DPA,TCF,MID...WTF

A short while ago, I got very frustrated trying to "do the right thing" for a client of mine.

They had advised me that they had a new vehicle to add to their business fleet and it would need to be added to the Motor Insurance Database (MID) immediatly. They had lost their sign in credentials to do this and I said I would speak to their insurers MID helpline to get this updated for them.

I called them and, despite them acknowledging I was the clients appointed agent, they could not speak to me due to Data Protection Act (DPA) issues. Im sure we all understand the need for data privacy but I wasnt actually asking for any information, I was giving it to them. There is also a principle of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) to encourage "the right thing" to be done for customers.

So a client was driving around in a vehicle that was not showing on the MID and had to call the insurers themselves, despite having authorised their insurance broker to do this. How on earth was that TCF?

WTF?