Freedom of Information request

cerastes

If making a FOI request, is in email an acceptable format?

This is in relation to one private business who seems to have made a decision based on information which aside from being inaccurate, they shouldn't seem to have access to.

I'm making an FOI request to this organisation and another where I think it may have originated, one has an email available for customer enquiries, I couldn't locate the other's email. When I asked, I was told an FOI enquiry had to be hand written.

Carawaystick

Private business usually don't fall under FOI legislation.

cerastes

What? how so? thats got to be inaccurate,
Im talking about one business which I essentially had a contract with and another which I never had any dealings with but who insisted on conatcting me.

Whats the purpose of FOI if I cant get what information is held by a business about me. So FOI relates to? what exactly?

The Data Protection Commisioner's website says
"you have a right to find out, free of charge, if a person (an individual or an organisation) holds information about you. You also have a right to be given a description of the information and to be told the purpose(s) for holding your information."

Stheno

cerastes wrote: »

What? how so? thats got to be inaccurate,
Im talking about one business which I essentially had a contract with and another which I never had any dealings with but who insisted on conatcting me.

Whats the purpose of FOI if I cant get what information is held by a business about me. So FOI relates to? what exactly?

The Data Protection Commisioner's website says
"you have a right to find out, free of charge, if a person (an individual or an organisation) holds information about you. You also have a right to be given a description of the information and to be told the purpose(s) for holding your information."

You need to make a request under data protection not foi

Michael D Not Higgins

cerastes wrote: »

What? how so? thats got to be inaccurate,
Im talking about one business which I essentially had a contract with and another which I never had any dealings with but who insisted on conatcting me.

Whats the purpose of FOI if I cant get what information is held by a business about me. So FOI relates to? what exactly?

The Data Protection Commisioner's website says
"you have a right to find out, free of charge, if a person (an individual or an organisation) holds information about you. You also have a right to be given a description of the information and to be told the purpose(s) for holding your information."

Data protection and freedom of information are two different things.

cerastes

Ah yes, I mixed that up.
I meant Data Protection

I have already made a Data Protection enquiry under section 3 and 4 of the Data Protection Act 1988 and 2003 to one organisation, I just wanted to confirm can it be by email?
It says written in the Data Protection website, one organisation is insisting on it being hand written and declines to provide me with a specific email for it (claiming it doesn't exist) even though they are a large well known organisation. I dont want to just locate a customer care email and send it there in the event they ignore it.

Stheno

Ring the data protection commissioner and ask them?

Also you may have to pay a fee of up to 6.35

Graham

cerastes wrote: »

I just wanted to confirm can it be by email?

In my experience, most organisations will insist on the access request being in writing.

From the DPC website:

You must make the request in writing. The person must send you the information within 21 days.

It is worth contacting the organisation in advance to ask:

• who you should send data access requests to
• what evidence of your identity they might require

Most will also ask for the maximum payment of €6.35 by cheque or postal order.

It is worthwhile to make sure you have everything straight in advance, the 21 day limit will probably no begin until you have everything submitted correctly with payment.

Victor

cerastes wrote: »

When I asked, I was told an FOI enquiry had to be hand written.

Whatever about having to be written, certainly not handwritten.

GM228

DP requests can be made in writing or e-mail according to the DPC, asking for it in handwriting sounds like the organisation is just trying to be awkward IMO.

FOI requests can be made in writing, e-mail or "in such other form as may be determined, by a person who is affected by an act" of the body they are applying to.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/act/30/section/12/enacted/en/html#sec12

gizmo555

Graham wrote: »

It is worthwhile to make sure you have everything straight in advance, the 21 day limit will probably no begin until you have everything submitted correctly with payment.

The 21 day time limit relates to a request for confirmation as to whether an organisation is processing your personal data and, if so, the nature of the data, the purposes for which it's processed, etc. No charge may be made for this kind of request.

For a request for an actual copy of one's personal data, the time limit for compliance is 40 days. These time limits are maxima, and the actual requirement is that such requests be complied with "as soon as may be".

My understanding is that the position taken by the Data Protection Commissioner is that, if a payment is being charged for a providing a copy of data (up to the maximum of €6.35), the 40 day clock starts when the request is received, not when the payment is made if this is later. If on expiry of the 40 day limit the payment has still not been made, it would be lawful to withhold the copy of the data until it's received.

Graham

gizmo555 wrote: »

My understanding is that the position taken by the Data Protection Commissioner is that, if a payment is being charged for a providing a copy of data (up to the maximum of €6.35), the 40 day clock starts when the request is received, not when the payment is made if this is later. If on expiry of the 40 day limit the payment has still not been made, it would be lawful to withhold the copy of the data until it's received.

For the sake of holding on to €6.35 for an extra couple of weeks I'd submit the payment with the request rather than risk arguing payment schedule specifics with the receiving organisation.

gizmo555

Graham wrote: »

For the sake of holding on to €6.35 for an extra couple of weeks I'd submit the payment with the request rather than risk arguing payment schedule specifics with the receiving organisation.

I would too. I'm just making the general point that for the receiving organisation the clock starts to run when they receive the request, not when they receive the payment, if that comes later.

GM228

gizmo555 wrote: »

My understanding is that the position taken by the Data Protection Commissioner is that, if a payment is being charged for a providing a copy of data (up to the maximum of €6.35), the 40 day clock starts when the request is received, not when the payment is made if this is later. If on expiry of the 40 day limit the payment has still not been made, it would be lawful to withhold the copy of the data until it's received.

gizmo555 wrote: »

I would too. I'm just making the general point that for the receiving organisation the clock starts to run when they receive the request, not when they receive the payment, if that comes later.

As per the Data Protection Commissioner:-

Once you have made your request, and paid any appropriate fee, you must be given the information within 40 days (most organisations manage to reply much sooner).

If a fee is required then the request is not complete until the fee is paid, the 40 days then commences when the fee is paid, not with the initial request.

gizmo555

GM228 wrote: »

As per the Data Protection Commissioner:-

If a fee is required then the request is not complete until the fee is paid, the 40 days then commences when the fee is paid, not with the initial request.

I can only say that this is is not consistent with the stance I know the DPC has previously taken. But, it's also fair to say the DPC could hardly fault an organisation for following the guidance on her own website.

NUTLEY BOY

If the subject matter of the enquiries is of great import it is worth sending the request in typed form by registered post.

If you send it by registered post you can see verification of date and time of delivery on An Post's website. This puts beyond doubt any question about whether it has been received or not.

I never cease to be amazed at how letters seem to disappear when it suits..........