Parcelforce Worldwide has apologised to customers and said the problem had now been fixed.
The website malfunction happened on Wednesday night.Customers sending a package with Parcelforce Worldwide are given a reference number that allows them to track the progress of a delivery.
But a failure in Parcelforce’s ‘track and trace’ feature on its website allowed people using the mail tracing service access to the name, postcode and signature of various addressees.
On the page declaring "proof of delivery", the name and postcode at its destination were shown, alongside a reproduction of the signature of the recipient.The breakdown put Parcelforce, part of the Royal Mail Group, at risk of breaching the Data Protection Act.
The Act stipulates that businesses have a responsibility to keep personal and sensitive information secure.
The Information Commmissioner’s Office has been alerted and said it would contact Parcelforce to establish how this security breach occurred and to find out what steps it will be taking to ensure that such a breach cannot happen again."
Parcelforce Worldwide markets itself as "the UK's most trusted worldwide express carrier" and claims to be able to deliver to 99.6% of the world's population. The growth of internet shopping has helped it contribute to Royal Mail’s first operating profit of £255m last year.
Source: Brand Republic