LAW

Apex Products Limited



Table of Contents

Introduction1

Discussion1

Data Protection Act 19981

Eight Principles3

Consumer Credit Act 19745

Apex Products Limited

Introduction

This paper discusses the issues concerning the directors of Apex Products Limited. The reason and purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 have been discussed and then its provisions have been discussed to understand the working of this legislation in the organizational scenario.

Then the legislation of Consumer Credit Act 1974 has been discussed. The meaning of the joint liability of the supplier of goods and the creditor in a debtor-creditor-supplier agreement and how does this differ from the position in a debtor-creditor agreement has been highlighted. It has been further elaborated in this paper that what are the circumstances and terms under which the debtor can end a hire purchase agreement. It is also presented, as to what can cause the creditor to claim the possession of goods back and what defences the debtor has against it. Later, the requirements of getting a credit licence are reviewed and what can be problematic in acquiring such licence are also highlighted. In the end, the unfair relationship with the debtor is discussed in the light of recent changes in law.

Discussion

Data Protection Act 1998

Data protection is a legal issue not to be taken lightly. It is covered under the legislation as Data Protection Act 1998. It was commenced on March 1, 2000, however, most of its provisions became effective from October 24, 2001 (Information Commissioner. 2005, pp. 1). This act replaced the previous data protection Act 1984, and broadened the issues covered in it.

The purpose of this act is to ensure the protection of rights and privacy of the individuals. Furthermore, it ensures that, data will not be processes without the knowledge of whom it is about. The processing of data is only made after the consent of the individual wherever possible. The data covered in this act relates to the living individuals and further, defines a category of sensitive personal data, prone to more stringent conditions with respect to their processing than other personal data (legislation.gov.uk. 2012).

The need for such legislation became apparent when the organization in the second half of 20th century, began using computers on wide scale. These computers were used for storing large amounts of data regarding the client, customers, and the staff in the form of databases. The database included personal information such as name, address, contact information, convictions, employment history, and even credit history. A primary feature of the databases that make it attractive for businesses is the ease and widespread access. However, this feature also makes it vulnerable to information thefts and misuse. These networked databases can be accessed unauthorized, and misuse of this data is very sensitive problem. The issues which were derive from this potential threat and frequently appearing cases, included that, who should be allowed to access the information, to what extent should the information be visible to each of the user, should it be allowed to copy from there, should it be allowed to store the information regarding ...