Contents

1. Summary
   1. Facts
   2. Holding
2. Comment
3. Further resources
4. The Decision

Summary

A complaint was lodged againt Ceres Tech Limited (the “Respondent”) for contacting the Complainant regarding a loan he did not consent to be listed as a guarantor for.

Facts

The complaint was lodged against Ceres Tech Limited, also known as Chapaa Loan, by the Complainant, Abubakar Hussein.

The Respondent is a digital credit provider that lends money to its customers through its mobile application ‘Chapaa Loan’.

The Complainant alleged that he has been receiving calls from the Respondent claiming that a person named Nilesh took a loan and put his number as a guarantor.

The Respondent failed to inform the Complainant of the use to which his personal data was to be put, and the Complainant objected to the further processing of his personal data.

The Respondent failed/neglected/refused to respond to the claim.

Holding

The ODPC held that:

• The Respondent had a duty to notify the Complainant of his rights under the Data Protection Act, the fact that his mobile phone number was being collected for purposes of enlisting him as a guarantor to a loan, and the measures it has in place to ensure the safety of his personal data. The Respondent failed to fulfill this obligation.
• The Respondent failed to prove that it had processed the Complainant's personal data lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner, and it did not demonstrate the technological and organizational safeguards in place to ensure the safety of personal data.

The Respondent's actions violated the Complainant's rights under the Data Protection Act, including the right to be informed of the use of personal data, the right to object to the processing of personal data, and the right to have personal data processed lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner.

Comment