A sacked Sky employee and three company directors are facing criminal charges – and possibly prison – for contravening the Data Protection Act, after the High Court ruled they colluded to use Sky customer data for marketing rival satellite warranty businesses.
The case dates back to 2010, when Sky discovered customers were receiving marketing calls from two companies, offering warranty extensions just before their standard warranties expired.
On investigation it was found that Sky staffer Steven Lee was handing over the data to a former colleague, Tom Hicks. It was alleged that Hicks had left the company under something of a cloud and then set up his own rival satellite warranty and repairs operation.
Two firms – Digital Satellite Warranty Cover and sister business Nationwide Satellite Services – were also part-owned by the same directors, Michael Sullivan, Paul Marrow and Bernard Freeman.
Sky sacked Lee and sued the firms, alleging that they “unlawfully came into possession and made use of confidential customer data taken from Sky’s customer databases”.
And in a High Court ruling published this week, Judge Sir William Blackburne found that acquiring the Sky customer information was “central to the success” of both companies.
He said: “Lee transmitted data that was ‘substantial in terms of both quantity and quality’ when he copied customers’ information from Sky’s customer data onto disks that were later supplied to Digital.”
The judge added: “The probabilities are… that he passed the data to Hicks. I therefore find that Lee is liable for misuse of Sky’s confidential information, infringement of its database right and breach of his employment contract with [Sky].”
Because the men knew of and participated in the “marketing activities where these wrongs occurred” they were all liable, too, along with the now liquidated companies, for the offences, the judge ruled.
The Information Commissioner’s Office confirmed to DecisionMarketing that it is now working alongside police on the case. Among its powers, the ICO can issue fines of up to £500,000 and prison sentences for breaches of the Act.
