Is my old email account with Madasafish really closed?

I had been using Madasafish as my internet service provider (ISP) but decided to change. I was told that the email address associated with this account would also shut down.

I have sent test emails and it seems the messages are being accepted by my old email account as I have no ‘failed mail’ messages. I have repeatedly contacted Madasafish, which has assured me that the account is closed and therefore the email is disabled.

I am concerned that it is not and would like to know if this is a breach of the Data Protection Act.
Wendy Sayer

Ms Sayer has two concerns about this email account still being active. Firstly because she hasn’t received any failed mail messages herself, she is worried that someone may accidentally send an email to the old address, and not realise it is closed.

The other concern is that the emails will remain in her inbox and someone else may read them.

People don’t always get a failed mail response from a closed or nonexistent email account so if her friends accidentally send an email to her old account, it isn’t up to Madasafish to warn them.

We want to reassure Miss Sayer that it is highly unlikely that anyone would access her email account, even if it was still receiving emails. We are not saying that this is impossible, but a person trying to access her account would need to know her email address and password.

Regarding protection under the Data Protection Act (DPA), the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said that if emails “identify living individuals and are held, in automated form, in live, archive or back-up systems, or have been deleted from the live system but are still capable of recovery,” the DPA will apply.

However, the DPA does not state how long emails can be kept archived on a closed account. The privacy watchdog said Madasafish would have to abide by the fifth principle of the DPA, which says that personal data should not be kept longer than is necessary.

“If the email account is closed down then it should be deleted as soon as possible,” the ICO said. It added that if Ms Sayer does not believe this is being adhered to then she should try to get written confirmation from Madasafish as to when it will delete any stored emails.

If she is not happy with its reply she can then make a complaint to the ICO.

We have asked Madasafish for a comment but, at the time of going to press, we have not yet heard back from the ISP.