Beyond Housing apologises after IT glitch sees some customers' personal details shared with third parties

Coastcall customers in Scarborough have reported receiving letters addressed not only to them but to those with their same surname.

The mistake was spotted by a resident who noticed his mother in law had received five letters; one addressed to her and four addressed to people also called Fletcher.

He said: "This week [Coastcall] sent out an update letter but they sent it to everybody with the same surname. I spoke to Coastcall and they admitted they had a problem and that it happened to other people but didn't even apologise.

"I don't mind that they've done it because mistakes happen but there was no sincere apology. They just said 'we know there's been a problem, it won't happen again'."

Beyond Housing, which provides the Coastcall service in the Scarborough area, has admitted the mistake, which saw people's names and addresses being shared, but said it does not recognise it as a data breach.

A spokesperson said: “We have conducted a full investigation and consulted the Information Commissioners’ Office, which has confirmed there is a low risk to our customers and therefore it is not a reportable breach. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and are working with our IT department and mailing company to ensure that data security remains a top priority.”