DPA case 22/2023 – Complaint Upheld (Greece, 2023)

The Hellenic DPA examined three related complaints against the controller, an electricity supplier, because of a delay to satisfy their exercised rights of access to their recorded conversations. When examining these complaints, the Authority requested clarifications on whether the complainants exercised their right to access their personal data and if and how the controller responded or why they didn't respond in a timely manner. The Hellenic DPA also wanted to know if the conversations with the complainants were recorded, their content, how long they were kept, and the company's policy on recording customer conversations, including which calls are recorded, how long they are stored, and how data subject access requests are handled. The electricity supplier confirmed the receipt of the access requests and explained that they could not respond to them promptly due to a high volume of inquiries that came as a result of the energy crisis. They stated that they record conversations for legal and contractual purposes, keeping them for one year and up to five years with consent. The Authority determined that the electricity supplier has committed three violations of Article 12(3) GDPR , because the company delayed to satisfy the complainants' right to access the recorded conversations and they did not inform them within a month of receiving these requests for an extension to fulfil the contested right. Additionally, they did not provide an explanation for the delay. The DPA also determined that there was a violation of Article 12(2) GDPR because the controller made it difficult for one of the complainants to exercise their right of access, as the company required that it should be exercised under a specific form. As a result, the Authority issued a reprimand in accordance with Article 58(2)(b) GDPR for these established violations. The DPA issued an order, as per Article 15(4)(b) of the Greek Law 4624/2019, directing the supplier to reorganize its internal processes w