breaking of data protection act

[therubster]

has the data protection act been broken.

i have a �1200 loan with a sub prime lender. due to being off work with a slipped disk { located L2 + L3} and only earning ssp i could not make one of my monthly payments. i spoke to them and sent them the proof of my condition etc and they said that we could come to an arrangement to make the payment up to which i agreed. 2 days later i received a call from the branch manager to sak why i had not paid. i explained what had been agreed and she was ok with this, however i was receiving up to 6 calls a day even though it was not due for another 2 weeks. i live with my mother and because they could not contact me by phone sent a field agent to my address to speak to me. the only people who were at my address were 2 contractors doing some repairs to our drive. the agent asked them where i was and the contractors told the agent that no one was at home.the agent then asked the contractors if they had my mumsphone number and if so would they phone her to see where i was. the contractors would not ring my mother or give the agent her phone number. the agent then left a letter for me and told the contractors to tell me that if i didnt contact the company within 24 hours they would instruct bailiffs to attend the property. the contractors explained this to us and have both written a statement and signed it to say what the agent said. i rang the company and told them what the agent had said and they said that he did not mean to say what he said and that they were sorry. i was still receiving calls so i rang and spoke to the manager to complain and told her that i would be seeking advice from the cab. she told me that they were within their rights to ask other people were i was.

can they ask mr joe public where i am or discuss my account with anyone else but me and have they broken the date protection act or has what they have done legally allowed. any ideas before i take this further.

[factor-fiction]

Rather than pursuing this line of enquiry (blind alley) I suggest you should concentrate on meeting with the lender to reach an amicable solutionas quickly as possible. It's also worth speaking to CAB or debt counsellors if you really have no way to raise sufficient money. Whatever you do, don't make things worse by taking out another loan. Sell some assets if necessary and cut back spending to bare minimum for a while.

[thetraveller]

You can make a complaint to the banking ombudsman if they are a bank, if they are a company you can also make a complaint to the FSA (financial services assoc.) they will be registered and will have displayed details on correspondence BUT, and this is the thing, I agree with 'Factor30', sort the debt out first and THEN make your complaints, if this goes to court, your alleged breach of the DPA will not hold any water as a defence for not paying. you can do both in tandem but you MUST sort out the debt. hope this helps.

[dzug]

Yes they are allowed to ask Joe Public where you are. Joe Public doesn't have to answer, true, but is not bound by the DPA if he does.

And I don't really think they have 'discussed your account' in anything but a trivial sense with the contractors. Certainly not enough to warrant getting worried about.

Concentrate on resolving the debt issue