Eric Matthew W. Masaba v The Information Commissioner
Neutral citation number: [2026] UKFTT 00525 (GRC)
Case Reference: FT/EA/2026/0044/GDPR
First-tier Tribunal
(General Regulatory Chamber)
Information Rights
Decided without a hearing
Decision given on: 09 April 2026
Before
Between
Eric matthew w. masaba
Applicant
and
THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONER
Respondent
Decision: Pursuant to Rule 8(1) of The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009, the application is struck out in its entirety.
The Tribunal received the Appellant’s Notice of Appeal on 4 February 2026.
which relates to the Applicant's complaint to the Information Commissioner, which the Applicant confirms was made on 2 May 2020.
Rule 22(6)(f) provides that in the case of an application under section 166(2) of the Data Protection Act 2018 (orders to progress complaints), the time for providing the application to the Tribunal is within 28 days of the expiry of six months from the date on which the Commissioner received the complaint.
It is the Applicant’s own case that the Commissioner received his complaint on 2 May 2020.
The Applicant states that the reason for the delay in submitting the application to the Tribunal is linked to the discovery of a sustained pattern of non-substantive responses and lack of effective regulatory progression over a long period.
It is almost 6 years since, on the Applicant’s own case, the Commissioner received the Applicant’s complaint. The Commissioner states that due to its retention policy, it no longer holds any documentation relating to this complaint.
I do not consider that it is reasonable for the Applicant to have waited 6 years to make his application to the Tribunal and accordingly, given the extraordinary length of time which has passed since his initial complaint and in having regard to Rule 22, I do not consider that there is any reasonable prospect of the Applicant’s case, or part of it, succeeding.
The Application is therefore struck out pursuant to Rule 8(3)(c).