Originally Posted by
sunrisegirl
The agent would need to speak to the person who actually made the booking, even though he was talking to one of the persons on the reservation.
That may be so according to BA's own terms and conditions but it has nothing to do with the Data Protection Act.
Originally Posted by
sunrisegirl
As for data protection, we are reminded on a continual basis that we must never reveal information on other passenger for DP reasons. People have been caught out in the past when authorities have made secret checks. I'm sorry but I wouldn't be prepared to put my job on the line either if it meant possibly breaking the DPA.
If all the original poster wanted to do was change his
own flight, then I absent any other factors that would not contravene the DPA. Changing another person's flight is likely to contravene the act.
I don't expect anyone to breach the DPA. I do however, expect:
(a) companies to train their staff properly as to what is a DPA breach and what is not. BA are not the only company to misapply the act, it's widespread across many industries
(b) that staff are told the difference between the DPA and a companies own terms and conditions so that the customer is informed as to which prevents something from happening or not happening. It's a poor show to blame a piece of legislation when it's your own terms that are the bar.
The other point made by the OP is the disparity between DPA compliance checks on the web vs over the phone. It's similar to the way that companies are happy to let you sign up on the web with ease but then cite data protection reasons as to cancelling on the web, requiring letters in writing and samples of your blood.
BA's tick box to confirm that you have the permission of others is probably as much as you can realistically do on the web without making the process overly difficult and unusable.