Banks need to be able to respond efficiently to customers’ requests

Banks need to be able to respond efficiently to customers’ requests to see their personal data

Speaking at an event held by the British Bankers’ Association, the UK’s deputy information commissioner David Smith called on banks to take their obligation to give customers’ access to the data they hold on them seriously. “Getting it right on data protection doesn’t just mean keeping data secure,” he said. “The law also gives individuals an important right to remain in control of their information.

“I want to remind banks of the need to take this obligation seriously, providing full responses in a timely manner,” Smith said.

He warned that the recent ruling that many banks had mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) means that customers are likely to exercise that right. “We cannot have a repeat of the situation we were in two years ago when the unfair bank charges ruling took place. Our case workers were swamped with complaints from customers who hadn’t received a satisfactory response from the banks.”

A recent study by Which? Money found that by far most common kind of complaint about banks’ data protection practices concerns this obligation to disclose customer data on request. The ICO received 271 valid complaints of this kind last year.

IFC are able to provide a wide range of solutions to solve this problem, including review and process improvements for disclosure processes, information asset profiling and mapping and advice and assistance in relation to information retention and destruction. If you are interested in hearing more call: Julie Burcham on 01923 283694 or email Julie Burcham