Nardi: agents need to prepare for data laws

Data protection act

Nardi: agents need to prepare for data laws

Report by LISA JAMES

before 1998. It will also include all manual systems such as card indexes and written legers.

ABTA head of legal affairs Riccardo Nardi said agents who do not comply with the new ruling face fines of £500 or even imprisonment.

“Businesses have got to go through and look at what information they are storing and ask themselves whether they can legally store it any more. A lot of stuff will have to be deleted or amended,” Nardi said.

“It has not been a problem so far because people haven’t realised that it is there. But as consumer awareness of it increases we have got to get it right. Agents are going to have to train their staff to deal with this situation.”

Nardi said he is talking to the Office of Data Protection Commission in order to put in some guidelines for members by March next year.

Possible ideas include putting posters in travel agent branches or on cards on desks in shops.

AGENTS need to familiarise themselves with new laws on data protection that are due to come into effect next year, delegates at the ABTAconvention in Kos were told.

The current Data Protection Act law only applies to information stored on computer databases since 1998.

However, from next October, it will be broadened in order to apply to all systems set up before 1998. It will also include all manual systems such as card indexes and written legers.

ABTA head of legal affairs Riccardo Nardi said agents who do not comply with the new ruling face fines of £500 or even imprisonment.

“Businesses have got to go through and look at what information they are storing and ask themselves whether they can legally store it any more. A lot of stuff will have to be deleted or amended,” Nardi said.

“It has not been a problem so far because people haven’t realised that it is there. But as consumer awareness of it increases we have got to get it right. Agents are going to have to train their staff to deal with this situation.”

Nardi said he is talking to the Office of Data Protection Commission in order to put in some guidelines for members by March next year.

Possible ideas include putting posters in travel agent branches or on cards on desks in shops.

Know-how: agents will need training to prepare for the new data protection laws

Data protection Act

&#42 Personal data means anything related to an individual, not a company.

&#42 Data must be able to identify a particular person. This could mean two separate documents which when linked together identify someone.

&#42 You cannot process data unless you have individual consent; it is necessary to perform a contract with the individual; it is of vital interest or for law enforcement.

&#42 You cannot assume that consent is given and you must tell the individual the reasons why you are doing it.