Under the Data Protection Act, those who collect and use personal
information have to follow rules of good practice for handling information (called the data protection principles). The Act also gives rights to individuals
whose information they collect and use.
How do I know if my problem is a data protection problem?
You might have a data protection problem if any of the following apply to you:
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You have been denied any of your rights, including your right to see the personal information an organisation holds about you.
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Personal information about you is used, held or disclosed:
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unfairly
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for a reason that is not the one it was collected for, or
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without proper security.
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Personal information about you is:
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inadequate, irrelevant or excessive
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inaccurate or out of date, or
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kept for longer than is necessary.
Before you complain to us
First, tell the organisation concerned and give it an opportunity to put things right. Many data protection problems can be solved quickly without us getting involved. You can call our helpline on 08456 306060 or 01625 545745 for advice to help you to solve the problem.
What happens if I cannot solve the problem myself?
If you have contacted the organisation about the problem but have been unable to solve it, we may be able to help.
If necessary, we will look into your complaint. If we think the law has been broken, we can give the organisation advice and ask it to solve the problem. In the most serious cases we can order it to do so.
We cannot award you compensation or punish an organisation for breaking the law. Our main aim is to get the organisation to change the way it works so that it handles personal information properly in the future.
Supporting evidence
You will need to provide us with information in support of your complaint otherwise it may not be eligible for further consideration. Our complaint form explains the kind of information we need, but if you are unsure please call our Helpline on 08456 30 60 60.
Make your complaint
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By post:
If your supporting evidence is in hard copy, you can fill in the Word version of our complaint form, print it out and post it to us with your supporting evidence.
Data Protection Act complaint form (Word version for submission by post).
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By email:
If all your supporting evidence is available electronically, you can fill in our our online complaint form. Important: information included in the form, and any supporting evidence will be sent to us by email. Email cannot be guaranteed secure as email messages can be intercepted.
Data Protection Act complaint form
(for submission by email).