Having written to Bradford and Bingley to establish why the diary text ended in May of last year, I have received a letter from them this morning.

"Thank you for your letter dated 9 March 2001 requesting further information to your Subject Access Request. I write to confirm that your case was passed to Hammond Suddards Edge Solicitors on the 15th May 2000. Once a case has been passed to external solicitors, no further personal data is input onto Bradford and Bingley systems. Therefore I am unable to provide you with any additional information. The most recent entry on our system is the diary text dated May 2000. If you wish to be supplied with a copy of any information that our solicitors hold about you, please make a seperate Subject Access Request in full, directly to Hammond Suddards Edge. You may find however, that Hammond Suddards Edge do not disclose this information, which may fall under the exemption of Subject Access provisions@Legal and Professional privilege' clause (schedule 7, paragraph 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998). In respect of your request to be supplied with the names of our tracing agents, I must inform you that the Subject Access provisions do not accommodate this type of request for information. Such a request would identify a third party who has not consented to their identity being disclosed. I thank you for your patience in this matter.......etc...etc..."

Any comments or advice where I go from here?

I have already written to Hammonds Suddards' requesting SARN, but as yet I have not had a reply. I can only assume their letter content will be in the same vain as B&B's.

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- Debbie (debbie.beal@ntlworld.com), March 15, 2001

Answers

When in doubt, and in a serious situation (such as when a lender is demanding payment of an ancient unbsubtantiated 'claim', e.g.) send a copy of ther letter to the Information Commissioner (formerly the Data Protectioner Commissioner) and ask for an 'assessment'.

The IC will be able to guide you.

In ther meantime you could always tell the lender that you await the IC's opinion. Or not.

-- Eleanor Scott (eleanor.scott@btinternet.com), March 22, 2001.