Public Statement - Star Delta Electrical Services Fine (2025-03-25)

Summary

This is a Public Statement issued by the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner (acting as the Data Protection Authority) detailing an administrative fine of £4,000 against Jon Peacock, trading as Star-Delta Electrical Services, a sole trader. The fine followed an investigation into Star-Delta publishing a client's personal information (and that of the client's partner) on Facebook during a fee dispute, which led to online abuse of the individuals.

• Contraventions found: Star-Delta breached Art.8(1)(a) and Art.9(1) of the DPJL 2018 by sharing client and partner personal data on Facebook without lawful basis, breached Art.8(1)(b) by using the data incompatibly with the purpose for which it was collected, and breached Art.6(1)(b) and (c) by failing to register with the Authority and failing to pay its registration fee.
• Aggravating factors: The Authority weighed the deliberate and targeted nature of the campaign, refusal to remove posts when first asked, lack of cooperation during the investigation, and the distress caused to the client and partner.
• Sanctions imposed: Alongside the £4,000 fine, the Authority issued a formal reprimand and made orders under Art.25(3) of the DPAJL 2018 requiring Star-Delta to complete its registration, not republish the offending posts, and not publish any new posts about the client or partner on any affiliated social media platform.
• General reminder to businesses: The statement reiterates that all businesses in Jersey, including sole traders, must register with the Authority and pay the registration fee, and that using client personal data to publicly shame clients over payment disputes is not acceptable; proper recourse is through the Petty Debts Court or Royal Court.

Star-Delta had a right of appeal against the fine but did not exercise it. The statement serves partly as a case report and partly as a general warning that the Authority will treat vindictive use of client data by businesses as a significant aggravating factor in future enforcement action.

Key obligations

• Star-Delta must complete its registration with the Authority
• Star-Delta must not re-publish the offending Facebook posts about the client and partner
• Star-Delta must not publish any new or additional posts about the client or partner on any social media platform it owns, operates, or is affiliated with
• All businesses in Jersey, including sole traders, must register with the Authority and pay the relevant registration fee or face referral to HM Attorney General

Applies to

data controllers, businesses, sole traders