Neighbour complaints

user1977

macman said:

They're probably aggrieved because you reported it to the LA rather than complaining to them directly.

The OP said "they just denied any noise whenever I spoke to them" so it sounds like they had complained directly - in which case it's not surprising the neighbour has guessed who made the complaint to the council...

Windofchange

Accessing records held in an organisation without a business need would be a serious breach of information governance legislation, and would be a sackable offence. Your neighbours friends can’t just go accessing things as they please to satisfy theirs or anyone else’s curiosity. Not much you can do to stop them, but if it does happen there is plenty you can do to see the perpetrators fired for gross misconduct. 

Any electronic records system should be logging usernames and dates of access, so if my name was suddenly plastered all over Facebook with details that could only have been acquired through an organisation then I’d be onto them with everything the law could muster!

marbie

Thing is they have had a few people complain directly to them but have just singled out me. 

Suppose you just have to put up with it and let them do what they like and don’t ever complain to anyone. Thing is if I have ever made any noise which is very very rare they are out moaning loudly to their friends who stay next to us all. 
Do as I say not as I do is their motto I guess.

Windofchange

user1977 said:

macman said:

They're probably aggrieved because you reported it to the LA rather than complaining to them directly.

The OP said "they just denied any noise whenever I spoke to them" so it sounds like they had complained directly - in which case it's not surprising the neighbour has guessed who made the complaint to the council...

But yes, having said what I did above, it would appear as you say that it wouldn’t take Poirot to put two and two together in this case and deduce that the OP is the complainant. 

Mardle

OP if you haven't already taken a screenshot of the Facebook conversation do it now as they may delete it. 

Have a look on your local Police website for an email address for your local Policing team. Email them with as much information as you can including the screenshot & tell them you are scared of what they might do. Give your phone number and ask if someone could ring you but you don't want a visit.

[Deleted User]

Sorry this has happened to you, and try not to worry. They can't get your name via a Freedom of Information request and if their friends help them do it they will be breaking the law.

Take screenshots of all the Facebook stuff (press the "Print Screen" or "PrtScn" button on your computer, or hold volume down and the power button on your phone). Pass them to the council and keep your own copies. If it escalates at all then call the police. You can call 101 if it's not an emergency, or if they come to your house or approach you outside call 999.

On Android phones you can also press the power button 5 times quickly to go into emergency mode, which you can set to record video. That way you can just press it five times while it's in your pocket, and then hold it by your side where it can record everything being said covertly. All 999 calls are also recorded, so if you do that anything the phone hears will be on record.

Chances are it's just them having a tantrum and it will all blow over, but knowing you are prepared helps you peace of mind.

NameUnavailable

FOI relates to specific organisations and types of info. You can't get information on individuals from anyone, it would breach GDPR.

RAS

What's happening here is that your less than lovely neighbours have gone on the attack using a scatter gun approach and are relying on you identifying yourself because you feel "guilty" or by process of elimination.

Do record all the facebook/whatsapp messages and go back to the Council about the specific threats to identify you by sharing Council data. That's against the law and a sackable offence if done for malicious reasons. Even done inadvertently, it would lead to retraining or disciplinary action.

In my job, I wouldn't even have been able to confirm or deny that your name was on the database unless you had given permission.

Emmia

Section62 said:

marbie said:

They have said they know who it is and they will find out through the freedom of information act as they have friends who work in the council who can help them find out.

I think they are bluffing.  You don't need friends who work for a council to find out information through FOI.  Any information which isn't available through FOI or published already shouldn't be released to the public by anyone.

amexblue said:

...It's possible they might suspect but you have to pay for a request. Are they likely to waste their money?

You don't have to pay for a FOI request unless the work required to provide the information is excessive - assessed by the cost exceeding the "appropriate limit".  Responding to the question "Who made the complaint?" won't exceed the "appropriate limit", but the council should apply one of the exemptions to allow them to not give that information.

OP, if I were you I would found out who the council's "monitoring officer" is (they are usually a solicitor working in the legal department) and email them directly with a screenshot of the claims "to have friends".  It is likely to be a bluff, but the monitoring officer can remind the officers who have access to the relevant information that they are not allowed to release it to "friends", and the consequences for them if they do/did.

If nothing else, contacting the Monitoring Officer will ensure that if the situation escalates and ultimately you need to make a complaint to the Ombudsman, the council will be unable to deny that they were aware of a risk of staff leaking information to a friend involved in the dispute.

If the cost limit is exceeded, you don't get the option of paying for the FOI, it's either denied on cost grounds, or you have to narrow your request to bring it into scope.

The limit is done on an hourly rate of x grade level, and it takes very few hours of work to hit. That said the council should refuse to release info with your name under one of the exemptions.

Edit - when you complained, what exactly were you hoping the council would do, and how did you think they'd be able to do it in an entirely anonymous way whereby there would be no finger pointing.

JReacher1

I don’t think they’ll need the council to tell them who complained. Unless they’re not very bright they’ll almost certainly know it’s you as it appears you’ve complained to them before about noise. 

It doesn’t matter though and if they are as noisy as you say can’t imagine many people in the local area are on their side.