Ireland’s Evening Herald newspaper carried a story recently about the costs and impacts of address data quality.

To cut a long story short, the family at Address A made enquiries with a heating contractor/plumber about the cost of a home heating system. A short time later, the plumbers arrived at Address A (who had only made an enquiry) and proceeded to rip up floorboards and fit radiators etc.

After 4 hours working, the plumbers in House A got a call. They were at the wrong address. They should have been at House B, which was an address that differed by one word from House A.

The owner of House A subsequently sued to have her home restored and to compensate her for distress. Going to the wrong address (and not noticing it for four hours) cost the plumbing firm €5000 plus legal costs.