Why would a new communal door require my electricity bill?

[PerkyOchrePeer]

I live in a flat , and we've just been told that we are going to have a new communal front door with an intercom. I have now been asked to submit a copy of my electricity bill before they fit the door and I have asked why?Because it's a private bill, and I'd like to know why they're asking before I submit it.Does anybody else know what this might be forI have now been asked to submit a copy of my electricity bill before they fit the door and I have asked why? Because it's a private bill, and I'd like to know why they're asking before I submit it. Does anybody else know what this might be for?

Will the new system require electricity to operate? Presumably it should run on the communal wiring that's covered by services charges, and not be connected to the supply of individual flats. Maybe they need to identify which meter supplies which flat.

Are they asking for it as for proof of residency before they issue you with key fobs to use the door?

When we had new secure doors fitted to our block, we had to go the the managing agents office and show them a bill and ID to collect our new fobs. I

It's because the new door is a ruse to get residents to submit their private documents so they can steal your identities for nefarious reasons. Well done for being onto them like this.

Or perhaps they've thought of a number and whoever's electricity bill is closest to that number will be the winner of the 'keeper of the master log in to the intercom' codes which will give them the power to deactivate their neighbours access to the intercom if they breach any tenancy rules or just for fun.

Or more likely, no-one on MN knows and you'll have to wait until they tell you why but I expect that it's something boring like confirmation of identity and they've asked for electricity bills because everyone will have one of those, unlike passport or driving licence.

Really do not see the point of that , because the agents or landlords or managers know who we are

Well in this case they did not want to post them incase they got lost or intercepted by a non resident I suppose.

It is proof of identity and your address, i.e. that you live there.

Perhaps you will be issued with a code for the door or similar now. At least they are being through on who is getting access.

Well, until they explain why they want this information, I'm not giving them anything.

And if that means we can't have a door with an intercalmin, so be it, I've lived here for years without an intercome, I can do it again.

All we need is a new door because our existing door is shabby and we didn't ask for an intercom door it was suggested, and to be honest, I really couldn't care less

If it is just to confirm your identity and address you could redact all the details that aren’t your name and address and hand it over.

What about the other residents? You sound very selfish. I can't see why you have a problem with this request.

Why not ?

Yes indeed.

A utility bill in your name is personal data:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/personal-information-what-is-it/what-is-personal-data/what-is-personal-data/

An organisation telling you the purpose for which they want your personal data, so that you can give informed consent to them having it, is part of the bedrock of Data Protection legislation.
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/the-right-to-be-informed/

The front-end person who has been tasked with collecting your data here might know the purpose and has just forgotten to mention it – in which case they can solve the problem very quickly by just telling you and seeking your consent – or might not even know. The latter would point to a more serious breach of Data Protection legislation.

It does no harm at all for the organisation to be reminded that Data Protection legislation exists and they are bound by it.

And if they're that ignorant of their legal duties under DP legislation, what are the chances they'll process your data appropriately and keep it safe?

Probably better asking them why they want it than some randoms on here.

Then you can get the actual answer and proceed accordingly.

I have asked for a phone call so I can talk to them and ask them why they need it.And until they give me a satisfactory answer , I am not providing them with anything

Have none of you ever been asked to take a utility bill anywhere as proof of address?

i would expect this to be a request by the building manager / management company / factor with a full explanation to why it is required from them, in writing.

id be handing over no info til i got that. id tell my neighbours the same. especially elderly ones that might not be up to speed with potential fraud as i’d not want them to lose their savings or something bad.

The manager called and said they just want tge company who I pay electricity to and my mpa nu.ber. they dont know if we are all paying a bit each fir the intercom from our electricity companies ir it's coming out if our service charge

It just seems very complicated and time consuming.And to be honest, I don't want to go through all of this.I just want the old door taken off and a new good quality door put on.I don't want an intercom

Excellent.

So they didn't need all that additional data on the bill at all.

You can just tell them the name of the electricity company and the MPA number.

Oh, and they've breached Data Protection legislation by attempting to over-collect data.

It would have been fine for them to tell residents which data they needed but also offer as an option that residents could send a copy of a bill rather than try to fish that data out themselves.

(Although if they'd done that the organisation would still have been lumbered with keeping all this additional data safe and ensuring they'd gone through all the data destroying it once it was no longer needed for the specified purpose.)

The only advantage to this is that at the moment, if somebody is visiting one of the other flats and cannot tell which is their doorbell, they ring my doorbell, and I go downstairs, thinking it's for me when it's for them.

That sounds like quite a big advantage to me - being able to see who it is and find out what they want, or if it's for someone else tell them to ring the doorbell of whoever they're visiting as I can't help them. All without leaving my home, finding a key, risking getting locked out, needing to get dressed and put shoes on etc etc.

That's the whole point of intercom doors isn't? I would think that's a great advantage.

ok that is useful extra info @PerkyOchrePeer . TBH the idea that you would all be paying separately for the electricity used by the intercom in a block is .... strange. Ours runs off the communal supply meter and is billed via the service charge along with the electricity for other things like lights and the lift. Door maglocks use a minimal amount of electricity anyway.