You have permission to talk to my wife
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ct Marriage vows are a deeply emotional commitment to care, share and endow our partners with all our worldly goods, so it can come as quite a shock when call centre agents impertinently imply we are defrauding our nearest and dearest. Welcome to the world of the 1998 Data Protection Act (DPA), where only individuals exist and companies are the arbiters of our information unless they have a permission infrastructure. In theory, data protection is a godsend; in practice it’s causing grief.
Jennifer Kirkby Tel: ⫹44 (0) 1943 878046 e-mail: Jennifer.Kirkby@ white-waves.com
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PROBLEM SCENARIOS • The wife who, on querying the household electricity bill, cannot get any information because the account is in her husband’s name. How does she feel? Infuriated — her next call is to move the energy account to another supplier. • The lady who asks for the final payment needed for a joint mortgage endowment and is told the policy is in her husband’s name; never mind that the direct debit goes to a joint account, she cannot have payment details. How does she feel? Vengeful — the company need never ask for her insurance business again. • The father who cannot lock down his underage son’s mobile phone to stop pornography downloads because the contract is in the child’s name. How does he feel? Irate — he ensures the whole family cancels every contract they have with that supplier.
Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management
PROBLEM AREAS The problem of data protection versus family ties crosses all industries — can a husband sign for his wife’s parcel delivery — but most problems occur in: — — — — — —
Energy Telecommunications Education Financial Services Health Legal
Expectations and the degree of ‘personal’ information, mean that problems with suppliers at the top of the list cause more indignant anger and fewer disclosure complaints than with those at the bottom. Few husbands complain when wives obtain details of the electricity bill, but disclosure of even the existence of a sexually transmitted disease test is venturing on to very dodgy ground — legally and morally.
Vol. 13, 1, 24–27
Palgrave Macmillan Ltd 1741-2447/05 $30.00
You have permission to talk to my wife
It is a particular issue for married couples, because gender is easily determined on the telephone. Other pairings likely to run into trouble in the most mundane of circumstances are parents and underage children, children and elderly parents, common law partnerships and even secretaries and bosses. The Data Protection Act (DPA), supported by the Human Rights Act, and intertwined with contract law, is a shield to protect people from those who pry into their affairs for personal gain and steal their identity — including the UK Government. Used with flair and imagination it’s an asset to customer relations, but its leaden interpretation by over-cautious companies leads to poor service by opening a Pandora’s box of emotions. The anger unleashed when consumers were asked about their experiences was vitriolic. It is time organisations provided a proactive a
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