Data Protection & Shoosmiths Ltd (solicitors)

[Sparkie1723]

I have noticed that members have been receiving leters by these solicitors about debts they "allagedly" owe creditors, and that they are acting as Colection agents for these creditors ...

below is some info I've downloaded about these solictors

 

1...their company registration particulars and .....more importantly

2...the search I did with the Information Commissioners Office register of data controllers

 

Name & Registered Office:

SHOOSMITHS LIMITED

WITAN GATE HOUSE

500-600 WITAN GATE WEST

MILTON KEYNES

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE MK9 1SH

Company No. 03727751

 

 

 

 

 

 

Status: Active

Date of Incorporation: 05/03/1999

 

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

 

Company Type: Private Limited Company

Nature of Business (SIC(03)):

7411 - Legal activities

 

Accounting Reference Date: 31/03

Last Accounts Made Up To: 31/03/2006(DORMANT)

Next Accounts Due: 31/01/2008

Last Return Made Up To: 05/03/2006

Next Return Due: 02/04/2007

 

 

 

 

 

* There are no entries that match your search criteria.

 

 

Registration Number

 

 

Name Shoesmiths Limited

 

 

Address Witan Gate House 500-600 Witan Gate West Milton Keynes

 

 

Postcode MK9 1SH

 

 

Organisation sub-division

 

 

 

They are not register as a data controller

 

Sparkie1723

[diabolical]

They are registered at their Northampton branch:

 

Information Commissioners - Data Protection Register - Entry Details

[Sparkie1723]

Hi Ya diabolical

 

That,s no good for them Section 16 of the DPA notifications states that the address given on the licence must /shall be of their Registered Office the Northamton office is not their registered office at Companies House and they are committing an offence under sections 17, 18, 19 20 of the DPA.

 

 

 

Sparkie 1723

[diabolical]

True, if they were to have registered on there as Shoosmiths Ltd, but the registration is as a sole-trader, in which case 16 (3)(b) would apply wouldn't it?

 

edit/ FWIW they started at Northampton in 1845, so I presume it would be classed as their main place of business according to 16 (3)(b)

[Sparkie1723]

We'll get to the bottom of this between us diabolical, they are now registerd as a limited company, and a ltd companies address must be their reg office,now the Act also states that licences are not transferrable from company to company or individual to individual, I think they are incorrectly registered, with this info would you agree???

 

sparkie1723

[diabolical]

I agree a Ltd companies address is their Registered Office (as I also run a Ltd company). Their DP registration is for the Shoosmiths branch in Northampton (which isn't a Ltd company). That DP registration has in Purpose 7 that they can use "other companies in the same group as the data controller" i.e. pass info back and forth between each company in the group. I presume that the Northampton branch is their 'main place of business' according to the act. If they have a branch that has Ltd on the end doesn't mean that it has to be the data controller, the Ltd one may have been set up simply to protect the name (which is probably why it is a dormant Ltd).

[Sparkie1723]

Hiya diabolical, "Its good this"

I have checked with notifications at the ICO and they state

The address given by a limited Company for insertion on their licence Must be its registerd office Section 16(1)

Section 16 (2) applies to any other business /partnership/individual and is that of their principle place of business, a Limited Coompany can have several principle places of business and they are permitted to use the licence of the parent Ltd company... provided it is registered correctly with regard to Shoosmiths they are registerd incorrectly and should notify the ICO and correct their registration and...... although it is an offence it is one the ICO only takes action against if the Ltd company fails to notify the ICO with the change once they have been made aware that they are in fact incorrectly registered. This they must do within 28 days of being made aware of the fact.

 

sparkie 1723

 

Sparkie

[diabolical]

Okay, okay!

 

Say I have a sole-trader or partnership business named MyBusiness. I can also start a separate Ltd company named MyBusiness Ltd and legally put it in the same group. If the main business is MyBusiness (not the Ltd) then I have to legally name it as the data controller. This is why I presume that registration is there.

 

I agree with you, the address given by a Ltd company would have to be its registered address as noted at Companies House, but in this case it wasn't a Ltd company but a partnership or sole-trader.

 

phew...

 

your turn...

[Sparkie1723]

Rock on diabolical I love this

The Data Protection Act does not care about main businesses, subsiduary businesses or whatever, IF the LTD company DOES NOT process data it does not have to register with the ICO, ...but if it DOES it has to register, now if the other business(s) processes data and is part of the ltd company it can use the Ltd Companies licence between each other provided it is correctly registerd, but what the other businesses cannot do is share information outside its own organistaion that is why the ltd company has to be registerd, so that data subjects know where to go and write to get any information held about them.

 

even I'm getting typists finger now.......sparkie

[diabolical]

Me too...

 

Agreed, if any company processes data and is not exempt, then it has to register. Their head office is registered, so data subjects have that to write to. I'd be very surprised if this dormant Ltd did any data processing though, my guess is that they just set it up to protect the Shoosmiths name.

[Sparkie1723]

Hi diabolical sparkies back (ha!ha!ha!)

 

I've been giving my fingertips a rest,

Now here's a thing I've checked Companies House and spotted that Shoosmiths Ltd registration says only its accounts are "dormant" but the company is fully active in legal activities now if they have clients and hold info and data about them they have got to register and I've just spoted in the legal guidance given by the Information Commissioner ( not the Office) but the Commissioner that .........Anyone who keeps more than a personal diary with informatin about other people should consider registering.

 

Now aint that interesting???

 

 

"go away sparkie" ha ha ha!!!

[diabolical]

Welcome back Sparkie!!!

 

Yep, it would appear so. If the Ltd keeps certain information on people (and are not exempt) then I would say the Ltd needs to register. I would also say though that as one of the UK's top DPA litigation firms, they would most certainly be properly registered.

 

If you're sure that the Ltd needs to be registered then the easiest way is to contact the ICO and get it confirmed.

[Sparkie1723]

You are one hell of a mind reader, that's exactly what I 'm going to do ...I'll let you know what they say.

cheers for now

sparkie

[diabolical]

I guess I already know what they'll say, I've read their minds (unless my mind-reading thingy isn't working properly)

 

Thanks sparkie, see you later.

[dhoom]

IMO it is not proper for a sole trader or a partnerhip to register under a trading title alone, i.e you can't have a bank account/vat no. etc just under the name of SHOOSMITHS. It needs to read something like Mr. Lawyer t/as SHOOSMITHS. Otherwise it would be very diffult to track down the people behind trading names.

[diabolical]

I get your point just that the logistics would be tremendous. You can however have a bank account under one name that accepts payments under other trading names, the bank just needs to be informed (I have a Ltd and 3 trading names doing just that).

[PriorityOne]

I have a similar thread going on the main part of the Legalities forum and would REALLY appreciate your thoughts.... I am now confused about the whole reg. with the Information Commissioners Office business. Shoosmiths have also sent me a letter, which is why I am asking you to read this thread to the end and give me your views PLEASE !! I don't know which way to turn now...

 

Need some urgent legal advice please !!

 

Although Shoosmiths are not mentioned in this thread, a letter has also come from Shoosmiths and not Shoosmiths Ltd... to do with the events on this thread...

[Sparkie1723]

Here's some info about solicitors not registering with the ICO.

Shoosmiths Ltd Arent registered with the ICO ....Report them to the notifications sction of the ICO

 

ICO States

"One third of solicitors likely to be in breach of Data Protection Act

A crackdown has been launched on those solicitors who consistently fail to fulfil their

obligations under the Data Protection Act, which could see them face stiff fines.

Some 3,000 firms of solicitors, around a third of the total number, have failed to

notify as data controllers (those in charge of data), with the Information

Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Under the terms of the Data Protection Act

organisations that enter details about identifiable individuals onto a computer must

notify the Information Commissioner’s Office, and if they fail to do so, they could be

prosecuted.

 

 

 

1 March 2005

The Information Commissioner’s Office has successfully prosecuted solicitor Ralph Harold Donner after his firm, Feld Mackay and Donner, failed to notify under the Data Protection Act 1998. Following a guilty plea at Bolton Magistrates Court, Ralph Donner was fined £3150 and ordered to pay £3500 towards prosecution costs.

 

 

Sparkie 1723

[PriorityOne]

Shoosmiths are currently threatening me on behalf of A & L Finance Ltd.... but it just says "Shoosmiths" on their letter... which I now suspect is their way of getting round the ICO issue...