Not upheld: unauthorized disclosure of information to third party complaint against FIRST RESPONSE FINANCE LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Mr J complained that First Response disclosed account information, including a settlement figure, to his former partner's parent without authorization during a telephone call. First Response acknowledged the error occurred when agents continued the call after it was placed on loudspeaker and apologized, but declined to provide further compensation. The ombudsman found the apology was an appropriate response to the error and was not persuaded that material loss or significant additional distress beyond that already recognized had occurred, particularly since the parent was actively assisting with account resolution and the settlement figure was subsequently provided to the authorized third party anyway. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while First Response made an error by continuing the call after becoming aware another person was listening, the apology provided was an appropriate response. The ombudsman was not persuaded that material loss or significant additional distress beyond that already recognized occurred, noting that the parent was assisting with account resolution, ultimately made the payment, and the settlement figure was subsequently provided to the authorized third party anyway. The ombudsman declined to determine whether a technical data protection breach occurred, focusing instead on whether First Response treated Mr J fairly and reasonably.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website