In a blow for an industry which is attempting to improve its
public reputation, car dealers have topped a list of organisations
not trusted by consumers to keep their private data safe. 46 per cent of respondents to a poll carried out on behalf of
data company Experian
said they least trusted car dealers, ahead of insurance companies
(34 per cent), internet companies (33 per cent), and national and
local government (32 per cent). Banks were mistrusted by only 15
per cent of those surveyed.
The consequences of mishandling are potentially severe, with 65
per cent of respondents saying they would never again buy from an
organisation which failed to safeguard their data, 52 per cent
saying they would spread word of data protection shortcomings to
friends and family, and 24 per cent going so far as to state that
they would seek advice from a lawyer. Darryl Bowman, commercial director of Experian’s credit
monitoring and identity fraud protection service CreditExpert said:
“Personal experience of identity fraud and the publicity
surrounding recent data breaches that affecting many thousands of
people means that more of us have become concerned about the
capability of the organisations we deal with to hold personal data
securely. “The research shows a clear demand from consumers and employees
to be put back in control of their personal information. “People should not have to wait for a data breach to happen
before action is taken – they should have the power to monitor
their personal information hands-on and nip any potential attempts
at identity fraud in the bud.” | 
