Why you need to clean your data to be GDPR compliant

Quite simply, Article 5 of the GDPR requires that personal data shall be:

accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay;

Did you know that...

Mobile numbers can be recycled within as little as six months! We would recommend cleaning them regularly to keep them compliant and to avoid accidentally contacting someone who is no longer the correct respondent.

The same can be said for landline numbers, due to the limited amount of landline numbers available in some areas the telephone providers will recycle phone numbers within as little as a year.

Some email address providers will recycle accounts after 360 days so you should keep on top of your email addresses and remove inactive accounts. The last thing you want to do is send personal information to someone who is no longer relevant. There are numerous cases on the internet where people have suffered identity theft because they let their email account lapse, now the onus could be on you.

Is the TPS/CTPS (Telephone Preference Service & Corporate Telephone Preference Service) still relevant?

Yes, you can still make a live agent phone call using ‘legitimate interest’ but you need to make sure you are working within the Privacy and Electronic Communication regulation rules and these state you need to check against the opt-out registers.

Not only does cleaning your data make your company GDPR compliant, it also has a host of other benefits for your business as a whole:

• Reduce potential fraud
• Reduce costs
• Reduce complaints
• Increase ROI
• Increase productivity
• Improved company image

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