Financial Ombudsman Service
- Date 31 March 2014
- Sector Other
- Decision(s) FOI 8: Not upheld
The complainant made a freedom of information request to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) which was sent in an encrypted format. The FOS was unable to decrypt the request and invited the complainant to re-send the request in a standard format which the complainant declined. The Commissioner’s decision is that the request does not meet the criteria within section 8(1)(a) of FOIA and as such is invalid. The FOS is not obliged to respond to the request and the Commissioner requires no steps to be taken.