Recently an estate agent was fined over their data protection regime.
Under the Data Protection Act, all organisations processing personal information are required to register with the Information Commissioners Office. Failure to register is a criminal offence and could lead to a fine of up to £5,000 in a magistrates court, or unlimited fines in a crown court. So its worth doing…
Stephen Eckersley, head of enforcement, said Registration under the Data Protection Act is a legal requirement but also shows that a company is committed to looking after people’s information correctly.
Many businesses handle confidential information and property agents are clearly a group that fall into this category. Having the Information Commissioner investigate your business is a distraction. The right professional indemnity policy can offer you some comfort in this area but the damage to your reputation and the distraction of an investigation is something all businesses will want to avoid.
You can find some information at this link or you can contact us if you would like to find out more.
