T-Mobile data scam detected a year ago The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has been investigating the theft and sale of T-Mobile customers' personal data for almost a year, it has emerged. News of the security breach, which saw rogue staff at the mobile operator divulge contract details to cold-calling marketeers, was only released to customers last month …
Perhaps the ICO might follow some of their own advice;
• Do not be secretive or deceptive in how you handle data (such as hiding details of DPA offences from the public for a year)
• Do not try to gain an advantage (such as boosting your own lobbying campaign) by using data in a way that people wouldn't expect or might object to.
T-Mobile aren't the only one.
3 months before my contract ran out I was getting 'phone calls every day from some random Indian call centre. My mobile was bought from an 02 shop on an 02 contract: so only 02 know about it and my 'phone number.
The ICO needs to kick some arse. And if it's using this case to get more teeth: all power to it. Companies get off too lightly (another feature of Nu Labour corruption).
Time. If anyone on here has had any experience of the ICO I can tell you that they are a 100% WASTE OF SPACE. I complained about 2 companies processing personal data. One of them is a subsidiary/associate partnership called TMDS (Trade Mark Directpry Services) who are part of CPA Global. They are almost all lawyers YET they processed personal data for 10 years without registering. What did the ICO do ?. Well of course they simply asked them to register. Thats it, no punishment.
As I say, do not waste any time on ICO or DPA 1998 it is all one great big ILLUSION, like Labour being in control is also an illusion.
They managed to stop the imbecilles at MBNA sending me marketing by phone, text and post. MBNA's excuse... the account records showed no marketing but the customer records showed it was ok. This despite over 10 years of asking politely to have it stopped. Of course, each time a card is issued the new card record shows all marketing is ok again (MBNA are very shit like this) and credit card cheques will be issued for all new cards automatically.
So, the ICO did do some good. More teeth (and a better bit of biting) would maybe have made MBNA actually fix their logic issues, but the ICO is not useless; they are just not yet useful.
> Of course, each time a card is issued the new card record shows all marketing is ok again
Err. You complain about MBNA's marketing policies but you still have a card with them?
Personally, when I get junk mail I'm not interested in, I scribble over all of it, stuff it in the freepost envelope and send it back to them. Seem to work for me.
>Err. You complain about MBNA's marketing policies but you still have a card with them?
Believe it or not, if I'd stopped being a customer I'd still have received their marketing crap but with no easy way to contact them and no leverage to get them to stop. Now they've finally stopped the marketing it's there if I need it but so far have not needed to use it since the marketing nonsense started; that would have earned them money (tsk!).
>Personally, when I get junk mail I'm not interested in, I scribble over all of it, stuff it in the >freepost envelope and send it back to them. Seem to work for me.
Yup, but try hearing some imbecille trying to tell you that you haven't got the letter that you're holding, at which point you ask them why they're suggesting you're lying...
This problem isn't just limited to T-Mobile - as we migrated each of our business accounts away from Vodafone over a period of time, ONE company called the numbers suggesting we port to them. It was the same company EVERY time, with no official link to Vodafone. In each call they commented on our request for a PAC code and suggested using it to migrate to their MVNO. Now how did they get the info? Calls to ICO and others brought a "can't be possible" response.
Who is policing ICO?
This is widespread. I had similar problems as my 3 contract was due for renewal (after 12 months of hell with them I wasn't renewing come hell or high water)
As for the ICO: It exists to give the illusion of compliance with EU requirements. If the government was serious about its purpose there would be a LOT of prosecutions by now.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
