Refusal to remove Personal details

[Bazzybtec]

I have raised a request with Whirlpool.net.au to have my personal information removed from their forum however they have basically said they refuse to do so and were fairly arrogant and rude about it saying things like

"If your lawyer wants a postal address so they can send their scary legal letter on scary legal letterhead, save some trees and save your money. Lawyers know how to attach a PDF to an email, which is how we receive most correspondence today. If and when it becomes necessary we will provide your lawyers with a street address for physical deliveries."

I have already lodged a complaint with the ACCC against them however i am wanting to know what legal position i am in to take them through the litigation process.

they seem very sure of themselves that they say things like

"Most lawyers will happily take your money to draft pointless threatening letters. They might look impressive to you but we've seen it all and will probably laugh at it. The majority of legal threats we receive don't even get handled by our lawyer. You're out a thousand dollars in disbursements and billable hours; we'll bat it away in fifteen minutes over lunch."

I kid you not, this is the attitude they have under their legal statement.

even If for no other reason than taking that attitude down a peg I am wanting to know what can be done about taking them to court. To my understanding, they are required to remove your personal information if requested.

 

[Iamthelaw]

When you say personal information - What sort of information is on their site?

 

[Bazzybtec]

When you say personal information - What sort of information is on their site?

things like contact details, email address etc

 

[Rod]

Read information from the Office of Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). They have some info at Individuals| Office of the Australian Information Commissioner - OAIC

I suspect that while Whirlpool has been arrogant in their reply to you, they are probably correct in what they say, assuming you put your contact information on their site in the first place. You would have signed their terms and conditions giving them the right to display the details.

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

As an alternative to removal, perhaps you can 'update' it to some sort of gibberish. That way it's not discoverable to the average person, and some programmer would have to dig into their database specifically looking for it to find it.