Mobile phone munbers and data protection act

redvee

I use my personal mibile phone when at work as I've got too many minutes to personally use up and the chances of getting a work mobile are nil. I use my phone to call customers and colleagues and have no issuse with this. Today I had a voicemail from a customer who I had not called and the voicemail said they had got my number from our place in Weston, this is the second time the shop has given my number directly to a customer without seeking my permission first.
Do the above actions contavine any part of the Data Protection Act? If so can you help with some links to the relevant part.

Smokin Joe

I very much doubt it. If a branch of your own firm has passed your number to a customer I don't see how it could contravene anything.

redvee

Probably does breach company policy though, the manager I asked about in the prescence of the Operations manager wasn't too impressed with the actions of the other shop.

disgruntledgoat

I think that would be "implied consent".

Ollieda

This is basic but......It is a breech of data protection under the Data Protection Act 1998 if they have the data stored in an relevant filing system, or with the intention that it should form part of a relevant filing system. - Basically that if they have it in any sort of noted form (manual or on computer (including saved in a mobile)) that is indexed, i.e. can be searched (like an address book) then the company have a duty to protect this personal data and not give it out without prior consent.

You will have to check company policies/your contract to see if there is anywhere in there where you may have agreed to give your consent in anyway. If you feel that there has been no consent given then you should raise it with the company, or failing this you can try reporting it to the Information Commissioner's Office if they continue to give it out against your will

Ollieda

whoops: forgot their link:

Information Commissioner's Office:
http://www.ico.gov.uk/

Basically the watchdog for anyone in the UK who processes data.

beverick

Ollieda wrote:

This is basic but......It is a breech of data protection under the Data Protection Act 1998 if they have the data stored in an relevant filing system, or with the intention that it should form part of a relevant filing system. - Basically that if they have it in any sort of noted form (manual or on computer (including saved in a mobile)) that is indexed, i.e. can be searched (like an address book) then the company have a duty to protect this personal data and not give it out without prior consent.

You will have to check company policies/your contract to see if there is anywhere in there where you may have agreed to give your consent in anyway. If you feel that there has been no consent given then you should raise it with the company, or failing this you can try reporting it to the Information Commissioner's Office if they continue to give it out against your will

The view of our DPO is that this is not a DPA issue. if you use your personal number for work purposes and someone then contacts you for work purposes that's reasonable use. Someone else referred to 'implied consent' and that's a fair call - it probably is.

Try suppressing your CLI if you really must use your personal phone.

If you ask the company not to use your personal number they do have a duty of care not to but this is more procedural than legal and, unless it was evidence of a systemic failure the ICO would be highly unlikley to take any action (if it's an individual at the company who is acting outside of written/BAU procedure then i't's even less likely to be seen as a DPA issue).

If the calls continue you could log it with your telco as a nuisance call and they'd probably change your number if you insisted (even though the call is not a nuisance as defined in law). Also, as it was you who disclosed the number in the first place it's more than likley (and not unreasonable when you think about it) that they'd charge you for the privilege.

Our DPO suggests that you may want to look at your own company procedures. How are you supposed to contact customers and how are you supposed to advise them to contact you? You may be braking your own company policies in using your personal number. For example, there is a line in our engineer's handbook stating that they are not supposed to use their personal number unless it is absolutely unaviodable (but they do have business use phones).

Bob

redvee

I've put this down as procedural and now have no intention of taking it any further as the 'worng-doers' have been told the error of their ways.