data protection act smokescreen ??

[Dinger2]

Last week checking in to a downmarket guesthouse I asked the reluctant manager if he could furnish me with the details of local Mass times from his computer, he reluctantly said ,yes, I presumed he would print off same, but he said I can only TELL YOU the mass times as they are under the DPA. Now I'm sure that most religions are more than happy to disclose their service-times to anyone who may be interested,therefore NO NEED for ANY SECRECY,I think the reluctant manager was giving me B.S. Opinions appreciated.

[squarebear]

All depends on why he has the mass times. If it was to arrange something for them, then no he shouldn't be printing or even telling you. However, some of these jobsworths take it too far.

[237SJ]

It sounds like he was trying to find an excuse to save paper by not printing the times off. The Data Protection Act is there to prevent companies or organisations from disclosing data about individuals. There is no data involved in Mass times.

[Mamyalynne]

Churches put their Mass times on boards outside and on their website if they have one, he was talking erm garbage.

[Buenchico]

The Data Protection Act only covers information held about individuals:
http://www.ico.gov.uk..._public/the_acts.aspx

It has no bearing whatsoever upon information held about organisations or religious bodies.

Chris

[Sir Alec]

What an ignorant man! It's a pity that Fawlty Towers has already been written. You could have made a packet.

[SumBod]

Total BS. The DPA is concerned with information about people and nothing else. If you'd asked for a list of guests and their personal info then he would have been right. Mass times just doesn't come into it.