibility that the judge will impose a threat of imprisonment for non-compliance. I recommend that you deal with my request as a matter of utmost urgency. Yrs,Angry Bump And within 4 hours I got this back: Dear Angry Bump Your Data Subject Information Request has been dispatched via recorded delivery today. Regards Ms Eggy Account Servicing Egg Amazing what the threat of pokey can achieve... Dare I hope to actually get something? Fingers crossed.

I suppose if you're happy with the money and haven't asked for interest then it doesn't really matter - I'd say it was unreasonable for them to impose this though, in principle.

Fantastic! Well done! Wish they would be so quick with me... If I were you I'd cross out the bit about 'full and final settlement' but it's up to you.

Eek! Don't forget to alter those dates!!

They are obliged to supply all data they hold ... whether they actually do this may be another matter (can be like getting blood from a stone). It depends on the bank in question I think.

yes, you can. Have a read of this: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/80486-claiming-beyond-6-yrs.html#post712882

Yes you can, but the arguments you need to use will depend on whether the charges were applied in the past 6 years. Hope this helps.

Try this: I respectfully decline your offer of settlement and request, once again, that you return to me the charges imposed on this account that I specified, totaling £xx (excluding statutory interest). If, as your letter appears to imply, £16.00 reflects a genuine pre-estimate of the loss caused to EGG for each incidence of exceeding my credit limit or for an unpaid direct debit, then I request that you provide me with a breakdown of how this amount has been calculated. In the absence of such a breakdown I will continue to believe these charges do not reflect your true costs and are therefore unlawful. I will therefore accept the sum offered only as part settlement and on the clear understanding that I will pursue recovery of the remaining £xx, with a County Court claim if necessary. Should such a claim be necessary I will also be seeking interest at the statutory rate, which I calculate as currently totaling £xx, court costs and any other costs I incur in recovering this money from you. I sincerely hope that such action will not be necessary and am genuine in my desire to reach an amicable settlement with you without recourse to the courts. My Request for Repayment letter dated 26/3/2007 indicates that you have until 12/4/07 to respond before I proceed to the next stage of my request. My deadline remains the same despite your offer. For the avoidance of doubt, I wish to stress that I do not accept your offer under the terms stated in your letter. I trust this clarifies my position. Yours sincerely, vbrep_register("737941") If no dice after that, send LBA.

You don't have to put forward evidence - they have to prove that the charges are fair. Which they won't, because they aren't. Press on and you'll get your cash.

I'd say so, yes. Accept the smaller amount as partial settlement and pursue the rest.

If you've asked for the interest from the start then include it, if not then just claim the charges.

Just amend the wording on the templates in the library. Good luck.

They do this a lot. You can threaten to force disclosure through the courts (there's a letter in the library, I think), and report them to the ICO. If you can't get the info then estimate the charges. They have paid out for estimated charges before. Hope this helps.

I'd say that as long as you asked for the interest from the start then go for it. They won't want to go to court so you will almost certainly get at least 8%. I would proceed and give the judge the option of awarding the unauthorised rate, the authorised rate or the statuatory court rate - unless you need the money any time soon that is!

Nope. Stick to your timescale.

As long as that's what they've charged you, that's a-ok.

April 2007 ICO current response times All written complaints and enquiries will receive a response within 14 calendar days of receipt. In this response we will either deal with all the matters raised straight away, or where this is not possible, we will write to you to acknowledge your correspondance, give you a reference number and tell you what will happen next including whether we need any additional information from you. Some matters are more complex than others. Below is some information indicating how long it currently takes us to deal with the complaints, enquiries and telephone calls we receive. By ‘deal with’ we mean ‘responding’ to enquiries, ‘providing the outcome’ to a complaint and ‘answering’ telephone enquiries. All reference to ‘days’ means calendar days. Complaints and enquiries made under the Data Protection Act or the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. 66% of all casework in this area is dealt with within 30 days, 91% is dealt with within 90 days, 98% within 180 days and 99% within 365 days of receipt.

Is this right? Seems rather arbitrary...

Maths was never my strongpoint I'm afraid - I'd just call them, find out what the current rate is and use that.

more info here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/natwest-bank/80804-tom-brennan-natwest-must.html#post717022

Good luck!

yes, use the current rate. It seems to be 14.9%, but may be different depending on which card you had. Best thing to do is call them and find out, or check on your original T&C if you have them.

I've been in a protracted e-mail exchange with Egg for 2 months trying to get a DPA request sent out through the website without further ID requests etc. I complained to the ICO last week, and have now received a message from Egg (at the bottom of this post) saying they have changed their policy. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the complaint but it's a surprising volte face after all the bloody-minded nonsense they've been spouting for so long. I've included the last few messages of a series that began in early February for your amusement. Mar 2007 Dear Mr Bump Thanks for your message Egg does not believe that the terms and conditions of the Agreement are in any way unlawful or unfair. Egg recognises that customers sometimes exceed their Credit Limits and/or fail to make a payment and has systems and processes in place to deal with this. These include the use of computer systems, staff and other necessary costs. The charges set out in condition 7 of the Agreement are calculated by taking into account the costs incurred by Egg in maintaining these systems and processes and dividing this sum by the estimated number of customers who will exceed their Credit Limits or fail to make payments. These charges therefore represent a genuine pre-estimate of the loss caused to Egg by customers who break the terms of their Agreement. Your Data Subject Information Request(DSIR) has been actioned and posted. If you require anything else then please do not hesitate to contact us Regards Humpty Dumpty Internet Customer Services Apr 2007 Dear Mr Humpty, I wonder if you could give me an update as to the progress of the DPA request 'actioned' on March xx. I've received nothing as yet, and the deadline expires soon. Many thanks, MrBump Apr 2007 Dear MrBump We sent a Data Subject Information Request form (DSIR) to you on xx March 2007. We charge £10 for processing a Data Subject Information Request and we also request identification documents in order to verify your details. As soon as we have received your payment and identification document we'll be able to start processing your request. You'll receive your information within 40 calendar days of us receiving those details. Thanks for your message Regards Humpty Dumpty Apr 2007 Humpster, I took your message saying 'Your Data Subject Information Request (DSIR) has been actioned and posted' to mean that you had actioned my request and posted my data. I have received no correspondence from you regarding this matter, despite you claiming to have sent me a letter relating to this on xx February 2007. I find it ridiculous that you require any further identification from me since I am communicating with you through your own secure messaging system and asking you to post my data to the same address to which you happily send cards and correspondence. I take a dim view of your blatant attempts to prevent me obtaining my data and would remind you that you are legally obliged to provide it to me. As you seem unwilling to provide my data I will be contacting the Information Commisioners office for advice on your conduct. Since you seem unable to trust your own systems, or of actually posting a letter to me, perhaps you could suggest another way of verifying who I am. Be aware that I will not allow you to stretch this out ad infinitum. Yours Sincerely, MrBump Apr 2007 My Dearest MrBump, We do need the required identification documents that were requested in the letter you received, without these we're unable to send out a Data Subject Information Request. We're unable to verify you in any other way. As soon as we have received your payment and identification document we'll start processing your request and you'll get your information within 40 days of us receiving those documents. Thanks for your message and if you need to know anything else please just ask, I'm here to help. Regards Humpty Apr 2007 My Dear Humpty, Thank you for getting back to me, but I wonder if you actually read my message? As I clearly said: 'I have received no correspondence from you regarding this matter'. I have twice been told that you have sent me something, but, I repeat, I have received no correspondence from you regarding this matter. You have claimed to have sent me a Data Subject Information Request form (DSIR) on xx February 2007 and again on xx March 2007. I have had no such letters. I have been trying to access my data for several weeks, and this is simply unacceptable. Can you just tell me what it is you require, and where to send it. I am not prepared for you to simply tell me you have posted something for months on end. Yours Sincerely, MrBump Apr 2007 Darling, I'm sorry that you've not yet received the correspondence we've sent out regarding the Data Subject Information Request. I've arranged for this to be sent out again and you'll receive it to the following address; MrBump Esq Bump Towers Hackney I'm unable to provide you with where to provide the identification to directly as this isn't part of the process, however you can rest assured that everything will be with you shortly. Thanks for your message, If you need anything further in the meantime let me know. Regards Humpty Apr 2007 Dearest Humpty, I am surprised that you are 'unable to provide you with where to provide the identification to directly as this isn't part of the process'; surely the address is 'part of the process' - it would be rather difficult for me to send anything to you without it. I will not rest assured that everything will be with me shortly as it has now been 38 days since I asked for this information and despite repeated assurances that you would send me something I have received nothing. While you may not be breaking the Data Protection Act directly, I'm sure the Information Commissioner will take a dim view of these delaying tactics. As I said in my message sent earlier this morning, I am surprised you are requesting ID since my address remains the same as that you have on file. However, I am sure you will accept this email -- through your own secure messaging system -- as confirmation of my identity. After all, unless I am who I claim to be, I would not be able to answer the security questions, would I? If you do not consider your messaging system/website sufficiently secure, perhaps you would let me know in writing. Despite your unwillingness to provide me with an address, I will assume that the following, found on the internet, is correct: Jenny Gordon Data Protection Manager Egg PLC 1 Waterhouse Square 138-142 Holborn London EC1N 2NA I will send the £10 fee to this address today. I look forward to receiving the requested information, and will then proceed with a request for full refund of all penalty charges, and the DPA fee. Alternatively, to avoid wasting court time, I would again suggest that you refund these charges immediately, saving yourself additional expense and costs. Yours sincerely, MrBump Apr 2007 My Dear Bumpy, I'm sorry you feel this way. However you need to send the £10.00 cheque to the address given on the Data Subject Information Request form which has been sent to you on xx April 2007 as you haven't received the form issued previously. I'm unable to accept your secure message as confirmation on your identity for this data request. If you'd like to make a formal complaint, please write to our Customer Relations Office at the address below: Customer Relations Office Egg Pride Park Riverside Road Derby DE99 3GG Once they've received your complaint, they'll respond to you, within five business days from receipt of your complaint, by phone, post or e-mail. Thanks for your message. Regards Humpty Apr 2007 Dear Humpty, Third time lucky, perhaps. I won't hold my breath. MrBump Apr 2007 Dear Bump Thanks for your message. If you've any further queries please feel free to contact me again. Regards Humpty Internet Customer Services Apr 2007 Dear Humpers, Thanks for your message. Please can you explain why you will discuss my account with me through your 'secure' messaging system, allow me to apply for credit on the system, and post credit cards to the address that you have on file for me, but will not post me my statements to the same address when I ask for them through the website? I am very concerned that you are seeking further identification from me than that which you already have and will not accept my online requests, as it strongly implies that you feel that your website is not sufficiently secure to handle such data. Can you confirm that the website and messaging system should not be trusted with handling personal financial information? Since you do not trust the Egg system I wonder if in future I should communicate with you solely through the postal system to avoid compromising my data? Please advise. Yours sincerely, MrBump Apr 2007 Dear Bump I'm sorry for any inconvenience caused. Previously, a secure message was not one of our accepted proofs of ID for this type of request. However, to improve the speed and efficiency of this for our customers we now accept secure messages as proof of ID when making a data subject information request. I've passed your details on to the team that will process your data subject information request to let them know you've sent the secure message to us, they'll contact you shortly. I can assure you that our website is both safe and secure. More information can be found on the 'Security and privacy' section of our website, which can be viewed by copying the following link into your web browser: new.egg.com/visitor/0,,3_89058--View_1948,00.html Thanks for your message. Regards Humpty Victory at last! (Although I'm still not going to hold my breath...)

It's unlikely they will do this - a judge fined Alliance & Leicester for such action: You should be aware that recently the Financial Ombudsman Service awarded compensation as a result of the treatment received from Alliance & Leicester by a customer who filed a court claim for the return of unlawfully applied charges. It was decided that the account closure was indeed unfair as it was punitive and retaliatory. Quote:- 'He should not be prevented from bringing a legitimate complaint by the threat of having his account closed; nor do I consider it fair or reasonable of Alliance & Leicester to respond to his complaint about charges by closing the account. Alliance & Leicester appears to me to have used the closure of the account as a retaliatory or punitive measure'. This isn't a legal precedent though. Generally however Natwest don't close accounts. You should set up a 'parachute' account just in case though. There are several basic accounts available that will do DD, SO, and provide a cash card. Good luck!

Bloody hell, 12K! Well done! Have a great holiday. CONGRATS!