THE High Court has granted a final injunction against the man whose misleading advertisements caused a storm of protests from business people throughout North and East Yorkshire.

The injunction restrains Christopher Yewdall from sending out official-looking letters demanding payment under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Mr Yewdall's letters urged businesses to send £95 plus VAT for Data Protection Registration. The real statutory annual notification fee is £35, on which no VAT is payable.

Complaints throughout Yorkshire prompted a special warning from bureaucracy busters, The Red Tape Team, operated through Yorkshire and Humber Chambers of Commerce.

Many business people complained of the threatening tone of the letter. The injunction against Mr Yewdall, of Bagley, in Manchester, follows action by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) which received thousands of complaints about the letter, which used return addresses all over the country.

In a statement after the hearing, the OFT said: "While most businesses processing personal data are required by law to notify the Information Commissioner, many small businesses that process such data for limited purposes are exempt from notification. Businesses that do need to do so can notify the Information Commissioner directly, for a fee of only £35."

The injunction prevents Mr Yewdall from being involved in any way with certain types of advertising about data protection notification services.

It also means he cannot accept payments received in response to such advertising without first contacting the payee and providing them with specified information about the exact nature of the services being offered in the advertisements, and thereafter obtaining their written consent to retain the payment and process the notification.

Mr Yewdall consented to the final injunction being granted without making any admissions about the OFT's case.

Simon Dixon, project officer for the Yorkshire and Humber Red Tape Project, said: "We are over the moon at this result. It is bad enough for small businesses having to puzzle their way through burdensome legislation without having to sort out what is official and what isn't."

As an official of the Yorkshire and Humber Chambers of Commerce, he also received two letters.

"They were very convincing. Had it not been for the fact that I was the data officer for our organisation, we might have processed them."

Also welcoming the order, John Vickers, chairman of the OFT said: "The OFT has received thousands of complaints about this sort of misleading advertising and we will continue to take strong action against individuals who mislead businesses in this manner.

"Businesses should contact the Information Commissioner if in any doubt about their obligations to notify under data protection legislation."

Updated: 11:46 Friday, December 12, 2003