Office of Fair Trading

The complainant made a freedom of information request to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for any information relating to adverse behaviour by First plus Financial Group Plc. OFT refused the request by relying on the exemptions under sections 31(1)(g) (Law enforcement), 40(2) (Personal information), 42 (Legal professional privilege) and section 44 (Prohibitions on disclosure). The Commissioner’s decision is that the information is exempt under section 31(1)(g) and section 44 and that in the case of section 31(1)(g) the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure. The Commissioner requires no steps to be taken. This decision notice is currently under appeal to the Tribunal. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2014/0055 allowed in part.