Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
HoL member horrified as housing association send confidential records to dispute neighbour
James Walsh Picture: Dieter Perry
The Journal has today published a story about how HoL contributor James Walsh has been the subject of a horrendous data confidentiality bungle.
James was horrified when he discovered that excerpts from an anti-social behaviour diary he had been keeping for more than a year had been sent to the neighbour he was complaining about.
Hornsey Housing Trust, who had asked him to keep details of all complaints, released the email based 'diary' following a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by his neighbour. But it failed to remove his name, email address and other “private” information from the documents.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by james walsh on
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Thanks for posting this. As the old saying goes: 'No good deed ever goes unpunished'. Seriously though, be very careful what you put in your emails to your housing manager.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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It's worrying that a semi-public body can act so carelessly and recklessly.
Redress might include recourse to a solicitor and/or a complaint to the Office of the Information Commissioner.
I was surprised that the FoI Act would cover a Housing Trust and given that it's not obviously encompassed by the legislation, one might have expected them to be especially circumspect.
This sets a bad example and may serve to discourage others from complaining.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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This is outrageous James. I don't know if you have already done this but it needs to be taken up with the information commissioner's office
http://www.ico.gov.uk/
In my job I sometimes have to deal with Freedom of Information requests and go to great pains to redact anything that would identify a third party
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Thanks very much. I've already contacted the ICO etc and i have a solicitor. In fact i've had a visit today from my housing trust. I'll let you know how it all goes. Many thanks everybody.
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I've been promised a written full unreserved apology from the housing trust and offered a nicer bigger flat in another street to take effect immediately. Sometimes you have to publicly shame those in charge into doing what's right.
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No why osbawn ?
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osbawn - Yes, The offer - 'New and better flat in nicer street and also an unreserved apology' is all i could expect. You would have thought that you could get much more legal capital but no, that's it. Maybe someone at the trust will be chastised but things will probably carry on regardless. Anti-social behaviour within the trusts housing stock will carry on unchallenged because there is not the will or the way to deal with it amongst the management of the housing trust.
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James this looks like a good outcome for you. In the circumstances, I expect you'll be tempted to take things no further, in spite of the prima facie breaking of the Data Protection Act (1998).
It might be useful to know how this data breach came about: was it incompetence? carelessness bloodymindedness? I hope that nobody in a similar situation is subject to such conduct.
I wonder if whoever moves into your flat will face whatever neighbour issues you've had.
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