The act, uncovered by the BBC's Watchdog programme, is in breach
of an undertaking to the ICO signed by HBOS earlier this year after
it was found throwing out documents containing customer
details.
The ICO is conducting an audit of HBOS and its security
procedures and will soon examine the evidence gathered by Watchdog.
If a breach is found then it will serve an enforcement notice on
the bank. A repeat offence in breach of the notice will be a
criminal offence and will open HBOS to prosecution.
"This was one of the banks that signed the undertaking last
year," said an ICO spokeswoman. "If they are found to be in breach
of that then the next step will be enforcement action.
"An enforcement notice would outline what they needed to do,
ordering them to make sure they have the procedures in place to
make sure it doesn't happen again. If it does it is a breach of an
enforcement notice," she said.
Watchdog reporters said that they found torn up bank statements
which revealed customer names and account numbers and a complete,
untorn cheque for nearly £1,700 in a bin outside a branch of
Halifax.
HBOS apologised in a statement. "We're very sorry for any
inconvenience we've caused. All of the relevant authorities,
including the Information Commissioner and Financial Services
Authority (FSA), were informed immediately."
"We process over 100 million transactions through our branch
network every year. This incident, which is clearly regrettable,
needs to be viewed within that context. Following the approach from
Watchdog, we're reviewing our procedures again," said the bank.
HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby signed the ICO undertaking
after it was found by the ICO to be throwing documents which
identified customers and their banking details into ordinary bins.
The ICO said that this was a breach of the Data Protection Act.
"[HBOS will ensure that] adequate and relevant data protection
training [will] be given to all employees including emphasis on the
importance on [sic] confidential secure waste disposal," read
Hornby's undertaking. "Customer facing outlets will be equipped
with secure lockable bins for confidential waste disposal." The
undertaking said that all lockable bins and shredders should be
deployed by 28th February this year.
The ICO can audit organisations to ensure their procedures are
adequate to protect people's privacy, but must have the permission
of the organisation first. Commissioner Richard Thomas last week
called for increased powers, asking Parliament to give him the
right to audit organisations even when not given permission.
