Stanmore firm gets slap on the wrist for carelessly disposing of confidential waste

A STANMORE firm has been reprimanded for throwing away documents containing clients' personal details in an ordinary waste bin.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found Bellgrange Mortgages and Insurance Services, of Canons Corner, breached the Data Protection Act by dumping confidential papers such as mortgage application forms, client bank account details and copies of documents used to verify identity.
Some of the waste even contained medical information and all had been dumped in a regular industrial waste bin before their scheduled collection by a waste disposal firm.
Sally Anne-Poole, head of enforcement and investigations at ICO, said: "This incident highlights the need for organisations to dispose of material containing personal details securely and safely.
"Organisations must employ security measures to ensure personal data is in no way compromised.
"I am pleased that Bellgrange is taking action to prevent a similar situation occurring in the future."
Bellgrange has signed an official undertaking with the ICO to improve data security and has registered their affected customers with a fraud protection service provider.
The confidential waste was either returned to the hands of the company or properly destroyed.