A client has complained to wealth manager St James’s Place after there was a mix up with client names, leaving him concerned about his privacy.
Policyholder Mark Bradford said he has complained to the wealth manager after he had cause to believe his data had been compromised.
He told FT Adviser how, over a period of two to three years, he would receive his wealth account and pension statement but in the name of Mr M W Bradford. However, he does not have a W in his name and just goes by Mr M Bradford.
According to Bradford, the other client whose details he received shares the same first name, surname and date of birth and is also a client of SJP.
Bradford said he notified SJP multiple times about the mistake, and although SJP told him none of his funds had gone missing, Bradford felt as though his data had been compromised.
He argued that if he were receiving this client’s information then it could be that the other man was also receiving his.
According to SJP, Bradford's name included an incorrect middle name, although the address and plan numbers were correct.
Bradford sent a formal complaint to SJP in October 2023 and the wealth manager investigated his complaint over six months.
He told FT Adviser: “I informed SJP multiple times that I am not M W Bradford, but they continued to send me information, so my concern is where was my information being sent and how do I know I have not lost money in the process?”
In a letter, seen by FT Adviser, SJP offered Bradford £600 compensation for the trouble, but this was rejected.
In a separate letter, SJP improved its offer to £850 the next day.
Bradford also rejected this and, less than a week later, the company offered a further improved sum of £1,500.
This was also rejected and the final amount offered was £5,000, with SJP telling the client he would not receive a higher offer.
Response
In a letter to Bradford, SJP said it was “a rare and unusual occurrence” which happened upon migration of client records to a new system.
It stated: “Regrettably the system temporarily merged your record with that of another client who shares the same first and last name as yourself as well as date of birth. The matter was soon rectified and as previously confirmed, there has been no financial loss as a result of it.”
Bradford called on the firm to enhance its data security measures to prevent future breaches and ensure compliance with data protection laws, as well as improve its customer service practices to ensure timely and effective responses to client concerns.
A spokesperson for SJP said: “We have apologised to Mr Bradford for providing information with the name incorrectly written on his correspondence and for not correcting it in a timely manner.
