AN AMBLESIDE trader was nearly the latest victim of a scam which encourages businesses to part with cash by taking advantage of changes in the Data Protection Act.
Owner of Middleton's printers and stationers Paul Tetley received a final notice' from a Liverpool-based company called the Data Protection Agency Services demanding payment of £95 to register his business under the Data Protection Act 1998.
The legitimate-looking letter, which comes with a return envelope, informs the recipient that their business is not registered with the Office of the Information Commissioner which is a criminal offence' that carries a £5,000 penalty.
Mr Tetley, who immediately became suspicious, called Cumbria Trading Standards and logged a complaint.
"If you read through it quickly you would just fill it in and send the off the £95," he said. "My worry is that people don't know about this scam I didn't before I received this letter.
"Many companies will just put this letter in their system and pay up. It will only be weeks later when there's an audit that they will notice what has happened. I want to do something about this and warn businesses in South Lakeland what is going on. Somewhere, somebody is making a lot of money out of this."
Mr Tetley, who is treasurer of Ambleside Chamber of Trade, said he would be alerting members at this week's monthly meeting.
Under the Data Protection Act 1998 businesses which processes personal data have to register with the Data Protection Agency, which they can do themselves at the correct cost of £35.
Spokesperson for Cumbria Trading Standards Pat Thomas said this "scam" had been a problem for some time and said that inquiries were ongoing.
"The letters are almost threatening and we at Trading Standards do not approve. This is a continuing problem. We have had a lot of complaints from businesses in the area about these type of letters.
"It is a very cleverly worded letter. A lot of these circulars fly very close to the wind without committing criminal breeches of the law," he said.
He advised that companies which received similar letters did not part with their cash and anyone who thought they needed to register should contact the Data Protection Registry on 01625-545745 or log on to http://www.dpr.gov.uk
May 2, 2003 09:00
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