“Hello?”
“Good morning! This is *mumble mumble* from British Gas here. Could I please speak to the person responsible for the gas and electricity payments?”
“Speaking.”
“Well sir, I’m phoning you today to let you know that we have some great offers for households that used to be with British Gas, if they would like to switch back to us again. Could I please ask who currently provides your gas and electricity?”
“Certainly, it’s British Gas.”
“What? Oh, ummm. Our records show that your household isn’t with British Gas. Maybe they are not correct. Could I please have your full address and postcode please?”
“Yeah, I don’t think so. You phone up claiming to be from British Gas, but you don’t know that you already supply us? Why don’t you tell me the address and postcode of the property you *think* you are phoning, and I’ll tell you if you’re right?”
“I’m sorry sir, but the Data Protection Act prevents me from doing that.”
“Right. So the Data Protection Act prevents you from talking to me about what is supposedly *my* data.”
“Yes.”
“Well, either you’re not really from British Gas, or that’s just daft. Have a nice day.” *click*