The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has successfully prosecuted one of the UK’s leading homebuilders, Magnacrest Ltd, after the company pleaded guilty to failing to provide a full subject access request from a member of the public regarding all personal data the company had in their records.

According to the ICO:

“Magnacrest pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to comply with an enforcement notice when it appeared before Westminster Magistrates on 6 February 2019. The company was fined £300, with a £30 victim surcharge, and was ordered to pay £1,133.75 towards prosecution costs.”

Mike Shaw, the ICO’s Criminal Enforcement Manager, said:

“The right to access your own personal information is a fundamental and long-standing principle of data protection law. New laws brought into effect last May strengthen those rights even further.

Organisations not only have to respect this right but must also respect notices from the ICO enforcing the law. If they fail to do so then they must accept the consequences, which can include a criminal prosecution.”

The failure to provide prompt responses to a subject access request (SAR) within 40 calendar days could land you in serious legal trouble. To find out more about SAR’s and how you can become more compliant with the law why not visit this useful ICO guidance on Subject Access Requests?