Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) has been ordered to pay a former customer Sh250,000 for continuously bombarding him with text messages to clear a non-existent water bill, turning the spotlight on obsolete company records of their customers.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner sided with Gachiri Ndungo, who accused the firm of violating his rights and causing him distress by incessantly sending him messages about a non-existent water bill.
In its latest ruling, the regulator said the city utility was wrong to continue sending Mr Ndungo the messages even after he requested them to cease, having stopped being a customer, and ordered it to pay him Sh250,000.
“In continuing to process the complainant’s personal data without lawful justification, the respondent violated the complainant's right to object,” said data commissioner Immaculate Kassait in a new ruling.
Mr Ndungo told the regulator that he had complained to Nairobi Water that he was no longer a customer and that his phone number should be deleted from the system. It acknowledged his request but took no action.
When put to task by the regulator, NCWSC said it failed to remove the number due to “an inadvertent internal lapse,” and that it was removed on January 8, as soon as the lapse was detected and sorted.
It denied the rights violation claims, asserting that it collected Mr Ndungo’s personal details, including phone number, lawfully through its customer service team, to be used purposefully for service-related communication.
But it is its refusal to delete the number when requested by the owner that landed it in trouble. “The respondent's explanation that the objection was not actioned due to an internal lapse does not absolve it from responsibility,” argued Ms Kassait.
The Data Protection Act of 2019 grants data subjects the right to both object to the processing of their data and to request erasure when the reason is justified, and data processors like companies are bound to grant these rights.
This ruling could thrust several service companies that have a rigid mailing and customer contact list that is rarely updated.
Internet company Zuku last year found itself in a similar situation, after an ex-customer complained of endless promotional messages from the company despite ceasing to be its client. It was ordered to pay the customer Sh500,000.
