Bournemouth Churches Housing Association Limited (202002952)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202002952

Bournemouth Churches Housing Association Limited

27 August 2021

Our approach

What we can and cannot consider is called the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and is governed by the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. The Ombudsman must determine whether a complaint comes within their jurisdiction. The Ombudsman seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible but cannot investigate complaints that fall outside of this. 

In deciding whether a complaint falls within their jurisdiction, the Ombudsman will carefully consider all the evidence provided by the parties and the circumstances of the case.

The complaint

1. The complaint concerns the landlord’s response to the resident’s claim of a breach of data protection.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

2. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.
3. After carefully considering all the evidence, I have determined that the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary of events

4. The resident made a formal complaint to the landlord in September 2019, claiming it had caused a data breach.
5. The landlord responded to the complaint on 13 February 2020. That letter provides a timeline of events and a summary to the background to the complaint. From the information contained in that letter, it appears the resident’s name was shared with the Police after an incident that occurred on the property.
6. The resident brought their complaint to this Service by completing our webform in July 2020. In November 2020, our Service informed the resident’s representative by letter that we had not seen any evidence that the landlord’s internal complaints process had been exhausted and asked them to provide a copy of the landlord’s final response to their complaint.

7. There was no contact made again with our Service until the representative called on 24 June 2021. In that telephone discussion, it was confirmed by the representative that they had taken the complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) but wanted the Ombudsman to look at the housing impact. The representative emailed later that same day and provided our Service with a copy of the landlord’s letter dated 13 February 2020.

Reasons

8. Paragraph 39 (d) of the Ombudsman Scheme states that the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion:

“were brought to the Ombudsman’s attention normally more than12 months after they exhausted the member’s complaints procedure.”

9. The resident’s representative was informed by letter in November 2020 that our Service could not take further action until the resident provided a copy of the landlord’s final response. The resident did not respond to this letter.
10. We received no further contact from the resident until June 2021. The resident provided this Service with a copy of the landlord’s final response on 24 June 2021, more than sixteen months after it was issued. I am therefore satisfied that this is not a complaint which the Ombudsman can consider further.