Powergen scandal: Watchdogs wash hands

The only UK watchdog that admits responsibility for online privacy is too busy to help consumers whose card details have been exposed by a Powergen server hole.

silicon.com contacted the Data Protection Commission after we discovered at least 2,500 customers' debit card details had been exposed on the utility company's web server.

The DPC's compliance manager Lorraine Godkin said they had received a complaint about the situation but admitted it couldn't be treated with urgency. She said: "There's a three to four week backlog on these complaints so it's difficult to say when this might be addressed."

Godkin said there is no other organisation officially responsible for online consumer data privacy breaches. However, Godkin said: "I would have thought the industry regulator [Ofgem] should take some responsibility for this."

But Ofgem claimed this is not its remit. A press spokesman said: "We don't have any regulatory position on this."

When silicon.com contacted the Office of Fair Trading it also denied responsibility. A spokesman confirmed: "We're not looking into this and we have no plans to look into it."

TrustUK, a government-backed scheme launched this week with the task of establishing an online code of practice, said Powergen's actions are out of its jurisdiction because it isn't a member of the scheme.

Robert Dirskovski, board secretary of TrustUK, said: "We are not a web watchdog and it's clear there is a void here. It's what we've been calling for for years."

silicon.com is now urging anyone whose credit or debit card details are on Powergen's exposed server to send an email of complaint to editorial@silicon.com which will then be passed to the Data Protection Commissioner.