Back in July ,Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner and Dr Mark Walport, director of the Wellcome Trust published the Data Sharing Review for the Ministry of Justice. At the time of publication, their major recommendation to dispose of the edited electoral register to protect individuals from junk mail bombardment almost went unnoticed. A few weeks on, and the credit industry is now launching a rearguard defence of the edited register, complaining that whilst credit agencies will still be able to buy the full electoral register in order for consumers to be creditchecked by lenders and suppliers, debt collectors will not be able to have access to the register to chase absconding debtors who abuse that credit.
It would appear that the needs of debt collectors have been forgotten in the crusade against unwanted sales techniques.
For many years, the professional body that represents the credit industry, the Institute of Credit Management, was a bit of a sleepy organisation, but lately under the enthusiastic stewardship of a new Director General Philip King, it 's voice appears louder. The editor of Credit Today magazine has also raised a call to arms on this topic. Better late than never, but my advice is that the credit industry should be much more professional in its lobbying in government circles much earlier on in the process if it is not to lose out when new corporate legislation hits the statute books.