PRESS INFORMATION
For immediate release:
Feburary 2003
Information
Commissioner Issues
Warning Over Misleading
Data Protection
Registration Letters.
The
Information Commissioner
is warning UK businesses
against responding to
letters from what it calls
“bogus data protection
agencies”.
Businesses,
unless exempt, are
required to register
(officially known as
notification) their data
processing activities with
the Information
Commissioner. There is an annual
fee of £35.
The
Information Commissioner
is working with the Office
of Fair Trading and its
website, www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
contains a list of
agencies about whom
complaints have already
been made. The Information
Commissioner also states
on its website that it has
received telephone calls
from over 60,000
businesses who have
received letters from
these agencies. Despite the fact
that the agencies and
their letters are
different, it would seem
they all have a common
theme. They require the
recipients to send payment
of between £85-£120 to
“register” with the
Information Commissioner.
Failure to do so
could lead to a criminal
fine of £5,000.
The
Information Commissioner
has made it clear that it
has no connection with
these agencies.
For more information, please contact:
Sarah
Gwyndaf-Roberts
telephone
0161
957 8888
E-mail
sgwyndaf-roberts@wackscaller.com
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