The OFT, which is empowered to step in if the public interest
requires that advertisements should be stopped by means of a court
order, took the action after receiving over 350 complaints about
two mailings from businessman Steven Hester.
Hester, from Cheltenham, sent the mailings under the names 'Data
Protection Registration Agency' and 'DPR Services'.
The OFT considered that they were misleading as they gave the
impression that they were sent by an official government body and
that the businesses receiving them were under an obligation to
register with the sender at a cost of between £55 and £70. The
mailings also failed to explain properly which persons were exempt
from notification.
While UK law requires businesses processing personal data to
notify the Information Commissioner (as opposed to registering),
the fee is only £35. Also, many small businesses that process
personal data for limited purposes are not required to notify –
which Hester's notices failed to explain. Businesses can notify the
Information Commissioner directly: they do not need to use an
intermediary.
Mr Hester has since given written undertakings to the OFT that
he will no longer issue misleading advertisements offering
notification services under the Data Protection Act 1998.
"Any business receiving a letter demanding more than £35 to
notify under the Data Protection Act should ignore it," advised
John Vickers, OFT Chairman. "Anyone in doubt about their
obligations to notify should contact the Information
Commissioner."
Correspondence that is really from the Information Commissioner
always bears his Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9
5AF address, said the OFT.
