Will the ICO sanction my companies?

I know as a landlord holding electronic or paper records you need an ICO licence, but I have no first-hand reports of fines or sanctions handed out. Yet.

I keep getting these letters despite the fact that I have notified the ICO that the companies concerned hold no personal data. This is just a malevolent fishing exercise, much the same as the TV licence demands I receive for storage cupboards.

Neil, it is only a requirement to have a licence if ELECTRONIC data is processed.
I have the same issues with the ICO letters full of what I am ‘required’ ‘must’ or ‘need’ to do.
Even on the page to tell them why you dont need a licence - the field for phone and email are ‘compulsory’ & cannot be left blank! I do not ‘need’ a licence. I do not ‘need’ to tell them why. The whole thing is unscrupulous. £40 for each of vast numbers = lots of money for uk gov.
Laws are made - fines are imposed if caught breaking. New way of governing - make law - you need licence - pay or get fine. Which is a better cash cow? Gov and Councils love licensing everything. Despite massive waste of staff and offices etc to run. Soon ‘need’ a licence to breathe!

Reply to the comment left by Neil Patterson at 08/06/2021 - 10:42
I thought like John, if you kept information on paper you would not be required to register for an ICO license. If I remember correctly they say keep the records in a lockable cabinet. It's certainly anti 'save the planet' but that's what I do.

I only hold data in one company which is ICO registered, the other four companies hold land or property and have no records to hold as they have no tenants. Do I have to justify to the ICO that these are exempt companies.?

How the hell did they get your address and name? For a start they have breached data protection, Secondly Dont pay them if you have nothing to do with holding any data on tenants, and yes of course we all hold telephone numbers of people so we don't need to register for ICO, and don't forget ICO are the biggest culprits in exposing your name and address on a public register, that can't be right for sure. They are another quango enterprise to rob us of our cash. Just don't pay and let them prove that you do hold any data on tenants, make sure you only hold their data on paper based filing system not on electronic media.

This gimmicky law is designed to scare us by massive fines so we submit to their threats, don't get bullied, and be held at ransom.

Reply to the comment left by Mike at 08/06/2021 - 23:11
The contact data matches that recorded on Companies House so I guess they are obtaining data from CH.

I received the letter last year and went online to confirm I didn't hold any data. Still have a copy of the original letter with my notes of what I did and when.
Just received another letter from them telling me I didn't respond by the deadline, but they understand it's been tricky with Covid and I therefore needed to make payment or tell them I didn't need to register. So what they're saying is they've lost the data I previously provided them with...

Just don't correspond with them, don't reply, when you do that you are confirming your address and your name. They should n't try to leach your blood when you do not hold or store data electronically, its simple as that, same as the TV Licensing stupidity, God knows how much money they waste on post by sending useless reminders, threats, and what a waste of paper, when one has already notified them that they do not watch live broadcast, that should be it full stop.I have also avoided ever being enticed by Experian and other reference checking agencies, offering free check, when you take advantage they will seek other information from you that was missing.

Reply to the comment left by Yvonne Francis at 08/06/2021 - 14:55
You must phone, text or email your tenants now and again. Isn't that considered to be holding personal electronic data?