Måned: mai 2013

Erik Ribsskog
<eribsskog@gmail.com>

Complaint about ICO/Fwd: Protect – Response from the Information Commissioner’s Office[Ref. RCC0494312]

Erik Ribsskog

<eribsskog@gmail.com>

Thu, May 2, 2013 at 2:02 PM

To:
Phso Enquiries <phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk>

Hi,

Date: Thu, May 2, 2013 at 10:43 AM
Subject: Protect – Response from the Information Commissioner’s Office[Ref. RCC0494312]
To: eribsskog@gmail.com

02 May 2013

Case Review Reference Number RCC0494312
Case Reference Number ENQ0493394

Dear Mr Ribsskog

I write in response to your service complaint and case review of 18 April 2013, which was acknowledged on 18 April 2013.

The Information Commissioner’s duties

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), the Information Commissioner has a general duty to give advice about the requirements of the DPA and, under certain circumstances, to investigate DPA related complaints.

It may be helpful for me to first explain the role and scope of the Information Commissioners Office (the ICO) and also explain a little about the legislation that we deal with.

The Information Commissioner is a UK independent supervisory authority reporting directly to the UK Parliament. The Commissioner enforces and oversees the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within the United Kingdom.

Our case review and service complaints policy

However, where an individual is not satisfied with the way we have handled their DPA related enquiry or complaint, they can ask us to review it, at a more senior level, in accordance with our case review and service complaints policy.  

Background

I understand that you contacted this office by email on 04 April 2013 and expressed concern about being unable to find an email address for Ofcom or Virgin Media.  Additionally, you also explained that  Virgin Media staff had visited your flat without a letter being sent to you confirming an appointment, and that you wanted to complain about this.  You expressed concern that the Virgin Media employees ‘might be breaching your data protection’, and go on to say “this is harassment, I think”.

Our Findings

On 05 April 2013, a response was sent to your enquiry by Ms Holmes, a case officer in the Advice Services Team.  Ms Holmes explained that the matters you had raised do not fall within the remit of the Information Commissioner’s Office.  Issues relating to the customer service you have received from Virgin Media should be raised with the organisation directly and to assist you, Ms Holmes provided you with a link to the contact page for Virgin Media as well as a link to the Ofcom web page.

On 05 April 2013, I understand that you replied to Ms Holmes and expressed concern that both organisations do not have a general enquiry email address.  As Ms Holmes had already explained to you, if this is a matter of concern to you, you would need to write to the organisation/s concerned directly.

You go on to ask:

“And isn’t it a breach on my Data Protection, when a Virgin-guy wants to go in to my flat, without an appointment?”

As Ms Holmes explained in her email to you of 11 April 2013, a Virgin employee entering your flat without an appointment is not an issue which would be covered by the Data Protection Act and you would be best placed to raise your concerns with Virgin Media directly.  

In your response to Ms Holmes of 11 April 2013, you explained that whilst in your flat, Virgin engineers “could get personal information about me”, and “also looked at my PC”.  However, you do not appear to have provided any evidence to show that these individuals obtained any personal information about you, or that you have raised your concerns in writing with Virgin Media.

You close by asking Ms Holmes to escalate your enquiry to her line manager for a second opinion and ask:

“Wouldn’t it be part of your job to provide me with information like that?”, which I understand relates to the provision of Virgin Media’s general enquiry email address.  

Ms Holmes responded to you at length on 18 April 2013.  It is clear from her response that Ms Holmes once again addressed all of your concerns fully and explained that if the Virgin Media engineer did process files on your computer which contained your personal data, and you did not receive any fair processing information, you should, in the first instance write to Virgin Media directly and outline your concerns.  Ms Holmes explained the complaints process and when and how you could raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.  Ms Holmes reiterated that it is not within the remit of this office to provide you with specific contact information for Virgin Media or Ofcom, although she did provide you with the links to the contact pages of their websites once more in order to assist you.  

Conclusion  

I have reviewed the correspondence on this case in detail and I am satisfied that Ms Holmes answered your enquiry in full and in a satisfactory manner.  In conclusion, I do not uphold your complaint as I consider the Information Commissioner’s Office has fulfilled its obligations to you by providing you with clear and detailed responses to your email correspondence and has provided you with additional information about how to contact Virgin Media, which in itself is over and above what the organisation is required to do.

Therefore, please take this letter as our final response in relation to this matter.

We aim to give the best possible service to all of our customers in all of the services we provide.  I am therefore sorry if you feel that we have fallen short of what you expected.

Taking your complaint further

If you believe we have provided you with a poor service, or if you believe we have not treated you properly or fairly then you may be able to complain to:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP

All complaints to the Ombudsman must be made through an MP.  I would advise you to first call the Ombudsman’s Helpline on 0345 015 4033 to see if they are able to assist you further.

If, however, your complaint relates to the way in which we have interpreted the law then the Ombudsman cannot help you.  If you want to challenge our interpretation of the law, you should consider seeking legal advice.

Yours sincerely
Ms Jenny Manock
Advice Services Manager
First Contact Group
Direct dial number – 01625 545788

____________________________________________________________________

The ICO’s mission is to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.

If you are not the intended recipient of this email (and any attachment), please inform the sender by return email and destroy all copies. Unauthorised access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted.
Communication by internet email is not secure as messages can be intercepted and read by someone else. Therefore we strongly advise you not to email any information, which if disclosed to unrelated third parties would be likely to cause you distress. If you have an enquiry of this nature please provide a postal address to allow us to communicate with you in a more secure way. If you want us to respond by email you must realise that there can be no guarantee of privacy.
Any email including its content may be monitored and used by the Information Commissioner’s Office for reasons of security and for monitoring internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. Email monitoring or blocking software may also be used. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any email you write or forward is within the bounds of the law.
The Information Commissioner’s Office cannot guarantee that this message or any attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended. You should perform your own virus checks.
__________________________________________________________________

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.org.uk