Charities 'sold 87-year-old's details'

The Information Commissioner's Office is looking into claims that an 87-year-old man's personal details were sold or passed on by charities up to 200 times.

The Daily Mail reports that Samuel Rae, who has dementia, lost £35,000 after his information ended up with scammers.

Information was passed to charities when Mr Rae filled in a survey but did not tick a box stating that he did not want his personal details shared.

The watchdog will consider whether any breaches of the law have taken place.

Former army colonel Mr Rae is said to have been contacted by and asked for money by charities more than 730 times after his data was repeatedly sold.

'Clearly concerning'

As well as selling, sharing and swapping details, the paper says some charities also passed them on to rogue firms responsible for scams and Mr Rae was later targeted by fraudsters.

Charities contacted him for up to five years after he had asked them to stop, with some requesting money as many as 38 times in a year.

Mr Rae is cared for by his son, who said he was horrified by how his father had been treated.

Steve Eckersley, of the Information Commissioner's Office, said the findings - presented after a Mail investigation using the Data Protection Act - were "clearly concerning".

He told the newspaper: "If charities are buying and selling personal information without any thought of the wishes of the people involved, it suggests not only a disregard for the law, but also a disconnect with the supporters whose generosity they rely on."

Alstair McLean, chief executive of the Fundraising Standards Board, which regulates charity fundraising, told BBC Radio Five live it was a "very, very serious case" it would be investigating.

Speaking about how cases like this happen, he said: "I feel that sometimes there's a little bit of poor practice that creeps in and that's just not acceptable.

"I would encourage members of the public who are unhappy about the way in which they've been approached by charities, unhappy about maybe the mail they've received, to complain."

People have a legal right to find out what information an organisation has about them by making a subject access request.

Organisations who receive a request are, in most cases, required to say what information they have, why they are using it and whether it will be passed on.

They are also required to provide a copy of the records and to say where they got the information from.

It is not possible to gain access to someone else's information unless you are acting on their behalf.

There is a 40-day time limit for organisations to respond to the request, which needs to be made in writing and sometimes involves a fee.

Some types of personal data are exempt from the request.

In July, the government said it was changing legislation to help protect vulnerable people from aggressive fundraising and launched a review into the current system of self-regulation.

Charities are to be forced to draw up written agreements showing how vulnerable people will be protected from aggressive fundraising tactics, the prime minister said.

David Cameron said the actions of some fundraisers were damaging the reputation of the charity sector./ BBC and Agencies