We thank Mr Tan Kar Quan for his feedback ("Why send personal data to disputing party?"; Jan 9).
The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) takes consumers' data privacy seriously.
When handling a complaint, the personal data of consumers may sometimes need to be disclosed to the business, so that the business is aware of the identity of the consumer and the transaction that occurred, so as to follow-up on the complaint.
In such an event, Case will disclose only consumers' personal data as is reasonably required to carry out our duties.
Under Case's standard operating procedure for handling consumer complaints, in the event that there is no receipt or record of the transaction between the consumer and the business, consumers will be advised to lodge a police report and submit it as a supporting document for their claim.
In this case, we acknowledge that we should have informed Mr Tan, before sending the letter to the business, that Case intended to provide it with a copy of the police report, which contained his personal data.
Notwithstanding the resolution of the matter, we recognise this oversight in how the complaint was handled and apologise for any distress it may have caused him.
Loy York Jiun
Executive Director
Consumers Association of Singapore