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Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. – €36,000 Fine (Spain, 2020)

€36,000Agencia Española de Protección de Datos21 December 2020Spain
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Fine

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Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) was fined €36,000 for wrongfully contacting a person about debts they didn't owe. The bank mistakenly shared the person's data with a debt collection agency, causing distress. This case shows that companies must be careful when handling personal data to avoid unnecessary harm.

What happened

BBVA transmitted personal data of a person to a debt collection agency despite the person having no debts.

Who was affected

A person who was incorrectly contacted by BBVA regarding non-existent debts.

What the authority found

The Spanish data protection authority ruled that BBVA violated GDPR by improperly handling personal data.

Why this matters

This case highlights the need for companies to verify information before sharing it with third parties. It reminds businesses to be diligent in their data management practices.

Recorded legal citations
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Art. 5(1)(d) GDPR
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Art. 5(1) d) GDPR

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Full Legal Summary
Detailed

The Spanish DPA (AEPD) fined the financial and credit institution Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) with a fine in the amount of EUR 36,000. The BBVA asked the data subject to settle debts with the BBVA, although the data subject did not have any debts with the bank. As a result, BBVA had transmitted the personal data of the data subject to the debt collection company Multigestión Iberia, S.L., which, over a period of several months, contacted the data subject by telephone and e-mail on behalf of BBVA and requested the payment. The data subject then demanded the erasure of his/her data from BBVA. However, the controller refused to do so.

Details

Fine Date

21 December 2020

Authority

Agencia Española de Protección de Datos

Fine Amount

€36,000

About this data

Data: CMS GDPR Enforcement Tracker
Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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Cite as: Cookie Fines. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. - Spain (2020). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu

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