The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a data breach as the Information Commissioner's Office is best placed to assess the Council's response and compensation can be sought in court.
The complaint
Mrs X complains the Council committed a serious breach of her personal data but has failed to update her about its investigation as to what happened or to offer any meaningful resolution. Mrs X says this has caused her significant emotional distress and anxiety. Mrs X wants to know what went wrong and seeks compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the UK's independent regulator in respect of data protection matters. It is best place to assess what the Council did wrong and to tell it what to do to put matters right.
Data protection law makes specific provision for people to seek compensation in court when they have suffered damage from a data breach. There is a relatively simple, low-cost procedure open to anyone to make a money claim in court or Mrs X could consider seeking legal help from a solicitor, some of whom take on such cases on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.
We are not empowered to determine damage claims.
It is reasonable therefore to expect Mrs X to seek a remedy in court.
For these reasons, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is best dealt with by the ICO and the courts.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman