- Enforcing jurisdiction
- Germany · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- Privacy topics
Vattenfall Europe Sales GmbH – €900,000 Fine (Germany, 2021)
Privacy enforcement record
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Vattenfall Europe Sales GmbH was fined for not informing customers that their personal data would be compared during contract inquiries. This lack of transparency affected around 500,000 people. The ruling stresses that companies must be clear about how they use personal data to avoid penalties.
What happened
Vattenfall Europe Sales GmbH was fined for failing to inform customers about data matching during contract inquiries.
Who was affected
Approximately 500,000 customers whose data was compared without proper notification.
What the authority found
The authority found that Vattenfall violated GDPR's transparency obligations by not properly informing customers about data comparisons.
Why this matters
This case underscores the need for companies to be transparent about their data practices. Businesses should review their communication strategies to ensure compliance with privacy laws.
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The DPA from Hamburg has imposed a fine of EUR 900,000 on Vattenfall Europe Sales GmbH. The fine is related to data matching, which the controller had carried out in the period from August 2018 to December 2019 in the course of contract inquiries for special contracts. The special contracts served to attract new customers and were accompanied by bonus payments for the customers. The controller compared personal data of prospective customers who had submitted an inquiry for a special contract with contracts concluded by existing customers. If this revealed that an applicant had already signed a contract with the controller, then switched to another supplier and now wanted to sign a contract again, the controller could reject the application for the special contract if necessary. This was intended to prevent 'bonus shopping', which is not lucrative for the companies. However, the controller had not properly informed the customers that such comparisons would be made. The DPA considered this to be a violation of the company's transparency and information obligations. Around 500,000 people were affected.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for Vattenfall Europe Sales GmbH in DE
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Fine Date
24 September 2021
Authority
Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz
Fine Amount
€900,000
Enforcement Tracker ID
ETid-846
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Vattenfall Europe Sales GmbH - Germany (2021). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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