Re: British Gas harvesting phone numbers by duplicity

On Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:08:33 +0000, Judith M Smith ate alphabet spaghetti
and shat out:

> On Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:56:07 +0000, Rupert Moss-Eccardt
> <r.moss-eccardt@computer.org> wrote:
>
>>Scott wrote:
>>> On Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:17:31 +0000, Rupert Moss-Eccardt
>>> <r.moss-eccardt@computer.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> gasso wrote:
>>>>> On 11:24  28 Oct 2009, Bob Ferguson wrote:
>>>>>
>>[snip]
>>>>>
>>>>> Is the offence you refer to one which an official body will pursue
>>>>> or is it left to the individual to (improbably) chase this matter
>>>>> through the courts?
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm sure I not the only person who has had this experience from
>>>>> British Gas;  there must be a growing pool of unhappy customers.
>>>> I would use the complaint form on the Information Commissioner's web
>>>> site to complain about a Data Protection Act breach in that they did
>>>> not collect the telephone number 'fairly' and certainly you provided
>>>> it in the belief it would be used for a different purpose.
>>>
>>> I had a problem with a breach of the Data Protection Act a few years
>>> ago and contacted the Information Commissioner's website.  They
>>> basically told me that I would have to take civil action, that they
>>> may be able to provide some assistance but it was not their job to
>>> take enforcement action to deal with beaches of the data protection
>>> rules.
>>
>>Indeed. So, once the complaint is logged, you go to the County Court for
>>a small amount, Â£5,000 say of damages and use the fasttrack process
>>which can be mostly done online.
>
>
>
> I think that this is incorrect.
>
> You must be able to demonstrate that you are recovering money genuinely
> lost or costs you have incurred.
>
> I suspect that he will not be able to justify Â£5,000 of damages

From my experience of suing spamming ISP's and individuals in the UK, I
find that the district recorder will usually wear Â£95 per hour (or part
thereof) for dealing with companies. If there are additional costs (such
as having to change a phone number or provider) these would be legitimate.

On the other hand, if some random idiot tried to take British Gas through
the small claims process claiming Â£5 in compensation, it's most likely
the case would be defended {by a good BG solicitor acting on behalf of
the defendant) who would probably knock six barrels of shit out of the
claim and walk away with the PLAINTIFF being told to pay the costs.


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