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Peter Jones made this Freedom of Information request to British Broadcasting Corporation
The request was successful.
From: Peter Jones
30 December 2011
Dear British Broadcasting Corporation,
I am making this request for information under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Under the terms of the 2000 Act please provide me with the
following information:
1. The total number of complaints against TV Licensing and/or their
employees in each of the years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
2. With respect to Q1 above: the number of those those complaints
that were about TV Licensing correspondence.
3. With respect to Q1 above: the number of those complaints that
were about TV Licensing visiting officers and other field
operatives.
4. With respect to Q1 above: the number of those complaints that
were about TV Licensing call centre staff.
5. With respect to Q1 above: the number of those complaint where
the complainant cited TV Licensing harassment and/or intimidation
as the reason for their complaint.
6. The total number of valid WOIRA instructions TV Licensing
received in each of the years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
WOIRA, in the unlikely event the BBC doesn't already know, is where
the occupier of a property exercises their lawful right to remove
TV Licensing's implied right of access to that property.
I'm sure you have lots of information on this topic, so I look
forward to a candid and complete disclosure in accordance with the
spirit of the Act.
Yours faithfully,
Peter Jones
From: FOI Enquiries
British Broadcasting Corporation
3 January 2012
Dear Mr Jones
Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000, as detailed in your email below. Your request was
received on 30th December 2011. We will deal with your request as promptly
as possible, and at the latest within 20 working days. If you have any
queries about your request, please contact us at the address below.
The reference number for your request is RFI20111606.
Kind regards
The Information Policy & Compliance Team
BBC Freedom of Information
Room 2252, BBC White City
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TS
[1]www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [2][BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2882
Fax: 020 8008 2398
show quoted sections
From: FOI Enquiries
British Broadcasting Corporation
30 January 2012
Dear Mr Jones
I’m writing to apologise that we have not yet finalised the response to
your request. We are working on it and anticipate that we’ll be able to
respond by this Friday, 3^rd February, although if this is not possible we
will write again to update you.
Please accept my apologies for this delay.
Yours sincerely
Rachel Hallett
BBC Information Policy and Compliance
Room 2252, 2nd Floor, White City
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TS, UK
Website: [1]www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [2]mailto:[BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2883
Fax: 020 8008 2398
[3]http://www.bbc.co.uk
This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal
views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated.
If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system.
Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in
reliance on it and notify the sender immediately.
Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received.
Further communication will signify your consent to this.
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/www.bbc.co.uk/foi
2. mailto:[BBC request email]
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
From: FOI Enquiries
British Broadcasting Corporation
1 February 2012
Dear Mr Jones
Please find attached the response to your request for information,
reference RFI20111606
Yours sincerely
Rachel Hallett
BBC Information Policy and Compliance
Room 2252, White City
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TS, UK
Website: [1]www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [2]mailto:[BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2883
Fax: 020 8008 2398
[3]http://www.bbc.co.uk
This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal
views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated.
If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system.
Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in
reliance on it and notify the sender immediately.
Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received.
Further communication will signify your consent to this.
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/www.bbc.co.uk/foi
2. mailto:[BBC request email]
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
From: Peter Jones
1 February 2012
Dear FOI Enquiries,
Thank you for your response to RFI20111606.
I am a little puzzled by some of the information you have
disclosed, which appears contradictory.
Specifically, in response to Q2 you said there were only 385
complaints about TV Licensing correspondence in 2011.
In response to Q5 you said there was 954 complaints in 2011
relating to the tone/wording of TV Licensing communications.
In my opinion the words "correspondence" and "communications" are
almost indiscernible from each other, so I'm struggling to see why
the figures given in response to Q2 and Q5 are so different.
I also know that TV Licensing has failed to moderate its menacing
tone in correspondence, so I can't see how the number of
correspondence related complaints has dropped over recent years.
Please can you clarify the situation.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Jones
From: FOI Enquiries
British Broadcasting Corporation
3 February 2012
Dear Mr Jones,
Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Having contacted our contractors they have clarified that they took a particular interpretation of the term 'correspondence' based on how that term is understood to them internally.
However, it is clear to me - and I therefore apologise that I did not identify the contradiction in the two sets of figures myself - that you were interested in 'correspondence' in its widest sense - i.e. written communications sent out by TV Licensing - and in particular the standard mailings sent out in large volumes by TV Licensing such as renewal reminders, letters to unlicensed addresses etc.
I have therefore asked our contractor to investigate what figures are available to respond to your question as interpreted in its widest sense, and I will come back to you on this as soon as am I am able to.
Kind regards
Louise Wright
Senior Policy Advisor, Licence Fee Unit.
show quoted sections
From: FOI Enquiries
British Broadcasting Corporation
16 February 2012
Dear Mr Jones,
I'm writing to provide you with an update in relation to your query about
our response to your FOI request, reference RFI20111606.
In the course of investigating the issue you flagged to us in your email
of 1st February, I have uncovered a further issue with the figures
provided. The issue relates to the fact that complaints may be received by
one of a number of our contractors and some of those contractors refer
complaints to each other. This is to enable the complaint to be dealt
with by the relevant contractor. This appears to have resulted in a small
proportion of complaints being omitted from the figures provided while a
small proportion may have been double counted. As Capita deal with the
vast majority of complaints, there will be little difference to the
overall numbers but we obviously wanted to ensure that the information we
gave you was correct.
We are currently investigating this issue and expect to provide you with a
revised response by Fri 24th Feb at the latest.
Thank you for your continued patience.
Kind regards
L Wright.
[1]http://www.bbc.co.uk
This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal
views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated.
If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system.
Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in
reliance on it and notify the sender immediately.
Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received.
Further communication will signify your consent to this.
References
Visible links
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
From: Peter Jones
28 February 2012
Dear FOI Enquiries,
I am still waiting for a revised response to RFI20111606, which I
was told I would receive by Fri 24th Feb at the latest.
I hope I will not have to wait much longer, as I may wish to pursue
your initial misleading response with the Information Commissioner.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Jones
From: FOI Enquiries
British Broadcasting Corporation
28 February 2012
Dear Mr Jones
I refer to your request for information; reference number RFI20111606.
I am writing to advise that we are still looking into your query as a matter of priority; and hope to be in a position to respond by no later than 07 March 2012
I am sorry for this delay and for any inconvenience caused; and would like to reassure you that we are actively dealing with your request..
Yours sincerely
The Information Policy & Compliance Team
BBC Freedom of Information
Room 2252, BBC White City
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TS
www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2882
Fax: 020 8008 2398
show quoted sections
Peter Jones left an annotation (28 February 2012)
In case anyone has missed the key points here:
- The BBC responded with information I knew was wrong.
- They confirmed it was wrong when challenged.
- They are dragging their heels over providing the correct information, despite being legally obliged to do so.
Every BBC FOIA response ends up being an absolute abortion. Incompetence is an understatement.
People should be very concerned that the BBC don't have the slightest idea how many complaints their contracted TV Licensing bullies Capita are attracting.
From: Peter Jones
8 March 2012
Dear FOI Enquiries,
I am greatly dissatisfied with your handling of RFI20111606, so
note my request for an internal review.
The basis for my review request is as follows:
1. I made a perfectly valid request for information, which the BBC
responded to with misleading data. I identified the obvious
contradictions in the BBC's response within a few seconds, which
leads me to question the technical ability of BBC employees
involved with collating it.
2. The BBC responded late to my initial request for information.
Contrary to the BBC's obvious opinion, superficial apologies for
lateness do not detract from the fact that the BBC is breaking the
law if it does not respond within the 20 working days stipulated by
the 2000 Act.
3. The BBC has twice failed to meet revised response deadlines it
set itself. I was first promised a revised response "by Fri 24th
Feb at the latest" and then "no later than 07 March 2012". Both
dates have now been and gone and I have not received a revised
response.
In short, the way this request for information has been handled is
abysmal and unlawful.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Jones
From: FOI Enquiries
British Broadcasting Corporation
9 March 2012
Dear Mr Jones,
I refer to your request for information; reference number RFI20111606.
I am writing to advise that we are still looking into your query as a matter of priority and unfortunately we are not yet in a position to be able to answer your request. We now hope to be in a position to respond by no later than 16th March 2012.
I am sorry for this further delay and for any inconvenience caused; and would like to reassure you that we are actively dealing with your request.
Yours sincerely
The Information Policy & Compliance Team
BBC Freedom of Information
Room 2252, BBC White City
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TS
www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2882
Fax: 020 8008 2398
show quoted sections
From: Peter Jones
9 March 2012
Dear FOI Enquiries,
Please acknowledge my request for an internal review of
RFI20111606.
I find it quite worrying that the BBC has such a superficial grasp
of just how many complaints are being made about TV Licensing. I
anticipate that the complaint rate is quite significant. The public
will be rightly concerned that communication systems between the
BBC are Capita so poor you obviously have no idea at all what the
actual figures are.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Jones
From: FOI Enquiries
British Broadcasting Corporation
9 March 2012
Dear Mr Jones,
We have received your request for an internal review relating your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The information you requested was about complaints regarding Television Licencing. Your request for an internal review was received on 9th March 2012. We shall deal with the review as promptly as possible and, at the latest, within 30 working days. If you have any queries please contact us at the address below.
The reference number for your internal review is IR2012004.
BBC Information Policy and Compliance
Room 2252, BBC White City
201 Wood Lane,
London, W12 7TQS
Website: www.bbc.co.uk/foi/
Email: [BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2883
Fax: 020 8008 2398
show quoted sections
From: FOI Enquiries
British Broadcasting Corporation
14 March 2012
Dear Mr Jones
In your request for internal review of RFI20111606, you raised three points:
1. That the original response you received was incorrect.
2. The the original response you received was two days late.
3. The continued delay in providing a corrected response.
We are still working on providing the corrected response, and we will not be able to carry out a full investigation of why the original information was incorrect until this is finalised. We are therefore writing to advise you that the internal review into this aspect of your request will be delayed until the corrected response has been provided to you.
We are happy to carry out now an internal review now of the fact that the original response was late. Alternatively you may wish the BBC to review both aspects at the same time and provide a single internal review response; please advise us if this is the case.
We regret the continued delay in providing a revised response, and can assure you that we are working on this on a daily basis and treating it as a high priority. However, we consider it would be counter-productive to provide you with a revised response before we have fully investigated this issue and can be satisfied that the revised response is correct.
We recognise that in the spirit of the Act, this corrected response should have been provided as promptly as possible. However, the Act does not set any guidelines for timing with respect to such a situation, and therefore it is not possible to carry out an internal review of this aspect of the response against the requirements of the Act; we can only offer our sincere apologies.
Yours sincerely
The Information Policy & Compliance Team
BBC Freedom of Information
Room 2252, BBC White City
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TS
www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2882
Fax: 020 8008 2398
show quoted sections
From: Peter Jones
14 March 2012
Dear FOI Enquiries,
Further to your email of yesterday, I am happy to await the
corrected response to RFI20111606 before you consider your internal
review findings.
Please send me only one internal review response, consolidating all
of the issues I highlighted.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Jones
From: FOI Enquiries
British Broadcasting Corporation
27 March 2012
Dear Mr Jones
Please find attached the revised response to your request reference
RFI20111606; I apologise for the delay in sending this to you.
Yours sincerely
Rachel Hallett
BBC Information Policy and Compliance
Room 2252, White City
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TS, UK
Website: [1]www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [2]mailto:[BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2883
Fax: 020 8008 2398
[3]http://www.bbc.co.uk
This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal
views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated.
If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system.
Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in
reliance on it and notify the sender immediately.
Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received.
Further communication will signify your consent to this.
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/www.bbc.co.uk/foi
2. mailto:[BBC request email]
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
From: Peter Jones
27 March 2012
Dear FOI Enquiries,
Thank you for your revised response to RFI20111606.
Having read Louise Wright's response, I am quite satisfied that the
BBC has taken adequate steps to ensure future requests are handled
in a more efficient manner.
For that reason I am withdrawing my request for an internal review,
IR2012004.
Please convey my appreciation to Louise for the clarity and
completeness of her response.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Jones
From: FOI Enquiries
British Broadcasting Corporation
28 March 2012
Dear Mr Jones
Many thanks for your email below. I'm pleased that you were satisfied with the response, and have passed on your comments to Louise. I will close your internal review IR2012004 on our system.
Yours sincerely
Rachel Hallett
BBC Information Policy and Compliance
Room 2252, 2nd Floor, White City
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TS, UK
Website: www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: mailto:[BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2883
Fax: 020 8008 2398
show quoted sections
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Peter Jones left an annotation ( 1 February 2012)
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