I got a call from HYC (Help Your Claim) on 0161 850 5451 a few days ago.

If you do too, here’s why I wouldn’t do business with HYC:

1. When I asked where they had got my phone number from, they claimed it was supplied to them “by the government”. That in itself is highly implausible.
2. When I mentioned data protection issues, they said that the rules don’t apply to them as they only have mobile phone numbers but don’t hold other information about people. Data protection doesn’t give an opt out for mobile numbers. If anything, you have to be more careful about mobile numbers given that you can either text or phone them, and both of these are covered by data protection legislation.
3. When I pressed further and asked them to confirm exactly where they got my phone number from, they first said they couldn’t tell me more, then stalled, then promised the information would be provided within three working days and then after those three days had been and gone without the answers, ignored my follow up request. That’s not the response you’d expect from a legit firm which has made an innocent mistake.

So if you get called from HYC, Help Your Claim and/or 0161 850 5451, I would advise you to politely end the conversation and walk away.

Except for one thing. If you have had a similarly unsatisfactory experience, you can lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner here.

Doing this is very worthwhile – it is complaints from people like you and me which helped lead to the £553,000 fine imposed on HYC by the Information Commissioner.