It was only a matter of time. I had wondered how long it would be before someone we dealt with used Data Protection as an excuse.

Since the introduction of GDPR there has been a range of differing responses from the organisations we deal with and this week we hit the one I had been fearing.

My wife was on the phone to a company, complaining about an error they made. Getting nowhere with the supervisor she was talking to, she asked for their name.

“I can’t tell you my name due to Data Protection,” the supervisor said.

“Well then tell me the name of your manager so I can write to them”

“I can’t tell you that either due to Data Protection”

Looks like we’ve finally hit peak ignorance.

GDPR and Data Protection is not about hiding who you are and what you do, it’s about the sensible and fair use of data.

It’s not something you can hide behind nor is it something you can use as an excuse for not doing your job properly.

The upshot?

Having played the Data Protection/GDPR card my wife was left with no choice. She had to ask, as a customer, for all the data they hold on her and a full transcript of the hour-long call which she had just been engaged on.

All of which could have been avoided if someone had simply understood that a customer with a problem is still a customer and you need to own their problem and help them resolve it.

Oh, and Data Protection is not something you can hide behind if you make a mistake.