to wonder whether what I can do about a statutory service provider having sensitive and confidential information about my DD to a wrong address? Anyone with legal experience?

[AbsolutelyFumingness]

I live at Number N Grove Drive, postcode XXN XNN.

An official, statutory service provider were going to send me a letter in relation to DD. Really personal, sensitive confidential detail, with her date of birth attached.

The letter they were trying to send me (Mrs Absolutely Fumingness) went missing.

I asked them to email it to me on [email protected].

They emailed it to [email protected].

I rang them to tell them I still hadn't received it. They accused me of lying.

They then emailed it to me at my actual email address... at which point I discovered that they had addressed and posted the letter to Mrs Absolutely Fabulous at Number N Grove Avenue, postcode XXNN XMM

The trouble, Number N Grove Avenue, postcode XXNN XMM is an actual real address, and only a few miles from here.

So now, other members of the public have a terrifying amount of very specific knowledge of some really sensitive and personal things about our daughter.

I have made a formal complaint against the statutory service responsible, but will probably be fobbed off or blamed.

Does anyone with any legal knowledge know what else I can do?

Really, I fear for DD's safety :(

(I've namechanged becaiuse I'm terrified. Please, if you recognise me, please don't identify me)

No legal advice but bloody hell, that's shocking. Have you approached Mrs Absolutely Fabulous at the Avenue address and asked for the copy of the letter that went there? If you at least had the physical copy, regardless of who had read it, that may help with the terror. Do you know Mrs AF?

That's bloody awful - poor you. Have you approached the CAB? I think they might have more know how on the legal front. Or, if it's a safety issue, and appropriate - Women's Aid?

Hope you're okay xx

Before I go any furher, I should probably clarify that this situation does not involve any violence, abuse or neglect, nor any allegations of violence, abuse or neglect.

I just fear either identity theft, or people repeating said personal issues at the school gate in a way that could really intimidate DD.

Also to clarify, AFAIK there is no Mrs AbsolutelyFabulous; the address is a real one but the name is a typo.

But the problem is that AFAIK, Baby Absolutely Fumingness is the only child with her name in the city. And there's not much of a difference between Fumingness and Fabulous - especially as Fabulous would be the more logical way to spell our unusual surname.

(Obviously, all this is pseudonym and euphemism)

My fear in going to visit the residents of X Grange Avenue is that knowing who I actually am may increase the risks :(

Most people would return the letter marked 'not known at this address' or they may just open it to actually find out who to send it back to. Maybe find out who lives there. They may be an old couple with no interest in gossip and this would put your mind at rest. I would follow up with some sort of complaint, just to highlight the possibility of it happening again if they don't take more care.

Sensitive personal information often has to be sent out by special delivery (that's the case in the department I work at). If you received a special delivery letter with your address on but someone else's name, what would you do? Some people might accept it and read it, others might accept it then when they realise it's not for them send it back, and others might refuse it and it would get returned to sender.

You definitely should complain because it is a breach of the information assurance guidelines to send someone's personal information to the wrong person, and if their internal procedures are slack it should be picked up on. But - and I'm not trying to lessen the impact this has had on you - mistakes do happen. Everyone has sent an email or a letter or a text message to the wrong person at one time or another, and all you can do is be as careful as possible and double and triple check all the details are right before you send something.

Squirrel, where do you work? AFAIK the letter was sent out in the normal post. Would be interested to know if it should have been.

Riven, I'm sorry you're in this position too. You don't need it.

Can anyone else help?

not unless you want more outrage - I have that but no advice, sorry :)

Is the body that sent the letter part of an Ombudsman scheme, does it have a code of practice, an independent watchdog/auditor type authority who oversees them?

Is your daughter definitely at risk in a personal physical safety kind of way? My mind boggles as to how really if you dont personally know the people at the address but I understand you can't give too many details away so we are kind of filling in the gaps, so apologies if I seem dense.

Presumably it is government run, do they have a website, do they have a grievance section, code of practice, customer charter, that kind of thing?

I sympathise we have a similar problem, same number and believe it or not the same actual road but different postcodes, our house is actually in a liitle hamlet considered outside the town but unfortunately no place name to show that fact. We have missed countless medical appointments etc because of this.

I would definitely complain to the organisation if the information is that sensitive.

Perhaps you could write a letter to the other address to ask if your letter ever reached there and what they did with it and have them reply to a friend's address or even a post office box number if you do not wish to identify yourself.

Hope you get some peace of mind about what happened to your letter.

Have no idea if I'm talking rubbish here but can you get a solicitor to approach Mrs. AbFab on your behalf? Just maybe if she could possibly know you that might be enough to fire a warning shot accross her bows? Although tbh most people would just hand the letter back even if they opened it in error.

Also definitely get the solicitor to write to the organisation concerned requesting that all correspondence goes via recorded delivery in future.

You might also consider making a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office saying that statutory service provider are handling dd's sensitive personal information without proper security.

I've been on the Ombudsman website and essentially I have to complaint to the body in question first.

But I like the idea of getting everything via recorded delivery. I've just found out there's a Grange Terrace not far away in XXK NXX, too

"You might also consider making a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office saying that statutory service provider are handling dd's sensitive personal information without proper security."

Aha. Exactly what they're there for. Thank you!

Tbh, I think sending a solicitors letter to Mrs. AbFab would just antagonize her. She is also an innocent party in all this. If a letter comes to my house I open it, without looking at the name, on the assumption that if it has come to my home it is for me. If it then turned out not to be, I would rts if there was an address to make that possible. If not, I would probably bin it and think no more about it, although if it was about something very serious/imp I would contact the sender and make it clear that it has been sent to the wrong place. If she is a person who looks at the envelope before opening then she has probably sent it back. Your complaint is with the people who sent the letter to the wrong place, not to the poor person on the receiving end. Would definitely make loud and formal complaints to the sender.

Information commissioner is your best bet, as sparks has said.

What Karma said

I understand about not wanting to antagonise people, but didn't the OP say she wants to maintain her anonymity? That was my main thought re using a solicitor; and if Mrs AbFab did feel tempted to say anything then maybe she wouldn't? The solicitor doesn't have to be nasty and can actually be downright apologetic.

Perhaps a compromise might be for me to write a very polite and apologetic letter to Mrs AbFab myself, albeit anonymously, not mentioning the name of the agency involved but including a number for the CAB if she needs help understanding the situation?

Or else to suggest that the Chief Axec of the agency responsible writes to or goes to visit Mrs AbFab?

Certainly, I accept that Mrs AbFab herself is at no way at fault.

Oops, Exec, not Axec

Hmm, an anonymous letter would freak me out tbh. You could ask the Chief Exec person to intervene, but he might not, or might not go about it in a particularly helpful way.

With a solicitor you can at least okay the final letter and make sure it gets sent. Although the solicitor idea doesn't seem to be going down well with other Mnetters so it could be pants.

Definitely think you need to get someone official involved, assuming you do want to find out what has happened to the original letter.

I am confused as to why you would contact Mrs AbFab as you have said there is no-one of that name at that address?

It is the body that sent the letter at fault, not anyone receiving it. Presumably they should be taking steps to recover the letter?

If the person in receipt of the letter knowing who you are is an issue (I am assuming you are someone well-known?) then perhaps a kind friend could attempt to retrieve, pretending to be you?