This is the link to the National Federation of Housing (NHF) submission to DWPs Consultation on Data Sharing with Social Landlords about Universal Credit (17th October 2014). The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) consulted on changes that will allow information to be shared with social landlords about Universal Credit claims. The proposals would means that landlords would find out when their tenants are moving onto Universal Credit. http://www.housing.org.uk/publications/browse/data-sharing-and-universal-credit/ Please remember this is only their Submission to DWPs Consultation and within that link is a link to the full consultation document as well as the NHF submission link which is a PDF download.

This is the link to the National Federation of Housing (NHF) submission to DWPs Consultation on Data Sharing with Social Landlords about Universal Credit (17th October 2014). The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) consulted on changes that will allow information to be shared with social landlords about Universal Credit claims. The proposals would means that landlords would find out when their tenants are moving onto Universal Credit. http://www.housing.org.uk/publications/browse/data-sharing-and-universal-credit/ Please remember this is only their Submission to DWPs Consultation and within that link is a link to the full consultation document as well as the NHF submission link which is a PDF download.

This is the link to the National Federation of Housing (NHF) submission to DWPs Consultation on Data Sharing with Social Landlords about Universal Credit (17th October 2014). The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) consulted on changes that will allow information to be shared with social landlords about Universal Credit claims. The proposals would means that landlords would find out when their tenants are moving onto Universal Credit. http://www.housing.org.uk/publications/browse/data-sharing-and-universal-credit/ Please remember this is only their Submission to DWPs Consultation and within that link is a link to the full consultation document as well as the NHF submission link which is a PDF download.

Hello all. I want to stop my local council sharing our data with our social housing landlord. Is this under the DPA 1998 or 1989? Or does it mater which one?

Wonder if anyone can give any advice about this... .yesterday I got a letter from my Ostomy supply company,Pelican, telling me an ex employee was contacting the users of this company asking them to change to their , newly set up, company to supply our ostomy needs, I am a little worried about how he got mine and other clients of the companies details, has there been a DPA violation?

Last July I had a hard drive replaced in my son's laptop, two months later I had a "north bridge chip" replaced in the same laptop, and just three days ago the computer crashed again, after a half hour conversation with one of the KNOWHOW people he said that the hard drive had crashed again but that they would replace it free of charge, when I asked him about the data on it he said it would be no problem for them to put the data on a flash drive and save it. When I went to PC WORLD I was told that I would have to pay £80 for the data recovery. When I queried this with them I was told that if I wanted the data I had no option but to pay. I asked to be shown this policy and he printed the relevant page and it states.. ."if you accidently delete important files, photos or home videos we can help. our state of the art technology can recover your lost or deleted files etc, etc," My point is that "I" have not lost or deleted any files, the files are still on the three month old hard drive that they put in and are only under threat because it is faulty and must be replaced. I phoned trading standards and was told that I should use "Supply of goods and services act".. Can anyone advise me on this please.

I recently checked my credit file with Experian and there's an entry on it from Feb 06. That's 8 years and 8months old. The info on there is in the Alias section. I changed my surname 20 odd years ago. It's not "bad" information, so it's not impacting me adversely. However, I thought there was a limitation on how long credit agencies could hold data on you. I contacted Experian. Their response was: "Financial associations remain on your report indefinitely." Is this right? It doesn't seem right to me... Thanks

Hi, This is my first post so if I've put this on the wrong place please accept my apologies, I am having trouble trying to find a way to post on other threads I am looking for some advice please, my friend received a letter through his door today (hand delivered) I picked it up as I was letting his digs out, who had already had a go at the envelope - anyway I digress. I looked at the remains of the letter and it was from Phoenix Commercial Collection advising that they were coming to collect goods, because I know my friend so well I thought I'd try and help sort this mess out, and the only reason I did was because they have been trying really hard to address their debt. I called the number on the letter and got through an awful bailiff with such a bad attitude. I explained I had read this letter that was sent to my friend but instead of saying he couldn't discuss the account because I was not the person on the letter, he started to try and arrange with me to collect the goods, he also said that he was willing to reduce the amount owed. I asked if I could speak to someone who would set the payment place back up, and he said no it was down to him, and he wasn't giving an inch. I eventually got the office number off him, and called them, there is a recorded message at the beginning of the call saying they will not discuss accounts with 3rd parties unless a written letter is on the account, which of course in my case it wasn't. I got through to a call handler who asked for the account number which I gave, he then asked for my name which I gave - my own name, which is not on this account. The call handler then started to discuss the account with me, he advised when payment were made etc, I know for a fact this is a breach of data protection because I work with HR Data. Phoenix would not offer any help or advice so I ended the call, I then spoke to my friend and explained the situation, they were shocked that they had received a letter and more shocked that they discussed in detail their account. Where do we stand with them breaching data protection? My friend is contacting the council because the bailiff’s licence expires on Thursday and they have asked for the debt to be paid in cash before then, which has raised alarms bells with us. Thanks in advance.

Hi, I'm new to this so hope it's directed to the correct place. I have had a Guarantor Loan for 6 months with CFO Lending but due to unforeseen circumstances, I have now gone into a DMP with Step Change. I contacted CFO by various methods to explain the situation and asked them to remove the CPA. My bank have since re-deposited 2 payments that they have tried to take. I took a call from them early in August and explained my situation and explained that Step Change as informed me that if I could pay the difference between the DMP payment and my normal payment, out of my budget, then this should be enough for them not to try to get the money through my Guarantor. They said that there had been no communication from Step Change and the interest on my account was accruing. I contacted Step Change who said they had contacted them and they also sent me a breakdown of payments to my creditors, which CFO were included. Today CFO have contacted my Guarantor and along with informing her that I am now 2 payments overdue, Have also disclosed that I have entered into a DMP!!! This as made me feel sick to the stomach and I could not bring myself to contact them with my anger. Can they do this, or this abuse of my personal data? Any help would be gladly received as I need to call them back at some point. Thanks, D.

Hi all, here a quick overview: My fiancee went to the Philippines, and once there turned data roaming on. Apparently it was not possible to call or text with it turned off, and she wanted to be available in case of an emergency (me and our son stayed here in the UK). She got a text from Orange with information about the usage - £8 per MB. She thought it would mean 8p per MB and left data roaming on (she remembers the text saying £?8). The result were several texts from Orange about data usage which were ignored as she was swamped with other texts and busy first arranging surgery and later a funeral as a result of it. I.e. it was a pretty distressing trip for her. The result of data roaming being on and apps running in the background (they were not actively used) was a usage of 200MB = £1600. I realise that a good part of this is our fault, but I do not regard £1600 as an acceptable price to pay. £8 per MB is far removed from their costs, from the value of the service to us etc. Also, their own data packages are cheaper by multiples (the same amount of data paid by packages would be about £240). We've called Orange, but the call center didn't want to amend the bill, now we emailed them (executive office, customer service) as well, asking to amend the bill. The direct debit is due soon, and I'd prefer the issue resolved before that date... Questions: 1) Considering that there have been texts, what is the best way forward for us? 2) What is the best way to deal with the impending direct debit payment? I want to solve this as amicable as possible, and don't want to go down the route of cancelling the direct debit, getting additional charges etc.

BIG BROTHER is a fictional character in George Orwell's novel: Nineteen Eighty-Four and in the society that Orwell describes, every citizen is under constant surveillance by the authorities and everyone is reminded of this by the phrase: 'BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU' Yesterday a surprise press announcement was made concerning radical proposals to link thousands of government databases with the aim of permitting access to sharing of this information by 'all bodies providing public services'. It is generally assumed that such a 'body' (allowed access) would include bailiffs/enforcement agents pursuing government debts. The 'databases' (of which there are thousands) will include the following: The Passport Office, Land Registry (regarding property purchases and sales) School and University records (to check qualifications) Local Authorities (to check council tax records) HM Courts (to check details of criminal records/fines) Energy companies (to check gas and electricity usage) Driving Licence and DVLA records (to check endorsements and vehicle ownership) The 'proposals' have been drawn up by Francis Maude MP and will be contained in a White Paper in the Autumn and may feature in draft legislation for introduction after the 2015 election. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/poli...vate-data.html

Hi, I'd really appreciate some guidance on the following: I've requested an SAR from Lloyds TSB a couple of weeks ago and yesterday, I received a letter from LTSB requesting a signature and completion of a Data Subject Access Request Form (4 pages of pointless questions as far as I can see). Tackling the form first, can I politely tell them to stick their form as I have already given them ample information in my original SAR letter with the £10 postal order and remind them that the clock is still ticking? Regarding the signature, I can go one of three ways: Continue as before, with a printed name only and enclose the template signature letter. Use the CAG Anti-Tamper signature. Get a mate to sign my name for me. Any advice on the above would be much appreciated. Ta, Krysp

hi This is my first post, i have been seaching through the forum for a while, i am getting confused. my husband has several credit cards debts, dating from 2005, they have been passed on to various DCA over the years. He has been paying a token payment of £1.00 SINCE 2006, he is on Esa support group and incapacity allowance prior to this, After reading on here we have requested a credit report from experian. Lowells have sent a form 'Consent to record sensitive data' what does this mean exactly. Is he obliged to get a letter from a relevent proffessional regarding his health, as they mention this in the letter and pass it on to them, We live in a rented house and there are no assets, do i send them a copy of a benefits letter guidence or advice would be appreciated thanks

Hi, First post and all, so if its in the wrong place, please forgive and relocate I spend 2 (Thur/Sat)days a week doing voluntary work at the salvation army, I have aranged this on my own after my Mandatory work placement, I have been there since February. I was told by the assistant I work with on Thursday that she had received a call from someone saying they where from the DWP on Monday (the day I have a interview with them) and that they where checking what days I attend and how much I claim to make sure I wasn't claiming expense twice (Not stupid enough to even try that). now of course she gave the information out which I think is a breach of the data protection act. I just want to get it all straight in my head about who was in the wrong, before I take things further. Was the DWP wrong to ask for this information knowing it is in violation of DPA ? Cheers

Have been following the Durkin case, and now have a query: In 2006-2008 HSBC applied excessive bank charges after DWP stopped my DLA payment (in error) but later paid the arrears. I had been very ill and the local branch had said they would be sympathetic as it was not my fault. Charges were inflated to £1315 and although I requested a review as a priority case they started putting DCAs in touch (four of them in all). Eventually I got fed up and issued a MoneyClaimOnline, last month, and have now filed Judgment. The last of the four DCAs also registered the "debt" with CRAs, so I sued them jointly. They however sent the file back to HSBC and therefore I cancelled my claim against the DCA, and asked them to remove the CRA entry as they had surrendered the matter. They haven't removed it, and it is now the only remaining "debt" on CRA files for me. My credit score is low and quotes the debt as a factor. Is there any guidance somewhere on quantifying compensation in this situation?

Hi everyone, I have a bit of a conundrum, and I'm hoping someone can explain. I've been using Experian's Credit Expert service for some time and have had two active accounts completely disappear in the last two months. One of them is a loan secured on my property (9 years old, 6 years to run), the other is a mail order service (18 months old). Being a little confused by it all, I did the following: Checked my file with Equifax: they only have three credit accounts listed for me (I have 30+ active and settled accounts reported with Experian). The two missing accounts aren't listed. Checked my file with CallCredit (Noddle): the data is fairly comparable to Experian, at least in number (actually has two that aren't reported with Experian), but neither of the missing two are listed here either. I know for certain that the accounts were listed with Experian as they appear on old reports that I've had from them. How is it possible for ACTIVE accounts to completely vanish like this? I've every intention of maintaining payments to the creditors, because it seems like the sort of thing that'll bite you in the a*** in the long run. However, I have no intention of reporting it, as the mail order account had a couple of missed payments in the last 12 months. Is there a precedent that anyone can point me to please? I'm genuinely stumped. Also, how do I go about having Equifax update my accounts? They have next to nothing on me, including a CCJ that is due to expire in literally 12 days. Thanks in advance.

I understand the 'excuses' given by the majority of mobile companies for the high rates charged for roaming in other countries, the main one being that other companies charge punitive rates to use their networks. However, as the market becomes ever more globalised and with the constant mergers and acquisitions of the various companies, we see a company such as Vodafone in particular, with a footprint in a significant number of countries is effectively punitively charging it's own customers under the guise of 'separate corporate entities', whilst still the majority of functions are under a single roof and all reporting through one structure, the Vodafone Group. In addition, Vodafone Group also owns large chunks of the underlying infrastructure, the cabling and fibre, used to route these calls internationally across the data backbone, therefore the costs here are also negligible internally. This seems inherently unfair to the consumer and certainly makes a mockery of their public statements as to the reasons for such high charges. If the market was not a near monopoly then surely these costs would more accurately reflect the actual costs of the roaming.

Hello, This week a BAYV rep called at my home to speak with friends who are visiting me for a short time. The BAYV rep spoke with my friend and then spoke with myself. The BAYV rep said he would get the police to let him in the house if I did not let him in. The BAYV rep freely discussed my friends personal business with myself as well as letting other people outside hear. There was even slander - the slander was that I am a criminal and that I had just assaulted the BAYV rep! I just laughed at the BAYV rep when he said this and again said to him that I am asking him to leave and adding that everything is on CCTV, so, if he would like to make a complaint of assault then I would have the CCTV to show that this was just a lie, made up by himself. When the BAYV rep finally decided to leave, I called one of my German Shepherds outside to underline the fact in bold that the BAYV rep would not enter my house. BAYV will not confirm that they will stop their visits. What is the next step I can take? I do not mind taking this to Court etc, injunction? Any help appreciated, thanks! Since reading this site today, I have learnt that other people have been accused of assault by BAYV! I have sent emails to BAYV requesting that they stop their visits. They have replied to my emails saying that they can not confirm that they will stop the visits to my house as they need to speak to their customer. They have also stated that this is their final response.

2005 Loan made to purchase a leased flat and the loan was secured by a first mortgage on the property (the principal charge). In 2006 the loan was sold or transferred including all of its interests to another company who then recorded their interest by way a charge using the original mortgage deed which was created in 2005. A few months later with out any knowledge being given to us the borrowers, the so called loan in equity only part was sold and put in a pool of mortgages then sold to investors using the Irish stock exchange. We now jump to 2013 when after repeated written requests of why do I have to now include an unknown party on my buildings insurance and who are the unknown party, I am informed that the party concerned in fact own our loan and have done so since 2006. (Nice to know! Thank you Arseden for informing us 7 years after the event ) A few weeks later I receive a written request to make all my future monthly mortgage payments the Euro shipping company instead(joke). I can,t and nor can any one else just sit back and let this happen any longer, I have had enough and wont stand for it any more. I have decided stand up to them. Do you realize what we all have done, We have put our homes at serious risk and been subject to a big time con, the banksters have without our permission mortgaged our property or home to someone else who is then trading it on the Irish stock exchange. In other words they have mortgaged your mortgage ,so what stops them from mortgaging the mortgage of the mortgage and so on! This is down right abuse! Sorry if there are any spelling mistakes I am dyslexic, help is need if I am to fight them using the law any way I can. Have lots of documents which may help other people who feel the same way as I do don’t mind sharing them and would look forward to hearing from any one in the same boat.

Hello, I am new to CAG and would very much appreciate some advice. I have an issue with Prudential Assurance Company Ltd. I wish to obtain details relating to my late husband's life assurance policy that was claimed in 1970. The information is required for evidence purposes in a legal action against a third party who made the claim on my behalf but kept the money for his own use. I have only recently learned of the facts. I have provided proof to Prudential of the existence of the policy. Prudential initially responded by saying: "Unfortunately, due to the time that has lapsed since the claim was made we would not hold any records or documentation in our archived records." I know of others who have recovered old policy information, so I felt that Prudential was just fobbing me off. After some persistence, the insurer confirmed the following information: * They hold personal data on customers and clients that extends to the 1950s, 60s and 70s. * They maintain records on customers and clients for policies which have not been claimed or with a monetary value. * For policies which have already been claimed, they continue to maintain records for a further seven years, after which those records are purged with only limited information kept that includes policy number and brief details of any claim paid on the policy. Prudential have insisted that I provide them with a policy number to carry out a search of their records; but I don't have one. The insurer will not confirm whether it is a primary or mandatory requirement to have a policy number in order to undertake a search of their records - whether they be electronic, manual or on microfiche and decades old. I have asked Prudential to provide me with the following information, based on the information already supplied above. * What other limited information is kept on customers and clients in addition to policy number and details of the claim? Please provide me with a list of all that is kept. * Confirm the existence of manual and/or microfiche records and that these have been searched. * Is a policy number a mandatory requirement for carrying out searches of the records? In addition to the above, I have asked Prudential to supply me with... 1) ...a copy of the statement referred to on page 14 (part 2, section 4(I), Historical Data) of the 'Code of Practice for Tracing Employers' Liability Insurance Policies'. 2) ...a copy of the written policy referred to in the 'Insurance: Conduct of Business sourcebook' (ICOBS) section 8.4.15, that requires insurers to put in place a written policy of compliance in conducting effective searches for historical policies. The written policies are required to assist me in making properly informed determinations in respect of the availability of the policy information I have requested from Prudential. I believe the firm is withholding data I am legally entitled to have; but they wont carry out an effective search for the data. To this end, I need to check the firms tracing policies to be satisfied that Prudential is meeting its obligations and regulatory requirements. Prudential responded by closing down my case file without resolving matters, referring me instead to the Financial Ombudsman Service. But I have used FOS several times and found it to be a dysfunctional and impotent organisation - as has been noted many times on this forum. Furthermore, FOS has made it clear to me that they do not have powers to compel a firm to hand over documentation if the firm chooses not to. The only organisation with such statutory powers is the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and I am currently awaiting a response from them on the matter. The FCA did advise however that they are bound by certain confidentiality restrictions within the Financial Services & Markets Act (FSMA) that prohibit them from disclosing whether or not they are investigating my concerns. The Data Protection Act section 33(3) is clear about permitting retention of personal data beyond prescribed minimum time limits. There is no maximum time limit on the retention of personal data. The said act permits retention of personal data indefinitely if a firm chooses to do so. How long data is kept for, or extends to, and the manner in which it can be searched, is a matter of company policy - the very documentation the firm is withholding. What, if any, court action can I take to obtain the information I need from Prudential in relation to my late husband's life policy? Essentially, the only information I need is: the date the policy started; the date it was claimed; and how much was claimed. Appreciate your help.

The details of more than 1m customers of Orange have been stolen by hackers in the second such breach in just three months at France’s largest telecoms group. In the latest phishing [problem] to hit the telecoms provider in a year, 1.3 million users have had their data swiped, including email addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/042ee31c-d5f4-11e3-a017-00144feabdc0.html#axzz31gT8bJQt

Hi, In March I took out 2 addition mobile phone contracts with Vodafone and as part of the agreement I would be able to share the data from my existing contract onto these new contracts, and this data share would just continue even after the upgrade on my existing contract that was due in May. (As written on the T&C's I signed) I therefore, arrange the upgrade on my original contract earlier this week and was assured again during the upgrade process the on the 42 per month iphone contract (1gb data) that I would be able to continue to share the data. Then after recieving the upgrade I was unable to access the internet on ANY contract, after numerous calls to vodafone I was then told that I had previously been given incorrect information and the as the 42 per month contract is not a RED contract I would not be able to share the data.. I was then told I would have to upgrade to the 47 per month contract (3gb data). So I went ahead with the upgrade and was assured that I would have the data sharer on the account. HOWEVER, I am still not able to access the internet on ANY phone. I have spoken to vodafone everyday since and after being passed from department to department each time I was told that there has been no data assigned to the account and that due to this the internet access has been barred. I was then told this had been resolved and I would be able to access the internet on all handset again. This works until midnight that night, at which point I receive a test message on all phones saying I have used all my data allocation and that I wont be able to access the internet until I buy more data - I have actully only used 88.60mbs of my 3gb allowance!!! This has happened everyday since my upgrade and everytime I call vodafone I get told the same thing.. Its fixed and you will be able to access the internet... That works until midnight everytime. I called vodafone again today and was told that they dont know what is causing the problem or how to fix this. Its apparent that vodafone can't honour the terms of the contract that was purchased but when I try to cancel the contracts I am told they will charge me the termination fee. How can I resolve this because I am not prepared to pay to cancel the contracts when this is a vodafone error that they cannot permanently fix... and I am not prepared to phone vodafone every day like I have done for the passed week. I am beyond annoyed now!! Update: I have now emailed vodafone using the link in the forum and received an auto reply with ref: 6880383

I am new here so hope this is the correct place that I can get help. If not then apologies. I am looking for advice regarding Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts. As part of a recent schools closure consultation one of the other schools under consideration collected information regarding our children. Our local Council Department then collected this information from them but failed to mention that it had done so. This information included our children's full names, year of school they attend and exact distances from the actual school in each case. We feel that the Council Department should have mentioned this as soon as they received it. As we suspected the document collected had information regarding our children we have had to write to our local Council. We have then been refused the information on three occasions whilst invoking the freedom of information act. They have quoted that 'they have no obligation to provide documents' and other such claims. We only received the redacted data when we threatened informing the information commissioner. Our redacted copies we received do not include our children's names as they have been blanked out, but the distances of each child from school still remain. This is quite worrying as this is a small rural area then this can easily identify where a child stays. We also now believe that this information may have been handed out to others in unredacted form where the children's names were not necessary for the purpose they received the documents. Apologies for the long post. I just hope that someone can help. I am hoping that you may be able to help in several ways: * Are we entitled to complain? * Help point us in the correct direction as to what we should do in this case. * Possibly help with a template letter to the Information Commissioner. * Any other advice you can give. Thank you so much for your help in advance. It would mean so much to us.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/04/07/id_theft_website_probe_experian/ selling data to criminals? i will say no more...

Hi, when we started with the current employer we signed upto a T's and C's Matrix document detailing all our terms etc. We have recently been sent a data validation form to confirm our information is correct on "their system", amongst some mistakes in the document ranging from Surname spelt incorrect and Redundancy terms ect, they reference a different T's and C's document that they have tried to create themselves with has most of our original terms missing, ( the reason they say is that they dont use word any more and have moved to excel . Anyway they have asked us to sign this data validation form with any amendments and return to them. I am happy to make any amendments but i dont want to sign anything untill the resend out a corrected form? so have sent back the form highlighting the mistakes, they have replied stating they cannot make any changes as i haven't signed it . Im i right in what i am doing? as signing it could mean accepting the T's and C's referenced and being worse off? Thanks