We are committed to handling your personal data in a fair, lawful and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to raise a data protection complaint with us.

What is a data protection complaint?

A data protection complaint is where you believe we have not complied with data protection law in how we have handled your personal data. This may include concerns about:

• How your personal data has been collected, used or shared
• How we have responded to a Subject Access Request (SAR)
• Data accuracy or retention
• Security or data breaches affecting your information
• Any other concern about how your personal data has been processed

How to make a complaint

You can submit a data protection complaint using any of the following methods:

• Email: dpo@middevon.gov.uk
• Post: Mid Devon District Council, Phoenix House, Phoenix Lane, Tiverton. EX16 6PP
• Telephone: 01884 255255 (ask for a call back from an Information Officer)

You do not need to use legal terms or a specific format. However, it will help us to investigate your complaint if you include:

• Your name and contact details
• A description of your concern
• Relevant dates or correspondence
• What outcome you are seeking

 What happens next

When we receive your complaint, we will:

1. Acknowledge your complaint

We will acknowledge receipt within 30 calendar days.

2. Investigate your concerns

We will review the information provided, make appropriate enquiries, and may contact you if we need further details. We will keep you informed of progress where appropriate.

3. Provide an outcome

We will aim to respond to you with the outcome of our investigation within 30 days of acknowledgement, explaining:

• What we have found
• Any action we have taken
• Any steps we will take to improve our processes (where relevant)

 In some cases, where a complaint is complex, we may require additional time to complete our investigation. If this is necessary, we will contact you to keep you informed of the/any revised timescale. 

Please note that there is no statutory timeframe for completion of complaints investigations, the time it takes us to investigate is likely to be impacted by:

• the complexity of the issue;
• the scale of the issue (e.g. whether it’s a singular complaint about a recent issue, or a complaint about a number of issues over a longer time period); and
• any harm that a complainant is suffering as a result of the unresolved issue.

This is not an exhaustive list. There’s likely to be a wide range of factors that influence how long our investigation takes.

For more information see What do we do when we receive a complaint? | ICO

Service delivery issues

If your complaint also involves a service delivery issue that does not relate to data protection, that element of your complaint will be dealt with separately through our Corporate Complaints procedures.

 If you are not satisfied

If you remain unhappy with our response, you have the right to complain to the Information Commission (IC).

The IC is the UK’s independent regulator for data protection and information rights.

You can contact the IC at:

• Website: https://ico.org.uk
• Telephone: 0303 123 1113
• Address: Information Commission, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

 Our commitment

We aim to resolve concerns as quickly and effectively as possible. We use complaints to improve how we handle personal data and to ensure compliance with our legal obligations.