Information Commissioners Office

FatCat

FatCat

Well-known member
Does anyone run a small business, I did until recently but it is in the process of closing. I just got a letter from the above organisation stating I owe them £40 or £60 or I could be fined £4000. The only explanation of what it is for is this:

“the data protection fee funds all our data protection activities” they didn’t expand on what they were.

so I logged in to see if I was exempt which is when it got funnier - apparently MPs are exempt - people using cctv to protect their house are also exempt - jolly kind of them.

Any way after completing a questionnaire it appears I exempt - however the ICO kind souls that they are said I could still pay the fee anyway if I wanted to!!!

my instinct says this is fake but I’m fairly sure it isn’t. Anyone else received a similar letter.

Ico.org.uk/fee-checker
 
I'm interested in how you managed to convince the checker you are exempt. I'm secretary of a company which doesn't trade; in fact it doesn't do very much at all. Most years I have to file two documents with Companies House and that's it. But I got this letter last year and I ended up ringing the ICO. I had a long conversation with someone who was very helpful, but we ended up coming to the conclusion that I would need to pay the lower charge. It's split three ways so it's not the end of the world, but it's still a minor annoyance.
 
Capybara said:
I'm interested in how you managed to convince the checker you are exempt. I'm secretary of a company which doesn't trade; in fact it doesn't do very much at all. Most years I have to file two documents with Companies House and that's it. But I got this letter last year and I ended up ringing the ICO. I had a long conversation with someone who was very helpful, but we ended up coming to the conclusion that I would need to pay the lower charge. It's split three ways so it's not the end of the world, but it's still a minor annoyance.
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I just said that I am not processing personal data which was the second question after do you have cctv at your premises. At that point it states that I was exempt.

that’s is true as my company has not actively been trading for 20 months, however when I was trading I never received such a bill and must confess I wasn’t aware of this organisation.
 
They've started chasing this more aggressively in the last year or so - I got the same letter, completed the assessment below, and told them I was exempt - got a confirmation letter back

Registration self-assessment

Under the Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018, individuals and organisations that process personal data need to pay a data protection fee to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), unless they are exempt.
ico.org.uk ico.org.uk
 
FatCat said:
I just said that I am not processing personal data which was the second question after do you have cctv at your premises. At that point it states that I was exempt.

that’s is true as my company has not actively been trading for 20 months, however when I was trading I never received such a bill and must confess I wasn’t aware of this organisation.
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How long have they been in existence for as the letter seemed to suggest it was based upon the data protection(charges and information) regulations 2018.

bit it seems from one of the responses above it has been around for years.
 
FatCat said:
How long have they been in existence for as the letter seemed to suggest it was based upon the data protection(charges and information) regulations 2018.

bit it seems from one of the responses above it has been around for years.
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The new regulations came in in 2018. The ICO always existed.
 
Ingleby_Flash said:
The new regulations came in in 2018. The ICO always existed.
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Ahh ok so was there always a charge associated with it ? I had my company for ten years and it’s the first time I’ve heard from them or is the onus on me to register with them?
If anything it seems to have been triggered by the fact that I am closing my company down.
 
FatCat said:
Ahh ok so was there always a charge associated with it ? I had my company for ten years and it’s the first time I’ve heard from them or is the onus on me to register with them?
If anything it seems to have been triggered by the fact that I am closing my company down.
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The ICO is actively trawling Companies House and now sends these letters to every company. Unincorporated businesses will escape this particular net, but they still have an obligation to register.

I'm struggling to think of many types of businesses which would be exempt. You may not "process" personal information in the sense you mentioned, but holding and storing personal information (from ex customers, ex suppliers and ex staff) is sufficient.
 
Yeah, I think my
FatCat said:
I just said that I am not processing personal data which was the second question after do you have cctv at your premises. At that point it states that I was exempt.

that’s is true as my company has not actively been trading for 20 months, however when I was trading I never received such a bill and must confess I wasn’t aware of this organisation.
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Yeah, I think my problem was that I thought too much about what processing personal data actually means and, following the conversation I had with the ICO, we decided that such limited things that I do in the name of the company probably does constitute processing personal data.
 
13point8 said:
The ICO is actively trawling Companies House and now sends these letters to every company. Unincorporated businesses will escape this particular net, but they still have an obligation to register.

I'm struggling to think of many types of businesses which would be exempt. You may not "process" personal information in the sense you mentioned, but holding and storing personal information (from ex customers, ex suppliers and ex staff) is sufficient.
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Yes I guess so - that’s not how the question was worded though - I would begrudgingly pay it if needs be, but I’m not going to go out of my way - I’ve followed their process, if they want to chase me further, so be it. I was a one man band so no staff, I was using my clients systems rather than my own in terms of data).


I think it would help others if they actually explain what they do and what you are paying for as it seems very vague.
 
I have received the letter too, by way of my accountants.
It looks legit, put it down as another leach that sucks the blood out of small businesses.

I think it is to pay for their services with regards to protecting the public if we misuse or lose their data.
 
13point8 said:
The ICO is actively trawling Companies House and now sends these letters to every company. Unincorporated businesses will escape this particular net, but they still have an obligation to register.

I'm struggling to think of many types of businesses which would be exempt. You may not "process" personal information in the sense you mentioned, but holding and storing personal information (from ex customers, ex suppliers and ex staff) is sufficient.
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Do you know ‘personal’ information about customers or suppliers? or just information you need to do business with them. Even with staff you should only be holding the info you need to employ and pay them.
 
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