For those of you who have submitted a Subject Access Request (SAR) what are the juiciest nuggets you’ve had in your response?
Posted by NotSoSleepyBoy@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 251 comments
For those unaware a SAR is a request you can make to any company who holds your personal data where they have to give you all internal communications and references to you within a month.
You can use it to get internal notes that companies like letting agents or estate agents may have discussing you.
zbornakingthestone@reddit
A former boss saying they needed to tread carefully because I knew about their workplace affair and conduct and it would be easier to find a reason that I would need to be dismissed. It led to their dismissal instead and I got a lovely payout.
Tiny_Ad4209@reddit
Where would this sort of thing even be written down?
zbornakingthestone@reddit
Gchat.
paulydee76@reddit
Where was this? On a email or something?
zbornakingthestone@reddit
Gchat transcript.
outsider247@reddit
Was the SAR submitted when tou were fighting the unfair dismissal claim?
zbornakingthestone@reddit
Before. It was through a redundancy process - I didn't need to go through unfair dismissal fortunately. I was effectively playing for time and hit jackpot with the sheer incompetence of them. The new offer came before I received the results and they did try to make the deal a condition of my cancelling the SAR which didn't happen obvs.
permerburner@reddit
Absolute belter. 10/10.
CulturedClub@reddit
I both like and dislike thos comment. (Not in that order)
tinyfron@reddit
I never have but am tempted with my employer as currently going through a grievance process.
batman_not_robin@reddit
Talk to a solicitor but yes
tinyfron@reddit
Good shout
Rally_redux@reddit
Def talk to a solicitor. I was going through a redundancy process (forced out following a bank takeover), and I was advised it could be an option, but could also scupper the negotiation payout if I was seen to be argumentative or trying to create problems/delaying the process by requesting one.
tinyfron@reddit
Oh thank you, that's really good advice. I'm sorry about your redundancy, that sucks
BoopingBurrito@reddit
Definitely worth it in that situation!
ItsIllak@reddit
I got a parking charge from Gatwick airport that I was adamant I had not visited that day. They were adamant I had.
I did an SAR, they provided pictures of me visiting, but not on that day.
So, they'd either failed the SAR or the parking charge, they eventually refunded the latter.
chin_waghing@reddit
Depends where at the airport but if you ever go to the drop off… it’s not relevant land so you can tell them to pound sand. https://not.relevant-land.fyi
shikabane@reddit
So I don't have to pay a Manchester Airport the stupid £5 for the displeasure of literally 2 mins of being on their premises to drop someone off? And then tell them to f off when a ticket comes? Win 😂
chin_waghing@reddit
Yes. Literally that.
Under PoFA relevant land is private land, the airport is technically “private land” but because bylaws are imposed from the airports act, it makes it not relevant land and then the parking company can only hold the driver responsible, but as the keeper you’re under absolute no legal obligation to tell them who the driver was. They also can’t hold the keeper liable.
You can reply to them “I don’t know who the driver was, you need to work that out and send them a letter, I’m not obliged under the PoFA. Good day sir”
what I sent them
their response
Don’t be fooled, “on this occasion…” means sweet fokall. They have no legal powers here. The keeper is never assumed to be the driver. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool.
Enjoy!
Taken_Abroad_Book@reddit
The whole driver vs keeper thing is Northern Ireland specific.
It's great when an English car park operator (who operate a load of car parks here for some reason) send a penelty and I just reply that I wasn't driving nor am obglitated to tell them who was.
One tried to be smart sending me a picture of the driver saying they have this photo and will be taking further action against him.
"good luck, I'll not be telling you who it is"
Can you guess who it was?
NoResult5364@reddit
This website is amazing. Check the T&Cs
Wish I knew about this with my PCNs from Stansted, robbing bastards
chin_waghing@reddit
Glad you like it! It’s a shameless self plug but I actually made it because I absolutely seriously HATE how parking companies operate. Removing the barriers, forcing you to use an online payment system, chasing you for legally unenforceable fines using big scary words.
Please do share it far and wide! It has no adverts on it, everything is client side so I see absolutely none of your details (as explained, I don’t want them!) and I run it at a loss hoping that people find it and use it who are frequent traveler’s or just hate parking companies penny pinching
Much love <3
NoResult5364@reddit
The whole thing is mental to me. They’re organised criminals robbing consumers, legitimised by their T&Cs that supposedly form a contract. It’s a sham.
Unfortunately I lease my car through a friends and family scheme meaning I am not the registered keeper so fighting these things is made even more difficult
chin_waghing@reddit
From my understanding on this, it flows like
You drop off -> don’t pay -> scammer requests keeper from DVLA -> DVLA say speak to $leasingCompany as the keeper -> Leasing company either respond with A: Details of keeper or B: Charge you the fine plus admin fee
Assuming option A happens; $scamArtist receives your details and lease agreement -> $scamArtist issues Notice to Hirer to you -> you receive it in the post.
The Notice to Hirer = Notice to keeper, so you argue the exact original points.
The only real pain points here is the lease company usually adds on an administrative fee which makes the whole lot useless as it’s less than the £7.50 or what ever they charge these days. It’s a real shame they do this, I believe it’s unfair to charge a fee to redirect documents.
What circumstances are you in that make it more difficult if you don’t mind me asking?
RightCostUK@reddit
I am awaiting on one as we speak Ill let you know :)
Spottyjamie@reddit
Ive not but my wife did and the Head of HR in an email referred to her as a “silly little girl”, they were the same age
LittleSadRufus@reddit
They might be disclosable under a FoI request, but it wouldn't count as personal information under a SAR so they didn't really have any obligation to disclose it anyway.
When we've handled SARs at work, the lawyers have been very strict: any opinions, unrelated data or narrative can be removed. In one case, out of a five page report, the applicant got their name, year of birth, and the town they live in.
amboandy@reddit
I get referred to as "young man" by people who are younger than me. It's not my fault you had the Beirut paper round.
anabsentfriend@reddit
I hot called young lady by my boss last week. He'sc41 and I'm 55. I'll take it.
releasethekaren@reddit
Beirut paper round is the funniest thing I’ve heard this week. Creased
Mild_Karate_Chop@reddit
Umm what is the Beirut Paper round
mipon@reddit
It’s a joke on how rough they look for their age. I always hear it as “must have had a paper round in Baghdad” but then I’m 40 so the references can vary.
CoronetCapulet@reddit
Beirut's back in fashion again
plant-prince-@reddit
My favourite is his paper round was uphill both ways
Mild_Karate_Chop@reddit
Crass joke when 100 people were killed in Israeli air strikes today ...
Middle--Earth@reddit
Even in the darkest of times humour can lift us to prevent falling into despair.
Mild_Karate_Chop@reddit
Well if it was the people facing dark times using humour to survive I could agree but cracking jokes at their expense without living through what they have is crass and insensitive
bigphatnips@reddit
I've always heard it as "must've had a rough paper round"
bourton-north@reddit
I guess nobody wants to confront the possibility it’s about behaviour and not looks
HereticLaserHaggis@reddit
I got this, hated it.
... I'm getting it less and less these days and I'm already missing it.
Firthy2002@reddit
Oof tell us more please.
Popular-Dress7197@reddit
I should have said (I had already gone on a bit of a tangent and didn't want to type an essay and blag heads haha), it has been reported to ICO (by me, the other person and the FOS) they are currently investigating. I am not sure this company will ever care, they seem to have no understanding of any UK law that they operate under as a business, this was in the middle of an FOS complaint from me and from the person whose data I ended up with, even the FOS Investigator had to explain that they need to self report this, multiple times to multiple managers. It is scary how much they either don't know or are actively not complying with (I am not sure which of those options are worse to be honest).
Lord_Of_Europe_888@reddit
SAR AND FOI ARE GREAT - LONG LIVE OUR BEAUTIFUL NATION
Popular-Dress7197@reddit
Not my own juicy nugget. The entire financial history (6 years bank statements, credit card, mortgage statements...and so one), credit records and reports, medical, mental health service, social services reports and detail email thread of a completely different person including the details of his very person and wide reaching bereavement details.
I didn't read it all by the way, I found his email address when the company refused to accept it back and emailed him, we have since become comrades in our battle against this company and he told me the list of this stuff which horrified me knowing I had that in my house about another person for weeks until I could send it to him after waiting for the company's response.
The company could not have cared less.
Immaterial71@reddit
ICO would be delighted to hear about that. That would make the company care.
smoulderstoat@reddit
I sent an FOI request to my local council, and then when they messed me around with it I sent them a further FOI for everything they had on that request. Eventually the ICO got involved and forced them to disclose their emails about me, which included nuggets such as "We have had another request from that idiot Mr X," "He is very annoying, but seems to know what he is doing," and my personal favourite "if he ever gets hold of these emails we are fucked."
Lau_kaa@reddit
It's worrying that people get into positions of power without realising that if they write something down in an email it can come back to bite them.
My first boss gave me some great advice: never write down anything at work you wouldn't want read out in court.
noir_lord@reddit
And always get your boss to confirm in an email something you worry will get read in court.
It's not happened often but there have been a handful of times in my career where I've not wanted to do something because it pushed right up the line on what you can get away with, requesting the boss confirm it in an email and wouldn't you know, it went away.
turtleship_2006@reddit
That sounds similar to what TikToker Zoe Bread went through with Manchester City Council.
Funnily enough the entire situation started cuz she got a parking ticket she thought was fair due to misleading signage (which the council eventually agreed with), but the way they handled complaints led her to keep digging deeper and she kept finding more levels of dodgyness
shoobs5@reddit
Honestly opened my eyes to the mundane corruption in local councils.
Once you actually look into it basically every council has some dodgy stuff going on, likely with some councilor taking some money on the side.
cretinassemble@reddit
Love Zoe bread she’s moved onto other issues now after that success
caprimum@reddit
What she’s doing at the moment on the Astlry warehouses and Wigan council is great
permerburner@reddit
I live in bury where they had the whole shady issue surrounding thhe old library - not certain if she actually got anywhere with it but she absolutely pulled their pants down over that hahaha.
ImmediateChemistry85@reddit
Zoe is iconic haha
Organic_Reporter@reddit
How do the people collecting the data know that emails mentioning the data subject exist?
smoulderstoat@reddit
Basically they email everyone who might have anything and say "search your emails and files for anything relating to Mr X, and send it to me." They can also usually get the IT department to conduct a search.
PurchaseDry9350@reddit
I wonder how often those people don't send things they don't want to send. Didn't know it could be up to people who maybe don't want to get in trouble
permerburner@reddit
Probably not nearly as often as it’s just handed over (nobody wants the ICO digging around and slapping huge fines on their business)
But yeah you’re right youve gotta assume a LOT of shit goes missing, becomes “corrupted”, “weve changed systems and cant access it” etc etc
MyDarlingArmadillo@reddit
It's not supposed to be optional; in theory there could be legal consequences for withholding. You'd have to prove it though.
Shaper_pmp@reddit
They can try to hide embarrassing things, but if they're caught (eg, if the requester knows about the existence of the information from another source, or they accidentally disclose other data that contains references to the concealed data) then they (and not just the individual, but potentially the whole company) are in a whole other level of trouble for intentionally failing to live up to their GDPR obligations.
theModge@reddit
Exactly, in this modern day and age it's an IT function;
Specific-Result9862@reddit
Bingo... you don't ask the user for their email, you request the data from their IT department.
Jezbod@reddit
I work in IT and one of my roles is to do the email recovery from our email archiving system. It makes an un-editable and un-deleteable copy of every email we receive or send as an organisation.
The record was 4000+ emails for a long running planning action.
It took over a week to redact all the sensitive data not relating to the person / case. Glad that was not my job.
To protect anything from a SAR / FOI request you need to literally speak to the other person, either in person or on the phone. There are no written records of the conversation then.
6597james@reddit
Cool story but I don’t believe it because section 40(1) of FOIA says “(1)Any information to which a request for information relates is exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject.”
smoulderstoat@reddit
Public authorities can't refuse a meta request on those grounds. Some of the information may be exempt from disclosure under that provision, but not the whole request.
In this instance, after prompting from the ICO, either the authority determined that those emails constituted information about the request rather than my personal data, or it failed to apply the exemption properly.
shikabane@reddit
Now I want to know what the issue is
Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit
It does sound like you were being annoying.
Unhappy_Dragonfly_62@reddit
that idiot ahahaha
Consistent-Pirate-23@reddit
I had a local councillor send me an email chain by mistake where he insulted me. I asked if he would like to apologise and retract, he didn’t reply
Consistent-Pirate-23@reddit
I traced my hospital notes from when I was a kid. Turns out one of my teachers was really nasty about me, I was 4 years old.
Firthy2002@reddit
Out of interest, how would I go about obtaining those for myself?
Consistent-Pirate-23@reddit
Each hospital or nhs trust should have a published process, happy to help you find it if needed
Chad_Wife@reddit
Fun fact : the NHS will let you see their SAR/similar claims
This is how I found out that it’s not only “not uncommon” for the wrong limb to be operated on- but it is actually in the double figures..
Short_Bobcat_4784@reddit
If you are put on hold, they are still recording the call. Learnt that from requesting SAR. Thankfully I wasn’t saying anything too bad but I had no idea they keep recording 🫤
whatdosnowmeneat@reddit
Thank you for confirming my paranoia. I always mute when they go on hold.
DifficultySalt4231@reddit
I did it to the NHS. Had to get the ICO involved as they wouldn't give them to me. 0/10 wouldn't recommend getting your NHS medical records and comments from doctors and professionals.
whatdosnowmeneat@reddit
This happened to me too and I had to get a solicitor involved (pro-bono - so grateful). They even wanted to charge me.
WiseAd4161@reddit
Most of them you can see them in the NHS app under documents
antimathematician@reddit
Can confirm I’ve seen notes on my doctors screen that are not in my NHS app. One about how difficult my mum is lol
TheNecroFrog@reddit
You GP Practice has the ability to hide documents as to not be visible through the NHS App or other patient facing services, for a number of reasons.
DameKumquat@reddit
Only since your GP started using the NHS app (so max about 5 years), and loads of hospital letters etc still aren't in it. Some hospitals use a different app like myGP or getUbetter (the first two on my phone but I've got at least three others).
Selpmis@reddit
Oh God. I submitted one to my GP practice for my medical records 2 weeks ago... Now I'm really dreading it!
phoebusmaximus@reddit
Why wouldn't you recommend it, what did you see?
Lau_kaa@reddit
I got mine "accidentally" when my GP gave me a printout in an envelope to take to A&E. Naturally I opened it and made copies because they're my notes.
I found multiple instances where I'd been assured that everything was fine and it was in fact not fine. Someone else's information at one point. A procedure under general anaesthetic I was not told about and had not consented to. Nasty little comments about me being anxious and attention-seeking when I politely suggested I might have the condition I was eventually diagnosed with years later.
It's incredible to me what medical professionals feel confident to put in writing. I certainly wouldn't. But then, if I spoke to people in my job the way that some medical professionals speak to patients, I'd be on a disciplinary.
Inner-Rhubarb-1757@reddit
It's wild how often these requests expose the unprofessional comments people think are hidden in private emails.
sshiverandshake@reddit
I used to manage SARs right at the beginning of my career and I genuinely believe that someone, somewhere, in the same position I was in WILL write a book someday (obviously with personal data redacted, no pun intended). It's the most incredible job a nosy person could do.
PeriPeriAddict@reddit
Genuine question how can i get such a job? I love knowing stuff thats none of my business
sshiverandshake@reddit
What qualifications do you have and what stage are you at in your career? It helps if you have a law degree, although it's not 100% essential.
For someone that's early in their career I'd suggest applying to entry level Privacy Management roles and working your way into a position where you'll get training on how to manage all aspects of the DSAR Process.
For someone fancying a career change, your first port-of-call would be a qualification with the IAPP (ideally CIPP/E or CIPP/M) and of course any sort of prior Privacy Management experience would be a bonus.
It is an interesting career! If you have any questions feel free to drop me a message.
PeriPeriAddict@reddit
Thanks! I'm early career with no legal background, mostly grant writing with some charity management/strategy and project planning. But i dont particularly enjoy it and im between jobs atm anyway so looking for a change!
sshiverandshake@reddit
If it's anything to go by, my experience of volunteering with Charities is that the roles are usually so broad you could probably tailor your CV to highlight the salient elements and then do some background research whilst you're waiting to hear back. In some large organisations particularly, the Project and Strategy Planning processes will involve an element of assessing Data Privacy Risk. If you want I'd be happy to give you some pointers.
PeriPeriAddict@reddit
Thanks so much! I've definitely seen a couple of roles that mention Data Privacy, you're spot on that they tend to be very broad.
outsider247@reddit
How does one get a career like that?
sshiverandshake@reddit
It really depends on where you are in your career and the qualifications you have?
The market had changed as the industry and regulatory expectations have changed, i.e.: I was lucky enough to fall into it after graduating, where it was helpful (but not essential) to have a law degree.
These days a law degree still isn't essential, but it's preferred. You won't be overlooked if you don't have one though! Hiring Managers tend to prefer any relevant experience, e.g.: Data Breach Management, Impact Assessments, even just managing Regulator requests is a start.
If you're early in your career, apply to entry level roles where you'll get trained on all aspects of the DSAR Process, but if you're looking for a career change then start by getting a qualification with the IAPP (ideally CIPP/E or CIPP/M) and relevant experience.
Feel free to drop me a message if you have any specific queries, happy to help.
maddiezs@reddit
same!! started on my company's DSAR team two weeks before GDPR came in and only lasted 9 months.. my personal highlight was the customer that called on Christmas Eve to say he was coming with the police to seize our servers.. love the general public lol
ClericalRogue@reddit
I've processed DSAR's as part of my roles, and 100% its usually boring stuff. And, the companies ive worked for didnt include internal communications by and large. The only juicy contents were call hold times from call recordings. Ive heard advisors call people names, have breakdowns, munch on food, have a conversation with a colleague about random stuff, and even go to the loo... 🙈
washismypilotnow@reddit
Me too! I started in 2018 and stopped in 2022 so I got the start of GDPR and the smack of COVID. So much of the data is quite boring but I found it's most interesting when the customer is legitimately unhappy or the employer has a grievance... People are idiots and forget that if it's written down it can be disclosed, that opinion about that person? Yep, it's being shared with the data subject.
sshiverandshake@reddit
Similar timescales here! I started in 2017 and it remained a part of my role until 2022.
Also completely agree; the best SARs were the ones where the Data Subject had a legitimate, juicy grievance. If they listed a whole slew of people in their request, it was MJ scoffing popcorn material. The amount of training I delivered which boiled down to: "If you want to slag someone off, please do it offline."
SiDtheTurtle@reddit
I enjoyed it when Virgin Media sent me the SAR results of a completely different customer including all his personal details, credit card numbers, a scan of his driving license etc.
Sad_Introduction8995@reddit
Hah, that reminded me of receiving someone else’s wedding certificate in the post from Virgin Money.
Not_A_Toaster_0000@reddit
I think that means you're now legally married to them as well
Lopsided_Soup_3533@reddit
O2 send me a recorded conversation with an entirely different customer
thorn312@reddit
I took out an IVA years ago and when being sent the docs to sign, they emailed me someone else's documentation, so I got some random person's name, dob, address, email address and most importantly, how much debt they had and which creditors they owed it to. They didn't seem particularly bothered about it when I emailed either aside from to say sorry here's your papers.
danmingothemandingo@reddit
More than once when I was in senior management at a major uk estate agency business, some idiot out in one of the chains uploaded customer document scans, including passports etc to rightmove along with or instead of the property images...
KeaAware@reddit
Years ago, my mortgage company sent me all the documents some other random buyer had submitted to them. Really private stuff about their finances, iirc (I didn't look through in detail, obv). The company didn't even seem bothered when I told them about it. I'd forgotten that!
Euphoric-Wall-2576@reddit
This happened to me too when applying for a mortgage. They sent me someone else's paperwork to sign. No idea if they also sent that person my paperwork. But it had a lot of personal information in it.
WeeBo2804@reddit
I was once sent someone else’s plastic driving licence by the DVLA. I was a then, early 20’s female and he was a gentleman of around 50. Easy mistake to make.
misses_mop@reddit
The NHS sent me out a letter/report with every personal detail and personal experience of another woman's birth. I'm assuming she got mine as I hadn't long had my son.
Jackisback123@reddit
Heh, reminds me of the time I was trying to open an ISA with Company A and transfer an existing one in from Company B. When I asked for an update, they said they had sent the forms to Company C.
When I asked them to clarify, they said:
I then pointed out that the attached form was for someone with the same first name and surname as me, but with a different middle name.
By some coincidence, someone sharing my name and surname (albeit in a different part of the UK) was also trying to transfer in a LISA at the same time and they had sent me his form!
Firthy2002@reddit
Did you report it?
SiDtheTurtle@reddit
I tried to. ICO said I had to raise it with the company and go through their DPO. Madness.
LoveBeBrave@reddit
Did you? That’s the correct process.
SeaworthinessNeat516@reddit
Hmmm. Almost switched from BT to Virgin. Bit of luck there.
Jasboh@reddit
A rail network took me to court, I did a SAR requesting footage of the aledged incident. I was denied as it wasn't me, I still had to go to court.
qash001@reddit
What was the incident?
Jasboh@reddit
Someone jumped the train, got caught and verbally abused station staff, then have me name and an old address. I assume they were the new tenants
theModge@reddit
It happens a fair bit, also with fare evasion .
Shouldn't obviously, but it does
Informal-Intern-8672@reddit
Yeah an old friend of my exes gave my exes details a couple of times when caught. Luckily he had a good alibi both times, once he was in jail, once we were on holiday. Feels like it would have been a ball ache to sort out otherwise.
permerburner@reddit
No better alibi than “i was already nicked” hahaha
shpondi@reddit
What was the outcome? Could you invoice them for lost time?
Jasboh@reddit
I just walked away, idk what I could have done recompense wise
simmonator@reddit
Did you at least get to submit something along the lines of
or does our system not allow pithy common sense arguments to be heard?
SnooHabits8484@reddit
Not up to the company, presumably the case was in the hands of the CPS.
Anony_mouse202@reddit
No, train companies tend to prosecute these cases themselves.
The CPS prefers it this way, they’d rather their limited resources be diverted to those who cannot afford private prosecutions (i.e, the general public).
Which is also why other large entities (TV licensing, local councils, trading standards) handle prosecutions themselves.
1-05457@reddit
I thought they were private prosecutions?
BoopingBurrito@reddit
However the train company could (should) have provided that additional exculpatory evidence to the CPS of their own volition, either directly or via BTP.
Jasboh@reddit
Tbh I was stressed to fuck by the whole thing and felt I could use the email in court to prove my innocence, in hindsight I should have tried to contact the legal department and tried to make the org talk to itself.
GroundbreakingFox3@reddit
Direct admission to failing to follow a investigation with a direct enquiry from HR regarding the issue.
Professional people cover their backsides internally. A SAR is your best friend.
Sudden_Accountant762@reddit
I guess this is why my company has a very short retention policy for internal communications.
Important_Ruin@reddit
There not a legal minimum?
Mr_Venom@reddit
Re your edit: I think there's been a bit of backlash about easily Googled questions recently. People have been treating Reddit like an LLM more and more and it gets other people's goat. Not that your question was invalid but I think that's what happened.
Important_Ruin@reddit
Sometimes Google doesnt actually give the definitive answer, as appears to vary between public and private sector.
antimathematician@reddit
Ours is 3 months and it came in very suddenly… hmmmmmm
Langasaurus@reddit
Yes, there is, if it is a public body. If a private company, still some minimums, but far fewer.
Longjumping_Care989@reddit
The Duchy of Cornwall considers itaelf a public body for tax purposes (meaning that it pays no tax) and a private body for FOI purposes (meaning that it doesnt answer FOIs)
Funny it should be that way round, isnt it?
codechris@reddit
I was contacted by an internal recruiter a out a very senior director role for a company. I went through several rounds of interview and testing. They even told me to practice for the testing so overall spent over 4 or 5 hours up to that point (I went out fairly early in their process). They refuse to give feedback. I did a GDPR request and got the feedback. Worst of all the feedback was about 3 lines and it's all I wanted. Just copy and paste you smug pricks
WheelDirect8901@reddit
Back in 2003, I worked in the tax office. I kept having problems with severe headaches and at one time was hospitalised for what they thought was meningitis.
I was put on probation for absences, despite each one being certified medically. At this point, I requested a copy of my HR records.
Eventually, they were seeking termination and I decided to resign before I received my records.
A few weeks down the line, I received the records and found that the line manager had been sending employees into the hospital to see if I was really there and even looking into whether my medical notes were forged. They suspected I had maunchausens and liked to be in hospital, apparently.
Turns out, I had IIH. Never felt so vindicated by a serious diagnosis!
mynamessaladfingers@reddit
I’m not sure if it’s quite the same thing, but, years ago when I resigned from my job due to unfair constructive dismissal - I was falsely accused of SA by another staff member because I’d reported him for not doing his job when I was covering the night foreman role and the company turned it into a witch hunt - I made a SAR for my personal file.
What the company provided was incredibly valuable but also hilarious. All the interview notes from every interview they conducted during their witch hunt. The people who backed up my accuser - every one of their stories was wildly different. The notes from the companies interviews with me were all forged and there was clear evidence of this as the hand written minutes were wildly different to the typed ones and none of them had been signed by me. The company had also done a really poor job of redacting other people’s names from these documents so it was really easy to see exactly which former colleagues had decided to turn on me and support the false accusations. A few people were interviewed more than once and even just reading their interview minutes you could tell they were lying as they kept tripping themselves up. In the first interview they were saying stuff like “I saw him do it” and then the second interview it changed to “I wasn’t there, someone told me about it”.
Eventually the lad who accused me redacted his complaint.
My solicitor had a field day with it all. She was actually laughing at how much they’d F’d up and how much evidence we had against them that they’d provided. Safe to say I won my case for unfair dismissal, bullying and discrimination.
MathematicianSea563@reddit
A social worker who had literally never met me in my life described me as having personal hygiene and a deteriorating property, despite having never set foot in my house.
Otherwise-Term6608@reddit
Are you sure the social worker's name wasn't anonymised?
MathematicianSea563@reddit
Nope. I looked him up on social care Wales, which is the regulatory body for social workers. He definitely was using his real name. He stood in a local election as well, which is worrying given he was a fabricating, dishonest lying bastard.
No-Taro-6953@reddit
Hywel Williams ?
pixeltash@reddit
"given he was a fabricating, dishonest lying bastard"
Sounds like a career in politics would suit them perfectly.
Far_Quote_5336@reddit
Were they right though?
MathematicianSea563@reddit
Absolutely not.
Whilst I would never win any beauty contests, I shower and change my clothes daily.
As for my property- again , not exactly a show home, but perfectly acceptable. Though I met get a bit behind on chores due to work, it’s certainly not squalor by any stretch of the imagination.
It wasn’t the accusation I was angry about, it was the dishonesty. I truthfully wouldn’t know this social worker from Adam, yet he was making defamatory statements. I submitted a complaint against him for fabricating evidence.
Far_Quote_5336@reddit
I’m so sorry it must’ve been awful
Mac_Me91@reddit
Hi! Victim of identity theft here. Someone spent a fortune in my name on PayPal via Argos (to the tune of 8.5K) PayPal erased all but the last £1K. Despite this, they sent the debt collectors after me. In an effort to defend myself should it have gone to court, I conducted the SAR and was given the phone recordings of the criminal pretending to be me. The accent and the mispronuciation of my name were kind of the giveaway. Case dropped.
orbtastic1@reddit
I’ve dealt with dsars and ran the archiving system for 1000s of users but I always wondered what happened when someone asked for one about themselves (they were usually really specific hr or legal cases or someone just wanted an entire archive dump for certain people). I also managed purview so understand how that works but the sort of cases where someone says I want to see what people said about me - having done this myself ie badmouth people via teams and other mediums that are searchable, how on earth would that even come up? I don’t write “yes I think John smith is a cunt” nobody writes like that, it’s more than likely in extremely informal abstract ways. I wrote my old boss was a fat, robbing, bullying piece of lying shit but every word of that was true and he was sacked on that basis. Did I write “on this day full name of my boss is a fat robbing bullying piece of lying shit”? No.
emsiixx@reddit
I found a one sentence email that explained why my grievance outcome was so perverse, it helped me build my case and win my tribunal claim
kkma5159@reddit
Random question about this. What stops the company just deleting its emails involving you, or at least the incriminating ones? Doesn’t sound like a very independent process to me or am I misunderstanding what actually happens?
Jin-shei@reddit
Did one for my father's infected blood compensation. Found out that he was in a clinical study without his knowledge or consent. Also found out more about his vasectomy than I ever wanted to know
Anxious-Bid4874@reddit
You were extremely fortunate to get some notes relating to infected blood.
My father in law's notes were a nightmare to get hold of with the NHS destroying a lot of them well before their deletion date.
Thankfully the local doctor did have a few with the golden nugget being the National Blood Transfusion Service admitting he was given Hep C infected blood during an operation. Also his decline due to the disease was evidenced through a number of blood tests that somehow avoided being destroyed. His final days also showed his liver failure through decompensated cirrhosis.
Still waiting for IBCA to contact us.
Jin-shei@reddit
Yeah, we had a number of years and some strange gaps. I got into a major fight with them about hep b being acute or chronic because my dad missed a single blood test and so can't prove beyond 5.5 months to meet the 6 month cut off. I made a formal complaint, suddenly got a new handler who stopped enraging dad at every turn. I highly recommend this.
I'm so sorry you are having a rubbish time with them. A few friends have notes missing in floods that seem only to have affected single storage rooms...
massie_le@reddit
Could I do this with booking.com?
Stunning-Macaron-261@reddit
Ooh what's your problem with booking.com as I'm fuming with them!
massie_le@reddit
I got a financial reward when I booked a hotel room in Tokyo in 2024. Someone then booked an internal fight in Indonesia using my account and credit. I tried to sort it out with various phone calls and messages and got no where
CorpusCalossum@reddit
Yes
Classic_Mammoth_9379@reddit
They tend to not be that exciting. I was getting my orders cancelled by a retailer I use frequently and they didn’t want to tell me why. A comment on the DSAR gave me the name of the employee who was blocking it and the fraudulent activities they were (falsely!) believing I was up to. I suspect they could/should have removed that bit. I managed to use that to get them to engage and allow me to order again.
No_Success_4269@reddit
Not sure they should or, legally, could remove that bit.
Curious_Ad3766@reddit
You absolutely can and must remove any mentions regarding any financial crime. If you let the customer know that you are suspecting them of committing financial crimes this could be considering tipping off which is illegal and you can be jailed for up to 5 years. Whenever we think a customer could be involved in fraud we never add this in any of our notes on the system preciously to avoid them getting their hands on this information via SARS request. We only use appropriate channels to escalate to the appropriate team.
Classic_Mammoth_9379@reddit
I believe they could argue that data collected for fraud prevention can be withheld as per Schedule 2 of the DPA 2018.
Diplomatic_Gunboats@reddit
You can generally remove identities of other parties in a DSAR request, e.g. individual employees of a business you have sent a SAR to. If you need the name to commence legal action for example, you request it later through other methods.
lost-cavalier@reddit
I went through a 12 month battle to get a repair on a new motorbike, and ultimately when that failed, reject it and get a refund, I bought it new from the main dealer (loads of corrosion and paint flaking off the engine, frame e.t.c. after a few months of use) - did this via the Financial Ombudsman who ruled in my favour - I did a SAR to the finance company and the dealership, who I should note were flat out refusing to do anything about the faulty bike because the manufacturer claimed "I hadn't looked after the bike" and said no warranty, even though it was a known issue on this particular bike .... they never even inspected it, so dealer just said "not our problem, no warranty means we aren't fixing it and you can't do anything about it"
So after getting the SAR in I got to see all the emails between the finance company and the dealer - gave me so much satisfaction to see the manager at the dealer HQ tell the finance company the same "we're not doing anything and you can't make us, it's not our problem if the Ombudsman is making you unwind the deal and take the bike back"
The final emails were the finance company legal team telling the dealer they had collected the bike and refunded me, told the dealer they either take back the bike and them the refund amount, or they sell the bike at auction and sue them for the entire purchase price I paid :) - so much satisfaction seeing the horrible people at the dealer finding out that there are bigger fish than them and you can't ignore consumer rights
ImmediateChemistry85@reddit
I'm going through it now, waiting on a reply
Mdl8922@reddit
My wife did a SAR to our sons school, local Social Care, and CAMHS.
Internally the school were accusing her of "fictitious induced illness" around our son, and of lying about his meltdowns at home & school refusal (he's since been diagnosed with ASD & attends a specialist school where he has 98.8% attendance currently)
Also learned that meetings were listened in on by other staff hiding in the next room, the school had approached our GP trying to get our sons medical history, and the school were considering contacting my wife's employer to call into question her fitness to practice die to FII (she's a social worker)
We learned that the school had contacted Social Care so many times that Social Care had to actually ask the school to stop contacting them regarding trivial matters
Also realised that the schools social worker was working without being registered as such, which is pretty illegal.
Social Care deemed that certain school employees were acting on a personal vendetta (or words to a similar effect)
CAMHS workers wanted to diagnose my son with ASD 6 years ago but were overruled by a superior who insisted on 'attachment problems' so we wasted 6 years of my sons life being misdiagnosed.
NorthernMonkey71@reddit
This sounds remarkably similar to the way my wife and I were treated before my son was diagnosed with ASD.
I was effectively interviewed "under caution" on many occasions by staff who were definitely not qualified to do so.
Thankfully, we were also able to place him in a school able to help, rather than to chastise.
He's now mid 20's and has a history degree and works in a pub while he looks for something more suited to his qualifications.
Character_Life840@reddit
This is horrendous. I'm so sorry you've had to deal with it. Just awful.
thecatisincharge@reddit
It’s horrific the way some schools & staff … who are professionals & well respected by other professionals, treat children with additional needs & their parents. And the worst part is no one really truly believes you until they go through it
My SAR to a school resulted in a few forms I’d signed over the years 😂
outsider247@reddit
Really sorry you had to go through this a a Family. Would be good to leave a review atleast about this school or raise a complaint with authorities.
What did you mean by this statement?
Mdl8922@reddit
Was definitely shocked, it's changed the way I look at dealing with the schools & agencies now. Lot more wary that not everybody is being honest.
Christmastree2920@reddit
I'd love to hear the other side of this story
Mdl8922@reddit
It's in the SAR haha.
Section101@reddit
This is just awful, sorry you had to experience that.
Even_Passenger_3685@reddit
Holy shit that’s awful I’m so sorry you went through this as a family.
urban_shoe_myth@reddit
I was involved in an email chain from a colleague of mine who had submitted a SAR in relation to a grievance. They complained that the SAR was pointless as everthing was redacted, and the information made no sense.
When they originally submitted it and I got the email to send copies of correspondence (grievance wasn't against me but I'd been involved in the general issue) I was chuffed because I knew there was nothing juicy for them to find, and the knowledge they would be seriously disappointed was just glorious.
JohnLikeOne@reddit
Similarly not quite in theme with the thread but I once helped respond to a request from someone who was convinced there was a massive conspiracy against them.
The response gave them many emails over years...every one of which they were copied in to when originally sent because it turns out there was no conspiracy.
Koloth@reddit
I once made an SAP to NCP. They sent me a parking charge notice or whatever, claiming I’d arrived in the morning and left in the afternoon, without paying.
I explained that I’d arrived, dropped off my wife and immediately left, and then in the afternoon I’d arrived, picked my wife up, and immediately left, all without parking, or even being on the premises for more than about two or three minutes. They weren’t interested.
I then made a subject access request, explicitly requesting all photos of me arriving and leaving the car park, from all entrances and exits (as there were several of each).
When the photos arrived, I asked if anyone had spotted that there were an odd number of photos in the bundle, as this would suggest that either I was still in the car park three weeks later, or one of their cameras wasn’t working.
They cancelled the parking charge “on this occasion”.
Fuck NCP.
BongoHunter@reddit
You'll be pleased to know they recently went into administration
Acceptable_Mud_9249@reddit
Love when they tack on an "on this occasion" when they've been caught dead to rights. I had this when an online education supplier refused to cancel my enrollment, I'd literally put my name down and paid a deposit and accessed nothing so I pressed them on it. They continued to try the monthly payments but there wasn't enough money, which I had told them already. They then used details for a completely different bank account that I never gave them, totally unattached to the one I did give them which is illegal. They can only use the bank details provided to take payment. Once I informed them it was illegal and I would be reporting them to every governing body they were under the CEO emailed me saying we didn't do that but he would cancel my enrollment "on this occasion" if I promised to never contact them again lol
Heeberon@reddit
I believe your wish came true!
eraserway@reddit
I requested my records from when I was under CAMHS as a teen. There was a scan of a handwritten note in there, from a secretary to the psychiatrist informing them that my mum had called and wanted a call back. In brackets: "she sounded very annoyed!!"
They used to mess up my medication a lot and my mum often had to chase them up to get it sorted so I'm not surprised she'd be annoyed!
Particular_Pickle465@reddit
I got a copy of my medical records. The crisis team wrote in their assessment that my hair was messy and I smelled bad. 😭
Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit
They always have to comment on how you present (clothing, cleanliness) and stuff like your posture, speech patterns, eye contact. Feels mean but they're building a picture.
Embarrassed_Belt9379@reddit
Unfortunately things like that are standard in mental health assessments. The way someone presents themselves can be relevant to their mental health issues. It’s very hard to write things like that without sounding rude. Unkempt and malodorous is the usual way of saying it. Means the same mind you. Hope things are better for you now btw.
Particular_Pickle465@reddit
Yeah I understand why. Still difficult to see that that is what they were thinking of me. Things are much better now, thank you :)
leblanc_king@reddit
This why psych patients shouldn’t get access to their certain notes, IMO. At least not until a certain time period has elapsed. You’re the umpteenth person I’ve seen with a similar issue with this.
FunkyYoghurt@reddit
I agree but also with capacity why shouldn't they? I'm not arguing I get what you mean. But you can't tell a psychiatric patient no if they have capacity.
gnarlygb@reddit
And they don’t. If care teams think that the release of notes will put back a patient’s recovery then they can perform a “harm test” and notes can be refused. The ICO typically gives way, as they cannot and should not make a clinical judgement. I processed a complete refusal escalation today. I upheld the refusal but pointed out that the data subject could resubmit once they are doing better and have been discharged from hospital.
Particular_Pickle465@reddit
I see your point
FunkyYoghurt@reddit
It wasn't what they were thinking of you or their personal opinion on you.
nouazecisinoua@reddit
CAMHS wrote in my notes that I was "casually dressed". Not insulting but made me laugh when I read it - like they were expecting a full tux for a medical appointment!
Onlythedoggo@reddit
I had to go to a PIP assessment and was described as " well nourished " in the report. Pissed me right off
Diplomatic_Gunboats@reddit
That sounds like how my vet described my cat. "Well conditioned" he said. We thought he meant her coat and started talking about the oil we put in their food.
"Fat, I meant shes fat".
Particular_Pickle465@reddit
I suppose it would be odd if you were wearing a tuxedo.
TheAnxiousPangolin@reddit
Hey, I just wanted to let you know (as a Clinician that undertakes CAMHS assessments), that we aren’t judging you and the intention is never to be unkind - it’s just to form a clear picture of how your mental health and daily function are at the time we saw you. It helps us track patterns of symptoms, behaviours, and mood. Honestly, we’re mostly just proud and happy you came to the appointment in the first place! I’m glad you’re doing better now 🤍
Particular_Pickle465@reddit
Thank you for explaining it more, I do understand. I didn’t even realise I smelled bad though. I am also glad that I’m doing better, it’s nice to hear that you’re not judging as well. Thank you 🙏
InsolventAttendant22@reddit
I mean, I think if she was annoyed then this isn't incorrect. Knowing that you are calling someone who is frustrated with a situation is a good thing to know to be able to help them.
If it said this parent is being a bloody pain in my arse and complete bitch then definitely inappropriate.
eraserway@reddit
Absolutely, I've probably written similar things when passing messages on too! It just made me smile that this throwaway little note was probably shoved into my file years ago without a second thought, then someone was obligated to scan it alongside everything else for my SAR
Also remembering how much my mum advocated for me back then, bless her :)
Responsible_Fly_4257@reddit
I used to work for Loungers and they gave me a disciplinary after I failed to turn up to work after attempting suicide. I was having a hard time with a particular coworker, as was everyone else and they refused to do anything about it, which I discussed in my disciplinary.
They claimed I never mentioned my declining mental health and tried to make out that I had a vendetta against this coworker and everyone hated me. Even read out an email I sent two years before when I complained about the coworker but they added a lot of fake stuff in the email.
I made a SAR for any emails and messages about me from management and the first thing I see if a diagnosis letter from my psychiatrist, a letter of suggested reasonable adjustments (which the ignored), my original email of complaint against the coworker, and messages from some of the bosses explaining how screwed they would be without me and that the coworker was a bit of a problem.
I had already started court proceedings by the time I had realised I should have made a subject access request and Loungers had obviously spent a lot of money on solicitors at this point so they were put into evidence.
It took over 2 years for the court date and the barrister for Loungers came to my barrister and offered me a settlement which I’m not allowed to discuss.
I’m doing much better now by the way.
OldFartInsights@reddit
I didn't even read mine, so nothing juicy. But having been a customer for decades and on my way elsewhere because of their appalling behaviour and refusal to adequately compensate me, I like to think it cost them more to dig out, process, compile and check all that stuff than it would have cost them to keep me as a customer. There were many megabytes of it - hundreds of files.
Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit
I can't imagine giving a shit enough to submit a SAR.
Why would I care what a company is saying about me? 🤷🏼♀️ I only care if they are providing the good or service I'm paying for.
Clemtastic1@reddit
I said in my exit interview I thought my old boss was a maniacle narcissist who was squandering the funds of the company on his personal projects. I was told by a friend that he then had to give a report to the Board about why I'd left and deliberately changed the HR directors report to suggest I was incompetent but threw in a few personal insults because he couldn't resist. I made an SAR which covered that report to embarrass him and make him feel uncomfortable, in that report he described me as turning up to work "dishevelled"
If you met me you would know how unlikely this was.
snarkycrumpet@reddit
where shall we meet? I'd like to know how unlikely it was
Confident_Ice_5180@reddit
My partner has had to go to his GP for something a few times recently. At one point it became apparent that his notes had been mixed up with someone else. He requested his medical records and the surgery sent him the lot including all the details of the other person. He told the surgery about this. They then asked him to go through ALL of the records, PRINT OUT the ones that related to the other person and then bring them in so that they could sort them out.
So:
1) they didn't ask him to delete the file thet sent that had someone else's sensitive personal data; 2) they then asked him to actually read through that other person's sensitive data in detail; and 3) they asked him to create yet another, paper hard copy of that personal data, which he could in theory have easily left just lying around anywhere.
Honestly the mind boggles.
TheNecroFrog@reddit
I’d suggest putting a complaint in with the GP Practice, and potentially escalating to their ICB if they don’t rectify that themselves.
exploringsomerhing@reddit
Once got given a prescription at a chemist, walked down the road and realised that the name and medication where not mine. Walked back and explained the situation for the chemist to rip open the paper bag (showing the right medication for me) and berate me for not checking it myself?? I’m sorry why did you put the wrong label on it then?
FedUpNews@reddit
I learnt about the sexual abuse my sister suffered from requesting my own notes from social services. She was abused 9 years before I was. I should have taken it further but the emotional damage was soul destroying.
aliceinlondon@reddit
I am so sorry.
Should they not have redacted anything relating to somebody else, or was it just obvious from the general context?
FedUpNews@reddit
Thank you.
It wasn't general context. It had been redacted on some documents but missed on others (same wording hded but different presentation ie meeting notes vs report).
Funnily enough, the bit that I had specifically requested was missing. I was searching for anything related to being intimately forensically examined as it happened four years after I reported the abuse (I reported the abuse on one of the days the abuse occured).
I spent around 5 months trying to find the documentation at various places, NHS, social services, NSPCC and I didn't find it. It was absolute hell on earth having to read through hundreds of pages of a part of life I had sort of forgotten. Ultimately I wanted an apology for the delay as it made a messed up confused child even worse. I got a half hearted apology from social services who accepted my complaint and then a month later when I requested an update they didn't have any record of my complaint! I gave up and told them to stick the sunshine up their rear end (harsher words but you get the jist).
bluejackmovedagain@reddit
I can't imagine how difficult this has been for you.
I'm not sure if this is helpful, but it might be worth asking if Mountain Healthcare have any records, as they are commissioned to run a lot of SARCs on behalf of the NHS.
malmikea@reddit
Did you find any other support?
I think organisations and institutions should make provisions for those who have experienced historical abuse but didn’t have appropriate support at the time
i-wont-dance@reddit
Hey, as someone sure I was visited by social services when I was young, can you tell me who might have my info?
FedUpNews@reddit
I contacted children's social services at the town I was based in as well as the county council. The county council didn't provide much and recommended I contact the local councils social services department.
D4RKS1D3R89@reddit
Your county council would be the best contact. If you go on their website you should find the relevant links!
Airurando-jin@reddit
This hits close to home, except it was social services advising my mother and stepfather that their neighbour (adult should not be spending time around me so much, and had concerns). They didn’t listen and as it stands the social services hunches were right.
I still haven’t spoken to my mother
lesterbottomley@reddit
Not me but a place I worked.
Someone had a legal dispute with the company. Got all calls made to the call centre.
Unknown to us the recording system recorded the call for another few seconds after the call disconnected.
He wasn't happy that the last call he made finished with the agent clearly saying "what a fucking arsehole"
FustyFossil@reddit
A local authority once posted a complete strangers entire legal bundle from their family law vs social services case (highly confidential) through my door. Despite them insisting their process server had handed it to the correct person, which clearly they had not, they refused to speak to me about it.
So i took it down to the court and gave it to the judge on the paperworks clerk, alongside a letter explaining what the local authority had done. I also reported them to the ICO.
DigitalStefan@reddit
Nothing juicy but I once had an email argument with an in-house solicitor for my old employer and current landlord (I used to work for them, was still renting from them).
The solicitor wanted me to come to their building, hand my passport to the receptionist, wait for her to make a copy of it and then go home before they would even begin processing my SAR.
I successfully argued that their interpretation of the law around proving my ID would be fully satisfied by the fact that I had worked for them for 4 years and rented from them for 3 years, I was still at the address I was renting and they would be sending hard copies to that address in my name. Also I was emailing from the email address HR kept on file for my during my time as an employee.
That solicitor was apparently a new hire. I just thought it was a bit silly that I understood the law better than they did.
Weak_Wrongdoer5196@reddit
Adult social care worker said I could "walk fine" because I took 8 steps in front of her. This went into my housing file and my council used it to justify delaying my housing case. I'm young and they're discriminatory.
Cirias@reddit
If I told you I'd have to SAR you.
Important_Ruin@reddit
I'm very tempted to, just for the giggles but not sure if it would result in any sort of vendetta, guess you just SAR again if feeling like something is coming back on you.
Otherwise-Term6608@reddit
I once made a SAR that a company ignored for 9 months. Eventually got a no win no fee solicitor involved and got a payout & my request finally honoured. All because they couldn't send me a few documents in the first place.
Important_Ruin@reddit
No wanting to do it out of spite etc, just would be interesting to see.
Otherwise-Term6608@reddit
Spite was the only reason I did it in the first place ahaha.
hydrora31@reddit
eBay out right refused me 5 times in a row. I do not know why. It was for an account I setup (first ebay account in 10 years) and they banned it within 12 hours. Said I was permanently banned from eBay. I had not purchased anything or even messaged anyone.
They refused all my SAR's. My fiancee signed up 9who doesn't even live with me) because we were thinking of making a joint purchase. She was also perma banned. So I asked a friend to, who also got perma banned.
They refused all of our SAR requests with no provided reason.
Anyone who has insight I would love to know what the hell that could have been!
Diplomatic_Gunboats@reddit
IP was likely recycled or linked to a previous account banned. US companies (despite well over 30 years of dealing with it) still sometimes assume European IP addresses are static.
The SAR wouldnt have done you any good though. It would have been a fully automated process and so no actual information to provide beyond 'we have banned the account'. They wouldnt provide you the details of any previous linked accounts just in case they were someone else and so risk an actual breach.
WeightCapital@reddit
Contact Information commissioners office, you can Google for the contact details. The ICO will definitely get an answer as to why you were refused and you'll either get somewhere or find out what their grounds for refusal were.
Otherwise-Term6608@reddit
Did you not then raise the SAR refusal with the Information Commissioner's Office?
eBay can't just refuse a SAR for no reason.
winnerisme@reddit
A big supermarket chain considered me a “vulnerable, poor person” based off my ‘loyalty’ card spending habits which was amusing
Treeandtroll@reddit
Applied for an internally advertised coaching / training job (public sector). Didn't get an interview despite being over qualified and experienced. Was told there was no feedback so I put in a SAR. The only comment was "well evidenced application. Freelance journalist." I've never worked as a journalist in my life.
_swagonwheel@reddit
I requested my medical data - turns out I asked only for my mental health trust records and I knew it would be a LOT - but hundreds of pages of pdfs, I still haven't read them all! I wanted the stuff I couldn't remember so much (thank you rubbish brain), and also to see about any misdiagnosis still lingering on files - nothing shocking in it, but a perfect read to make me sad! Lol
gozzyeye@reddit
I was being made redundant during COVID times (unfairly but that's another story).
I asked for records related to my supposed sickness days over the last five years.
I did receive some paperwork which contained my records and three other colleagues sick notes. Reason for absence, Doctors notes and home contact details.
I reported all of this to the head office and they stated that it was not possible. They soon changed when I emailed them details of another other person's reasons for illness.
The ICO were useless as they claimed that the company would need to report themselves. Hopeless really.
Xaavuza@reddit
Do you have to provide a reason as to why you want a SAR?
ImThatBitchNoodles@reddit
No, but your request could be denied if found unreasonable or malicious. The burden of proof is on them, though. They can't just refuse and say you've done it just to cause disruption, they have to prove it through strong reasoning.
BoopingBurrito@reddit
Nope. You're just exercising your rights under the law.
setokaiba22@reddit
I needed one for my bank a few years back and what was interesting all the screenshots I was from of my account from their system (the screenshots were of the software they used)
It indicted my credit profile with then, risk profile and how much they’d lend to me including what products I’d be given in advance.
Was quite interesting in that sense
chin_waghing@reddit
At college, that this one guy who said they didn’t snitch… had infact snitched.
Needed to use your college card to get in and out the library and I took his card and hid it (in a joke) and then we forgot about this fact and he supposedly got stuck there and I got in trouble. Full statement from him but his name redacted.
DameKumquat@reddit
Asked for photos of our car going along a certain motorway on a certain night. Was being done for breaking a 50 mph limit, only we were sure there hadn't been any 50 sign, because spouse had 6 points already so was paranoid about getting more, and I looking out too.
So the SAR wasn't juicy but the FOI asking where the 50 signs were was, because it confirmed that as we were driving, the Highways Agency was in the middle of taking down old signs and putting up new ones. Literally that stretch from 2am to 4am...
Cue appearing in court and the police claimed that taking down a sign wasn't a valid excuse for not slowing for it. Judge counted how long it had been and awarded 3 points which would have come off 3 months earlier, and made a lovely sarcastic speech, which sadly wasn't recorded.
PerplePurp@reddit
A photocopy of the sticky note saying 'Do not copy' (intended to prevent those documents being supplied as part of the SAR) - they were internal discussions about the legitimacy of my dispute.
takingphotosmakingdo@reddit
"why is he doing that?" "I don't know"
When I was going around checking systems that didn't get daily start and end of day checks when it's known anywhere else a leak during the winter could cause a major outage.
"They applied again" "I see that, just don't respond, let it expire after the role closes"
I applied to a higher role after being cut after I reported exclusion and juniors getting bullied amongst other things like security and safety concerns.
fleurmadelaine@reddit
My boss wanted to extend my probation because I was ambitious.
smoulderstoat@reddit
A mate got an email exchange between a senior manager and his boss, which read
SM: "That tall guy works for you. Always wears a blue jumper. Any good in goal? We need someone for five a side."
B: "You know he's blind, right?"
SM: "Fuck. I just told him to get his dog out of the office."
scarab-@reddit
I did a SAR for the info that the DVLA had on my partner, it contained documents pertaining to an accident.
There were several medical documents on my partner and 3 medical documents on someone who was much older, had a different name, and lived somewhere else. That person had had cataract surgery and so my partner's license had a, requires glasses to drive, requirement put on it.
My partner had had their license revoked for almost a year so we didn't tell the DVLA about their incompetence incase the DVLA removed the license for another 3 months to look into the problem.
Greedy-Mechanic-4932@reddit
Some pretty in depth reports (and images) from social services and the police, of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Nothing related to me or my family. But got included for some reason...
smoulderstoat@reddit
Yikes!
Illustrious_Sea7480@reddit
I found that my manager had been conducting a secret investigation against me. My crimes included taking notes on a notepad in a meeting; paying particular attention in a meeting, and physically shoving somebody out of the way (this didn't happen). There was a tonne of content redacted.
FuzzyPalpitation-16@reddit
my crimes included taking notes on a notepad in a meeting
GinBitch@reddit
In a previous role I would redact these files for the local authority. Some pretty horrific things in Child Protection files.
freddiepoos2025@reddit
As did I. It still haunts me to this day and the last one I did was ten years ago. There were a few phrases that just shouldn’t come out of children’s mouths 😢
GigsworthCB@reddit
The leadership of the church we were going to called us ‘wolves amongst the sheep’, ‘in the grip of Satan’ and asserted that ‘we had a plan for 5 years to bring down the leadership’.
We had made a complaint about abusive behaviour by two members of the leadership team towards a young female member of the congregation.
Our complaint was upheld by the Baptist Union, but the church hid the report and forced us out. They then preached a sermon calling us ‘disciple makers for Satan’.
eriometer@reddit
It isn't particularly juicy, but in a job-loss-related situation, I had a contract which said I was on a 1 month notice period, but my employer only had an older one which stated 3 months. So they had to go by that, as I wasn't going to furnish them with the newer one!
20127010603170562316@reddit
I used it to get my criminal record. I was surprised that it still had that time I "stole" a mates bike when I was 14 on it.