The Rinascente is fined after Catania argues with a customer and changes her loyalty card to “Clumsy Maiden”.
#Catania
A 47-year-old woman in Catania managed to get the commercial giant La Rinascente fined €300,000. The incident occurred on July 24, 2021, at a store belonging to the famous Italian chain, owned by the Thai company Central Group. The woman had a dispute with a saleswoman at the cash register, who advised her to maintain distance for both COVID-related reasons and to protect another customer who was entering her PIN on the payment terminal. This led to a heated argument. Usually, scenes like this are resolved with the typical phrase “the customer is always right.” However, in this case, the saleswoman did not follow this popular saying and planned her revenge.
Within a few hours, the 47-year-old woman received an automatic email notification from La Rinascente about an update to her loyalty card profile. However, something was amiss. The first name on the profile read “Donzella” and the last name read “Svampita,” which were not her actual details. It was easy to deduce what had happened. The woman contacted customer service, who confirmed that her profile had been modified a few minutes earlier, and then she contacted her lawyer.
A complaint was then filed with the Privacy Guarantor, who launched an investigation that resulted in a €300,000 fine. La Rinascente can reduce the fine by half if it chooses to resolve the dispute within 30 days. However, the saleswoman’s petty act of revenge was not the only violation that triggered the hefty penalty. The Guarantor also discovered that orders from 70 users were received in the email accounts of five other customers. La Rinascente had failed to ensure data confidentiality. The excessively long retention periods for data, which were set at a maximum of 7 years for over 800 advertised brands, were also criticized. Regarding the vengeful saleswoman, the Guarantor deemed it a minor offense. She had violated instructions and protocols. The company did not dismiss the saleswoman, but instead sanctioned her with a disciplinary measure. However, considering the ruling of the Guarantor, it is not ruled out that further measures may be taken.
“We are assessing whether or not to proceed by resorting to civil court to seek compensation,” said Dino Caudullo, the attorney representing the offended customer. “This is a clear violation of privacy, which has also been recognized by the Guarantor towards my client. We indirectly learned that the employee was only sanctioned, even though there was talk of a suspension from service. I don’t know if anything will change after the Guarantor’s ruling. This complaint,” the Catania-based lawyer concluded, “has opened a Pandora’s box. Just a few days after it, an inspection team was sent to the offices of La Rinascente, and they uncovered much more serious violations.”
Catania, litiga con una cliente e le cambia la carta fedeltà in Donzella Svampita: multata la Rinascente
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