Hi,
Just an update on mine , and I also have an extra big question ; Are the.TNA breaking any laws under the FOI ACT ? :
It seems to me that the TNA are not sticking by the within 20 working days under the FOI ACT , and also *their ( *TNA.) own clauses to this when it is not possible for them to do it within the 20 working days . It's now apparently 6 months for FOI request from them , which I don't think is good enough in my own case for the reasons that they clearly informed me in writing " within 20 working days from payment " ( I paid them on the 18th April) with a clause underneath that it will take" longer" but WE WILL REGULARLY UPDATE YOU. ( It's the "regularly update" you bit that I am getting really annoyed at the most - as I have not received any updates at all , pure silence from their end - it is almost as if they've taken my money and ran , ie their agreements and clauses are not worth the paper it is written on)
"Depending on how swiftly payment is made, you should receive copies of the requested record within 20 working days, as laid out in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please be aware that this department is currently handling an exceptionally high volume of cases, so it will take us longer than usual to respond to your request. We will update you regularly on the progress of your case. To allow us to process cases as efficiently as possible, please note that we will not be able to answer standard queries "
Above quote from the email I recieved from them when they sent me the payment information and then a link to pay (back in April,when I paid for it ).
I have emailed them just a few days ago to enquire why I haven't heard from them at all ( which was 33 working days after my payment ) . I was expecting to receive the records a little bit longer after that FOI ACT of 20 working days , as stated by them ( " longer") in their clauses to this at the time, but fully expected to being regularly updated when this was to occur , as also written In their clauses too in their emails to me , but not this long of 33 working days.
The auto email reply to when you send off an email to then now currently says this
" Thank you for getting in touch.
Your email has been received by the MOD Access Service Team at The National Archives and we will respond in due course.
Our team is currently processing a high volume of requests and we respond to all emails in date order.
Please be advised that our CURRENT average processing time for a Freedom of Information (FOI) request is 6 months.
Kind regards"
Quote ( I've underlined , and made bold the relevant above words)
I personally don't think this is good enough, when I initially applied months before - way back in Feb , and PAID for the service/records when they finally sent me a link in April to pay - All of which , including payment, occurred before they brought in this current 6 month clause (that they very recently have brought into their clauses when you try to get in contact with them ). There was no 6 months wording in any of their clauses in all of their correspondence to me when I paid months ago, just the wording "longer" ( whatever that is supposed to mean in exact time, as they did not specify in their then clauses what "longer" means in terms of exact about time- can that mean just a few weeks, months, or even years? ) And that they will "regularly update me with my case to which they havent done at all.
I probably won't get an answer to my enquiry email for weeks from them ( about why I havent been updated as stated in their emails to me, or sent the records )
My question is, does anyone know if they could be breaking the FOI act in this case? I am on the verge of putting in a complaint to the ICO over the issues that they told me in their correspondence to me that I would receive them within 20 working days in accordance to the FOI act , but it will take longer than this- BUT they would REGULARY UPDATE me - which they haven't to this exact date, ( today) , I still haven't heard one single Dicky bird update from them on the progress of my case that is long overdue (well over 33 working days later after my payment).
Is it worth putting a complaint in to the ICO over their lack of updating me , when it runs well " longer" over those 20 working days ? Or are the TNA within their full legal rights to change their clauses way after you have paid for the service from them, hence them cancelling those clauses that were current when you paid for the agreed service , and time of when you entered into the contract with them - if that makes any sense.
Surely that can not be legal, changing the clauses after you paid under completely different clauses with them ? And they have a legal obligation to stick within 20 working days under the FOI or regularly update me with progress of my case, as written at the time I entered an agreement with them/paid for the records.
Thank you for any opinions, or thoughts on this matter
Kind regards