A pay day loans company based in London and its director have been prosecuted by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) today after failing to register that the business was processing personal information.
Under the Data Protection Act (DPA), organisations processing personal information are required to register with the ICO. Most organisations will be required to pay an annual notification fee of pounds 35 and provide details about the types of information they process. Failure to notify is a criminal offence and could lead to a fine of up to pounds 5,000 in a Magistrates Court, or unlimited fines in a Crown Court.
Hamed Shabani, the sole director of First Financial, was convicted under section 61 of the Data Protection Act at City of London Magistrates Court today. He has been fined pounds 150 and has also been ordered to pay pounds 1,010.66 towards prosecution costs, as well as a pounds 20 victims’ surcharge. The company, was convicted under section 17 of the Act and has been fined pounds 500 and has also been ordered to pay pounds 1,010.66 towards prosecution costs, as well as a pounds 50 victims’ surcharge.
Before the hearing Mr Shabani had attempted to remove his name from the company’s registration at Companies House in order to avoid prosecution.
Stephen Eckersley, ICO Head of Enforcement, said:
‘Failure to register is not only a criminal offence, but also shows that a company holds a clear disregard for looking after and protecting the personal information of their customers.
‘Pay day loans companies hold important information about some of the most financially vulnerable people in the UK. This makes this company and its director’s decision not to face up to their legal responsibilities all the more concerning.
‘Businesses must commit to looking after the information of their customers and this begins with making sure that they are registered. We will continue to use our enforcement powers to safeguard people’s information.’
The ICO has produced advice and guidance on how organisations can register, including an online self-assessment tool which companies can use to find out if they need to register.
Citations:
[2013] UKICO 2013-37
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 08 May 2022; Ref: scu.528755