Confidentiality

[user1478545823]

My husband & I are separated & I have taken out an injunction against him after a nasty turn of events at the weekend.

I recently stayed in a hotel which he found the name of. He then phones said hotel who give him my email address (which he didn't know) & my home address (which he didn't know).

AIBU to want to rip them a new one ?

A similar happened to me, Me. My DM went to the Dr to pick up a prescription for herself and the receptionist asked if she wanted the one for me.

Queue my prudish DM asking me why I was on the pill at 16.

I remember our GP once calling to confirm my husband's vasectomy appointment (about which I knew nothing!) That's a turn up!

Not the same thing, but during the most difficult part of my marriage I went away with my DSs. My now ex knew where we were and knew that I did not want him coming.
The room was booked in my name only. He turned up, told them he was my husband and let him into the room.
I was furious.

I used to work in hotels and we were routinely given training about just this sort of thing.

We were absolutely not able to give any personal details about guests, we couldn't give out room numbers, or say if a guest was in the hotel. If we had to Email an Invoice/Bill it would always go to the Address on the booking which would be either the person making the reservation or an agent. I remember an employee was disciplined for disclosing information about a guest once- so it is taken seriously.

If it was a chain hotel I would write a detailed letter of complaint to the Hotel Manager and CC both the Area Manager & Guest Relations, it should be taken very seriously.

Of course tackle the hotel but they made a mistake and the best you'll get from them now is an apology/goodwill gesture.

Your ex however may have breached the terms of his injunction. He was harassing and stalking you. I would certainly go down that road. The police should know he is tracking you and sending you screenshots. Since this is where the danger lies I'd concentrate on that.

Sorry to hear this - very stressful for you OP

People will say its hard for the receptionist or whatever to realise whether he did this maliciously but then that's the reason there are Data Protection laws.

Complain about their breach first and then phone the Information Commission if you don't get a satisfactory result.

Also, if its after the injunction you need to report him via those channels too.

By all means report to the ICO but they get so many complaints they only take up a miniscule percentage and it is usually not worth your suing in the courts so you are left with the chances are you will probably at best get an apology but you could certainly try a small claim on line and see if they settle . If you are on state benefits you won't have to pay a court fee as there is probably an exemption.

OP, please prioritise your own safety first and only THEN tackle the breach in confidentiality.

As someone who used to run a guest house, I can see how that could happen... but that is a reason not an excuse..

The hotel did wrong.

data protection issues do happen every day, however most are minor with no consequence. In this case, there's potential for serious consequences.

Where I work dealing with customer complaints we're told that it's not just about the mistake it's about the impact that's had on the customer. A late payment for customer A has no impact on their life, apology and small amount compensation is fair. A late payment for customer B caused them to go into an unauthorised overdraft with bank charges and to miss out on a planned purchase of a car, still apology, but compensation for the error, bank charges, inconvenience and possibly for the delay/changed price of the purchase. All fair if we've messed up and left the customer out of pocket.

Many companies don't seem to do this. But keep stressing to the hotel how major this is. Not just for compensation but so that they review procedures and training to make sure nothing like this happens again.

And yes, if after injunction was issued that he did this, report immediately

Someone did this by accident where I used to work. The lady was at such risk that the company paid for her to stay elsewhere for four months.

Take legal action against the hotel for the cost of moving to a new home, and for the distress caused.

The information commissioner definitely needs to know this as well as making a complaint. They do take these things really seriously and give huge fines over it. Might not be done for one breach but if this is habitual for the hotel they'll do something.

Arguably as WLF says the damage is the cost of moving house if you can prove the causal link and a long as the new rent is higher I suppose than the old and that there actually is a financial cost and you can prove that it was definitely necessary. I would probably not move unless really essential however as moving with the hope of recovering some compensation given the courts can be a lottery is not wise (but definitely move if it's a matter of life or death of course).

There is an independent body you can speak to about breaches in data protection and how to handle them. They generally take these really seriously so I'd give them a call. It happened to me a few years back- a disgruntled waiter who we didn't tip (the optional 12.5% service charge) because of poor service got my name and mobile number from a third party booking system and repeatedly rang and text me threatening me. I settled with the restaurant out of court for a disclosed sum with help of the the data protection body.

Oh and it was the ICO I spoke to. The settlement I received was worked out using precedent- I.e a similar case which had been brought before and I used that sum as a starting figure for the financial compensation.

Definitely complain and demand to be rehoused at their expense. Get the police involved if you need to. I hope you're okay!!!

Thank you for all the replies. I am still in a state of shock to be honest. It took an age to find my own place & now it feels soiled.
Before I couldn't even pay an electricity bill over the phone if it was in my ex-h name so this just feels unbelievable.
The hotel is in a quite well known chain and I have sent several letters today & instructed my solicitor to send a letter.
I have phoned the ICO and I am awaiting a response.
The injunction was unfortunately taken out after he phoned the hotel as a direct response to his actions after he phoned the hotel. I had already made enquiries due to his previous actions (police & domestic abuse involved).
Thank you again

Good luck, OP - and congratulations for getting yourself out of a dangerous situation. I hope you stay safe!!!