Erik Ribsskog
<eribsskog@gmail.com>
Response from the Information Commissioner’s Office[Ref. ENQ0493394]
Erik Ribsskog
<eribsskog@gmail.com>
Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 9:40 AM
To:
casework@ico.org.uk
Hi,
I think it’s no doubt that the Virgin-engineer could have come across personal information, about me, when he sat down, in front of my computer.
And this guy didn’t seem reliable, to me.
Because he acted like he was Charlie Chaplin, and fell down, from the chair, and distroyed the printer.
Even if this was young engineer.
And an engineer should understand how to sit on a chair.
So I think he broke my printer on purpuse.
And then I think he also could have drilled the extra hole, in the wall, on purpose.
This is not the kind of people, that I want, to sit in front of my computer.
And I could have had personal information on it.
And this engineer was very good at computing, so who knows what he did, on my computer.
I didn’t like monitor him, I tried to be a bit laid-back.
And it was also two other Virgin-staff here, that day.
And that was a fourth Virgin-guy.
So you have mixed up two of the Virgin-guys.
It wasn’t the one who didn’t have an apointment, who looked at my computer.
Those were two different guys.
So Virgin sendt five engineers here, to install a broadband-line.
And it took them about a week, to finish the job.
In 2006, BT used one engineer, and only one visit, (that lasted a couple of hours, I think it was), to install a broadband-line, when I lived in Mandeville St.
So this that Virgin needs five guys to install a broadband-line, (when BT only needs one guy).
It’s makes me wonder if Virgin are trying to terrorise me, or something.
Hm.
And this is the year 2013.
It’s not the year 1913.
And still Virgin doesn’t have an e-mail-address.
A company which sells broadband-lines that doesn’t have an e-mail address.
And the same with Ofcom.
Are you sure you don’t have these e-mail-addresses.
When I worked as a Store Manger, in Norway, I had a book with phone-numbers, for other organisations, in the retail-business.
Don’t you at ICO have a list, where you have e-mail-addresses, etc.
What if I had had a girl-friend, and had a picture of her naked, was on the screen, and the computer was on.
Or a love-letter had been laying on the table?
That would have been personal information, I think.
So I wonder if that Virgin-guys go to your flat, without an apointment, is a breach of ones Data Protection-rights.
(Norwegian: ‘personvern’).
They can’t say they don’t understand the new IT-technology.
Because these are IT-organisations, I’d say.
Could you please escalate this case to your line-manager.
So I could get a second opinion about this, please.
Thanks in advance for the help with this!
Best regards,
Erik Ribsskog
PROTECT
18 April 2013
Dear Mr Ribsskog
Thank you for your further correspondence dated 11 April 2013.
I understand from your correspondence that you are concerned that a Virgin engineer who attended your properly did so without an appointment, and that this engineer also looked at your PC.
As I have outlined in my previous emails, the engineer attending your property without an appointment would not be covered by the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). As such, it is not a matter that this office can address.
The DPA is specifically concerned with ‘personal data’, and gives certain rights to individuals regarding their personal data. It also states that data controllers, (organisations who process and control personal data), shall process personal data in line with eight principles of good information handling.
In your latest email you now also mention that the engineer ‘looked’ at your computer, but you do not give any further information. If he simply saw what was on your screen whilst he was in your property then this would not be a concern under the DPA.
If he processed, (used, disclosed, edited, deleted etc), personal data contained in files on your computer, then he would have needed to do this in line with the provisions of the DPA. In particular, in line with the first principle, which states that personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully and with respect to one of the conditions outlined in the Act.
In practise this means that at the point an organisation collects personal data from an individual, it needs to give ‘fair processing’ information to the individual concerned about how their data is going to be used. This is often given in the form of a ‘Privacy Notice’ (a written statement).
If the engineer did process files on your computer which contained your personal data, and you did not receive any fair processing information then this could potentially be a concern in relation to the DPA.
If you believe that this is the case, you should, in the first instance, write to the organisation directly and outline your concerns. Keep copies of any letters you send together with any replies you receive.
If, having raised these issues in writing with the organisation, you still have concerns about their compliance with the DPA, you may then wish to make a complaint to us for assessment. During this assessment process we would determine whether it is likely or unlikely that the organisation complied with the DPA in relation to this issue.
For us to be able to consider a complaint we would need you to provide us with a completed complaint form (which can be found through the link below), a copy of your complaint to the organisation and their response (if they have responded), and a copy of any other relevant information, eg evidence that the incident occurred and a copy of any privacy notices you received.
http://www.ico.org.uk/
Unfortunately I am not able to provide you with specific contact information form Virgin or Ofcom, as this is not within the remit of our office. I have again provided the links to the contact pages of their websites.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/
If you are unhappy with the service you have received from us, you can make a complaint to us using our ‘Case review and service complaints form’. I have included a link to information on our website about how to complain, the complaints form can be found on this page.
http://www.ico.gov.uk/
I hope this information is of assistance to you. For more information please contact our helpline on 0303 123 1113.
Yours sincerely
Amy Holmes
Case Officer
First Contact Group
______________________________
The ICO’s mission is to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
If you are not the intended recipient of this email (and any attachment), please inform the sender by return email and destroy all copies. Unauthorised access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted.
Communication by internet email is not secure as messages can be intercepted and read by someone else. Therefore we strongly advise you not to email any information, which if disclosed to unrelated third parties would be likely to cause you distress. If you have an enquiry of this nature please provide a postal address to allow us to communicate with you in a more secure way. If you want us to respond by email you must realise that there can be no guarantee of privacy.
Any email including its content may be monitored and used by the Information Commissioner’s Office for reasons of security and for monitoring internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. Email monitoring or blocking software may also be used. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any email you write or forward is within the bounds of the law.
The Information Commissioner’s Office cannot guarantee that this message or any attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended. You should perform your own virus checks.
______________________________
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.org.uk