Fraudsters across the UK are attempting to cash in on businesses' responsibility to register with the Government's Information Commissioner.
Quoting the Data Protection Act 1998, companies are sending professional-seeming letters purporting to be final notices, warning that failure to register is a criminal offence. They then demand a registration fee costing anything from £95 to £125.
Under the 1998 Act, many businesses that process personal information, such as bank account details, are obliged to register. However, many are exempt and registration costs just £35.
Becky and David Salisbury, who own three pubs in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, have received two such letters in the past two weeks. Becky Salisbury said: "When I finished the letter, I knew I ought to ring up before I handed over my £95. But there was no number with directory enquiries, and it was only when I was referred to the Data Protection Registrar that I was told it was a scam."
A spokesperson for the Office of Fair Trading, which is investigating the offending companies for breach of the regulations controlling misleading advertising, admitted that it was very hard to stop such illegal operations, saying: "If the police close one down, another just opens up."
In an official statement, Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said: "I advise data controllers to ignore any approach made by these businesses."
He also stressed that there was no connection between the Government office and these companies, and urged anyone who receives such a letter to contact the police and their local Trading Standards Office.
For more information, go to
www.dataprotection.gov.uk.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 1 - 7 May 2003