Quote:
Originally Posted by Ignatius
Perhaps amend to:
I hereby grant you my full permission to debit the account with a fee up to but not exceeding £10.00 – that being the maximum statutory fee payable in respect of a Subject Access Request.
I appreciate many companies automatically take the maximum they're allowed to, but no point in asking them to take the max.
|
A very valid point Ignatius however I should like to point out several things to make this absolutely clear to those others who appear a bit "foggy" on the matter.
We are dealing with hypothetical monies here (ie. your credited account). In the event that VM comply with your SAR and it appears that you have not exceeded their limits then you would be well within your rights to ask for a discount in view of the poor performance levels of services paid for (let's say £10.00 - as a goodwill gesture - Hey presto! your imaginary £10.00 fee is no more).
In the event that they refuse to debit your account in respect of the statutory fee then I would suggest sending them a cheque. On the assumption (as they themselves assert) that it costs them £5.00 to process a non DD payment then, again, Hey Presto! they are providing you with an "up to" (see what I did there?) £10.00 service for a mere £5.00.
VM seem determined to be the masters of their own destruction. In a scenario whereby hundreds or thousands of disgruntled customers seek to assert their rights under the DPA then VM are required, by law, to respond to those requests within a given timeframe.
Notwithstanding the additional staff and resources they would have to undertake to handle such numbers one must also remember that they are liable for a hefty fine in respect of each incidence where they fail to meet their statutory obligations.
The bottom line is "who polices the police"? In this case I think it best that customers directly affected by the imposition of these new regulations endeavour to ensure that the limitations are being imposed fairly and justly on only the 5% who "abuse" (see: have a fundamentally different interpretation of the word "unlimited" to that which is now mooted by VM) the network.
The DPA is one way to establish this.
The bean counters at VM shouldn't take too long to catch on that their overheads and resource demands will increase beyond any anticipated savings to be made in the event that customers assert these rights.
Second Draft (getting there).
Dear sir/madam,
Re: Customer Acc No. XXXX - Broadband Traffic Management - DPA Subject Access Request.
I am a Virgin Media customer currently using your XXMB Broadband service. It would appear that on XX/XX/07 between the hours of XX & XX that my broadband connection seems to have been “traffic managed” in line with your Terms and Conditions of service as amended May 2007.
Based on the information and diagnostics currently available to me I very much doubt that I exceeded the AUP limitations within any 24 hour period covering this incident. I attach hereto copies of comparable speedtests run from individual independent sources and a breakdown of my actual usage, as per your recommended client “DU Meter”, which further substantiate my assertion.
Obviously I appreciate that there is room for a margin of error from online tests / monitors such as these so, in the interests of accuracy and factual documentation, I would ask that you consider this correspondence to be a formal request under the terms of the Data Protection Act that you supply to me all information you hold pertaining to the aforementioned account - specifically with regard to and including my broadband usage since the introduction of your aforementioned Traffic Management systems.
It is my understanding that my account with you, which is run on a credit basis, is currently in good standing. With that in mind, and not wishing to unduly increase your payment processing overheads, I hereby grant you my full permission to debit the account in the sum of £10.00 – that being the maximum statutory fee payable in respect of a Subject Access Request.
In the event that you are unwilling to debit my account and, for whatever reason, require payment by any other method then please advise me by return.
Take note that your legal obligations under the Data Protection Act require you to furnish me, the data subject, with the information I have requested within 40 days of my having made this request and not 40 days from receipt of payment of the statutory fee. Failure on your part to do so will result in my reporting the matter to the offices of the Information Commissioner.
For the avoidance of doubt, and in keeping with your legal responsibilities under the terms of the Data Protection Act, please take note that all and any information which you provide to me by return in respect of this request must be presented in a clear, legible manner that I am able to understand (Part II .7. 1.c subsections i & ii of the Act refer).
Further I would ask that you take note that I am requesting that this information be supplied to me under the exemptions afforded by clauses 35 (1) & (2) thereunder as I reserve my right to seek legal advice / take legal proceedings to seek redress in the event that it is established that you have either;
1)Acted outside of the terms of your published Traffic Management policy.
0r
2) Willingly employed technology which is designed to make significant changes to the
services so the
services I am entitled to receive in return for the charges I pay are significantly altered or reduced - thereby compromising my rights and entitlements under our contract (your Terms & Conditions J, 3.b refer) .
Yours sincerely