Sacked NatWest worker has documents of 1,600 customers under her bed

The papers relate to her time selling mortgages while working from home in Southampton between 2006 and 2009.

They were sent to her as part of an arrangement with NatWest.

The former employee - who is now a registered data controller with the Information Commissioner's Office - was fired for gross misconduct in 2009 “as a result of her repeated refusal to return customer information”, the bank said.

However, she claims NatWest won't take it back.

The bank said the situation has had “no customer detriment and the bank does not believe that this historical documentation poses any risk to customers”.

However, 14 years on, the dispute remains ongoing and the documents unreturned.

A decade-long dispute

The woman, who has asked not to be named, said she became a whistleblower when she contacted her managers after becoming concerned the arrangement she had with NatWest could breach data protection rules.

The documents at her home contain sensitive information of customers across the country including Hampshire, Dorset, London and Surrey.

After being fired, the woman claims the bank refused to take the documents back when, at the advice of the Financial Conduct Authority, she asked for a receipt.

In 2012, following an investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the former bank worker handed over thousands of files which were then returned to NatWest.

She did, however, keep a box containing the documents of 1,600 customers in the event of legal action being taken against her.

The box of unreturned documents containing the financial details of 1,600 NatWest customers (Image: Former worker)

A NatWest spokesperson said the bank was under the impression she had returned all the documents until she claimed otherwise in 2019.

They said: “The situation could have been resolved at any point in the past decade through the return of the documentation, as the former employee claimed to have done in 2012.

“Instead, she chose to retain copies of the documents and believes that she is entitled to compensation whilst also demanding an indemnity from the bank in exchange for the documents.”

The woman claims she is not seeking any form of payment.

The bank has since agreed to issue a receipt, but has refused the former employee's requests to indemnify her against future action relating to the storing of the documents.

It said the conditions she sought to impose were branded "unreasonable" by the Employment Tribunal.

'It has ruined my life'

Although negotiations have stalled, the woman says all she wants is to return the documents with the guarantee of no future litigation.

She said: “The pressure of protecting this information has just been immense, it has ruined my life, it has taken over my life.

“No matter what I did or where I went, it was always having to think about a box of information.”

She said the situation has been "exhausting" and "emotionally draining".

She doesn't believe destroying the documents would be the "right thing" as it also wouldn't protect her from any future legal action.

'No risk to individuals'

A spokesperson for the Information Commissioner’s Office said: "The ICO has provided advice on data protection issues to parties involved in an employment dispute dating back to 2009.

"We are satisfied that the potential risk posed to individuals does not warrant further action, despite there being a change in the law (GDPR) since that time."