When do you investigate?

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Office of Communications should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Sirs,

I am writing to request details and your policies that answer the following questions in the strict context of complaints made to you regarding broadband and telephone providers that you regulate, if you need further context, this relates to complaints about additional charges such as call bars placed on residential customer's accounts and profits made unlawfully and illegal profiteering from non direct-debit charges such as debit card processing fees:

1) On what basis do you commence an investigation of a complaint made?

2) Do you ever investigate a complaint made by one person or body? If so who/what groups would you commence an investigation of a complaint for?

3) If you investigate a single complaint, is there a type of complaint that you would commence an investigation straight away for?

3) If you never investigate an individual complaint, what policies do you use to ensure that your decision to investigate is fair to all Complainants and please could I have a copy of them?

4) Who decides when you should commence an investigation?

5) Do you write to Complainants to acknowledge their complaint?

6) Do you write to Complainants with an outcome of their complaint?

7) Is there an appeals procedure against the outcome of an investigation by OFCOM for:

A) The Complainant?

B) The subject of the complaint?

8. If you do not write to a complainant to provide a response and an appeals process exists for the Complainant, how can the complainant appeal if you do not provide a response?

9. How long do you keep complaints on file with the Complainant's personal information intact (in other words before it might be made anonymous for statistical purposes)?

Many thanks,

Yours faithfully,

Benjamin-Elijah Gareth-Bailey.

Information Requests, Office of Communications

Reference: 1-313863842

Dear Mr Gareth-Bailey,

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act.
We aim to respond within 20 working days.

If you have any questions, please contact us, quoting the above reference number.

Kind regards,

Jenny

Information Requests
Ofcom

show quoted sections

Information Requests, Office of Communications

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Gareth-Bailey

 

Thank you for your request. Please find our response attached.

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Information Requests

 

:: Ofcom

Riverside House

2a Southwark Bridge Road

London SE1 9HA

[1]www.ofcom.org.uk

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear Jenny,

Thank you for your thoughtful reply.

I have briefly read the reply but I will spend some more time on it!

I was hoping to clarify a point relating to the following:

"A8) Is there an appeals procedure against the outcome of an investigation by OFCOM
for:

Your answer:

A) The Complainant? – No, because we cannot investigate individual complaints.
B) The subject of the complaint? – Communications Providers are able to put forward their
own evidence as part of the investigation, but they could also appeal the outcome of the
complaint. Outcomes of investigations are published on our website. "

So does the Communications Provider have the entitlement to appeal the outcome of the complaint then?

Thanks and Kind Regards,

Benjamin-Elijah

Yours sincerely,

CCCBS

Dear Office of Communications,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Office of Communications's handling of my FOI request 'When do you investigate?'.

1. I have asked a question in relation to the response that you have provided that has gone unanswered.

2. Because of this, I have been unable to establish whether the question has been fully answered.

3. I cannot conclude that the question has been fully answered given the above.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/w...

Many thanks and
Yours faithfully,

CCCBS

Information Requests, Office of Communications

6 Attachments

Dear Mr Gareth-Bailey,

 

Thank you for your email of 7 January 2019 requesting an internal review
of our Freedom of Information response regarding broadband and telecoms
providers complaints. Unfortunately, we are unable to consider your
request as this is outside the 2 month time limit from the date the
initial response to your Freedom of Information request was sent to you,
which was on 15 January 2016.

 

However, if you wish to submit a new request for information, we would be
happy to consider it.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Requests

:: Ofcom
   Riverside House
   2a Southwark Bridge Road
   London SE1 9HA
   [1]www.ofcom.org.uk

:: Keep up with Ofcom on social media

   [2]cid:image018.jpg@01D42E73.F0645150   [3]cid:image022.jpg@01D42E73.F0645150   [4]cid:image026.jpg@01D42E73.F0645150   [5]cid:image027.jpg@01D42E73.F0645150   [6]cid:image029.jpg@01D42E73.F0645150

 

:: Check out our Boost Your Broadband campaign

    [7]cid:image006.jpg@01D4938C.4E5C3FC0

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear Information Requests,

Thank you for your Email.

Your organisation failed to reply to my correspondence. Since OFCOM have a full copy of the correspondence (available through the “What Do They Know” system), there is no prejudice.

I would ask that, given what may be your inadvertent failure, that you would approach the matter more reasonably.

I look forward to hearing from you and thank you.

Please kindly review.

Yours sincerely,

CCCBS

Information Requests, Office of Communications

6 Attachments

Dear Mr Gareth-Bailey,

 

I refer to your correspondence of 22 January 2019 referencing your query
of 16 January 2016, asking whether a Communications Provider has the
entitlement to appeal the outcome of a complaint.

 

We have already provided a response to this in our Freedom of Information
response dated 15 January 2016, where we stated that “Communications
Providers are able to put forward their

own evidence as part of the investigation, but they could also appeal the
outcome of the complaint.” 

 

You may find it useful to visit our website where we have published our
enforcement guidelines setting out in detail the process where a subject
of the investigation such as a Communications Provider may wish to appeal
the outcome:
[1]https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/p....

 

We hope you find this information useful.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Requests

:: Ofcom
   Riverside House
   2a Southwark Bridge Road
   London SE1 9HA
   [2]www.ofcom.org.uk

:: Keep up with Ofcom on social media

   [3]cid:image018.jpg@01D42E73.F0645150   [4]cid:image022.jpg@01D42E73.F0645150   [5]cid:image026.jpg@01D42E73.F0645150   [6]cid:image027.jpg@01D42E73.F0645150   [7]cid:image029.jpg@01D42E73.F0645150

 

:: Check out our Boost Your Broadband campaign

    [8]cid:image006.jpg@01D4938C.4E5C3FC0

 

 

show quoted sections