1 - No 3rd party will ever be given your email address.
2 - Sensitive data transfer is handled by a 128bit SSL Certificate.
3 - Newsletters will only be sent to customers that subscribe to them.

What does the Data Protection Act mean online?

The Data Protection Act deals with any personal information that is collected or stored on paper and electronically.

Every time you enter any personal information into a website - your e-mail address, postal address, age or phone number - the website is legally obliged to tell you what it is using it for.

The website must also provide you with the option to prevent them passing it on to other parties.

What it means for example is when subscribing to a newsletter, you often get the option to receive information from other 'partner' organisations for marketing purposes.

If you decline this offer, the website is not allowed to pass on your details under the Data Protection Act. (D.P.A.)

The DPA covers all UK users

It also means that organisations can't use the data you gave them for one purpose for another - so just because you send an e-mail to WebWise doesn't mean we can use that e-mail address for any other purpose except for replying to you.

The government agency responsible for the D.P.A. is run by the Information Commissioner.

The most important aims of the D.P.A. are to ensure that information kept about you is accurate, up-to-date, secure, relevant, and not held on to for too long.

Data Protection Act

Most reputable websites will encrypt any personal information for you when you enter personal details or access the checkout area if you're shopping. Speedaway have your personal data protected via a 128bit SSL Certificate. This is industry standard.

If you're not sure, check if they have any information regarding this in their 'About' or 'FAQ' section.

If a website does collect information it must store it for the minimum time possible.

If it wants to use the data for other purposes - such as marketing - it must gain consent of the individual and inform them exactly how their data will be used.

Credit card numbers are not stored in an ingeniuos split method, we keep three quarters of the digits electronically and for the remainder we use good old paper.

What should you look for?

Personal data refers to information about a living person that can be used to identify them in any way.

A website is legally obliged to alert you to the fact that it is collecting this information, and it does this in a number of ways.

All sites that collect personal information should provide a 'Use of Data' notice, which should describe all the purposes for which the information collected will be used.

This includes information collected via cookies, 'web bugs' or other hidden software.

The data that is requested should be the minimum necessary, and it should only be kept for the shortest length of time appropriate for the use that has been agreed.

For example, if you enter an online competition, your postal address is all the information they need, and it should only be kept until the winner is announced.

The Data Protection Act recommends that the 'Use of Data' notice should not just be available on the website, but should be linked to directly from the page on which the information is collected.

If you're entering personal information, look out for this link, and if it isn't there, reconsider entering your data.

What are my rights?

Under the Data Protection Act, you have the right to see all information stored on record about yourself on paper and online.

This includes records held by both public and private organisations - anyone from computer dating agencies and credit card companies to the Department of Social Security and the police.

Most official organisations do have a justifiable reason for storing information about you, but commercial companies must provide a specific reason for keeping personal data on record - or else it must be deleted by law.

You are well within your rights to request any personal information stored about you on any website.

All organisations have to provide that information within 40 days or you can report them to the Information Commissioner.

Low fees

You may be charged a 'reasonable' fee of around ten pounds but this may apply to each piece of information so always check the cost first. Specialist data, such as health records, may cost more.

If you want to check your credit rating, this is dealt with by three specialist companies: Equifax, Call Credit or Experian. Any of them should do a check for two pounds.

Websites that store personal data must also provide an 'update details' feature, so that any incorrect details (such as delivery addresses on shopping sites) can be altered.

The Data Protection Act also states that you can make a legitimate request to a website to stop sending marketing information to you by e-mail or by post.