Policy Policy for unreasonable customer behaviour and vexatious requests

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5. Examples of vexatious requests

Examples of what we might consider to be vexatious requests are shown below.  The list is not exhaustive and for a request to be considered as vexatious it is likely that more than one of the examples is relevant:

  • Submission of obsessive requests with very high volume and frequency of correspondence.
  • Requests for information the requester has already seen or a clear intention to reopen issues that have already been considered.
  • Where complying with the request would impose significant or disproportionate burden on the council in terms of expense, and negatively impact our ability to provide service to others.  In this situation, we will also consider section 12 (exemption where cost exceeds the appropriate limit) of the Freedom of Information Act.
  • Where the requester states that the request is actually meant to cause maximum inconvenience, disruption or annoyance.
  • Where the request lacks any serious purpose or value.  An apparent lack of value would not usually be enough on its own to make a request vexatious, but may do when considered with other examples.
  • Harassing the council - this could include very high volume and frequency of correspondence, or mingling requests with accusations and complaints.

When this policy has been published and will be reviewed

Policy published 11 December 2013 (due for review by 11 December 2022)