The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) decided that it would not uphold Ms B's complaint about the Data Protection Act. However, it did not tell her that she could ask it to review that decision.
What happened
Ms B complained to ICO about her energy company. She said that it asked her for her date of birth to take a bill payment, and she was unwilling to give it. ICO decided that the energy company had probably complied with the Data Protection Act. Ms B was dissatisfied with that decision, and so complained to us.
What we found
We partly upheld this complaint. When we told ICO that we were going to investigate this case, it acknowledged that it had not told Ms B that she could ask it to review its decision. ICO therefore reviewed that decision, and upheld Ms B's complaint. It then apologised to Ms B for its mistake.
ICO's decisions about the energy company were reasonable, although Ms B was put to some inconvenience by its failure to tell her that she could review its decision. ICO's apology was an appropriate remedy for that inconvenience.
Putting it right
We made no recommendations in this case.
Information Commissioner's Office
UK
Did not involve complainant adequately in the process
Not applicable