Shredded insurance papers on pavement
Shredded documents with details of insurance firm customers were found on a pavement.
They were at the back of Coniston House, Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton. Swinton said they were taken from outside the nearby Darlington Street branch while in bags for collection.
Documents contained names, addresses and policy details of Swinton customers. An office worker working nearby said: "I got to work and saw there were bundles of paper all across the road in Chapel Ash. My manager rang Swinton to tell them it was their documents. It was a quite a surprise as it is not the sort of thing that you expect to see in the middle of the road." Swinton's Lucy Gordon said: "We take great care to ensure we dispose of customer data in the correct manner.
"We shred documents on a weekly basis and place them in recycling bags to be collected by a reputable recycling company – Biffa.
"The documents in question have been removed from outside our Wolverhampton branch. It seems likely that an unknown person removed the bag before it was collected and dumped the contents outside Coniston House, however, it is important to note that no customers personal details are visible on the shredded material."
Last year Wolverhampton City Council was found guilty of breachingf the Data Protection Act after confidential documents were found in a car park. Paperwork with personal details of former employees and customers – including medical history and bank details – was unshredded in a skip stolen by metal thieves from behind gates outside Graiseley Healthy Living Centre, Blakenhall.
It was later fly-tipped outside Reelprint, Springs Road industrial estate. An Information Commissioner's Office investigation found staff failed to recognise the nature of the paperwork.
