If such doctoring takes place the original must remain available, in its original state, for inspection by the Court, if needed. A failure to comply may be met with enforcement action. A failure to comply is a breach of the 6th Data Protection Principle . The Court may order compliance. Care should be taken before launching any civil proceedings and you should take appropriate legal advice as to both the merits and the prospects of recovery.
Litigation can be expensive.
Assistance in such cases will only be granted in matters of substantial public importance. There are a number of exceptions t o the Act and there is a defence available to data controllers. There are also provisions to avoid the rights being used for nuisance purposes and there are special provisions where the data controller is a credit reference agency. There are additional provisions governing exempt manual data during the transitional periods. The pages on this site are designed to provide information and not legal advice about the Data Protection Act 1998.