July 2012
Welcome Financial Services Limited was issued a penalty of £150,000. The Lender lost two back-up tapes containing the names, addresses and payment histories of 600,000 clients as well as the names and addresses of another 800,000 clients. The tapes also contained past and present employee information.
The tapes went missing from the firm’s office in the Kingston House, West Yorkshire in November 2011. The tapes are yet to be recovered.
The Information Commissioners Office undertook an investigation into the alleged breach of the Data Protection Act and has now issued Welcome Financial Services with a penalty of £150.000 for breaching the Act.
It is every organisations duty to ensure that their client and employee information is secure at all times. It is not acceptable to be misplacing or losing information, this causes a tremendous amount of concern and anguish to those involved. The tapes whereabouts are still unknown and 1.4 million people’s details have been compromised.
BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16443598
Information Commissions Office (ICO)
