Solicitors have once more been the target of misleading letters that request money for data protection registration.

After a warning earlier this year (see [2003] Gazette, 16 January, 1), a new batch of letters sent to firms across the country claim to be from the 'Data Protection Enforcement Agency' in Rochdale and ask recipients for a 135 fee for notification as a data controller.

In fact, registration with the Information Commissioner costs just 35.

The letters are headed 'urgent notice' and state that the recipient is not held on their records as having registered as a data controller, highlighting in bold that this is a criminal offence.

They come with an eight-page booklet to fill in.

A spokeswoman for the commissioner's office said it is aware of the letters, and urged solicitors who have received them to contact the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) or their local trading standards office.

She said: 'The Information Commissioner does not send letters headed "urgent notice".

We do send a renewal notice 45 days before registration expires, but this short letter will contain the [solicitor's] registration number and be sent to the data controller, not addressed "Dear Sir/Madam".

It will come from our Wycliffe House office in Wilmslow.'

The Data Protection Enforcement Agency is listed on the commissioner's Web site as a potentially bogus agency about which the OFT has received complaints, which it is considering.

The agency's letters have no telephone number and it could not be contacted.

The OFT obtained a final injunction this month against an individual advertising a separate body, 'Data Protection Agency Services'.

An OFT spokeswoman said it can take action if the impression is given that an agency is an official body.

Any solicitor who holds information about a person on computer is required to register as a data controller with the commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998.

However, this can be done through its Web site or telephone notification line without the use of an agency.

LINK: www.informationcommissioner.

gov.uk/eventual.aspx?pg=SR&cID=4018Notification line: 01625 545 740.

Rachel Rothwell