Letter to the BBC Trust

23rd September 2011 



BBC Trust Unit
180 Great Portland Street
London
W1W 5QZ

Dear Sirs,



"Are Environmentalists Bad for the Planet" BBC Radio 4


Last year I raised a number of specific concerns about the above programme to the BBC Complaints Unit which to all intents and purposes have been lost rather than dealt with.

I understand that the BBC is subject to the OFCOM Broadcasting Code and I cited sections 7.9 and 7.13 of the OFCOM Broadcasting Code as having been breached (I first did that through the BBC's internet complaints portal on 21st February 2010 ) . Despite the fact that I have raised the matter of sections 7.9 and 7.13 many times since the BBC have never addressed it. This correspondence indicates that the BBC Complaints process is able to filibuster a complaint under the OFCOM Broadcasting Code despite the fact that OFCOM is external to the BBC.


I recieved a letter from Gemma McAleer earlier this month telling me the matter was out of time, but it is the BBC that have been tardy in dealing with this, I should also add that her chronology was flawed. I also have a specific question that I have raised numerous times which has been ignored and needs to be answered, in that light I contend that the one-sided account of a meeting by a contributor was untruthful and BBC programme makers have failed in their duty to see that the programme was truthful.

Stage two of the complaints process was dealth with by Sean Moss who took seven and a half months to respond, when he did so he gave no instructions on how to escalate this matter to yourselves.

I have spoken to OFCOM on the phone and they say to write to yourselves, which I am now doing. But I hasten to point out that unless you are able to engage in this correspondence the record would show that the BBC Complaints process can ignore accusations of stepping outside OFCOM's rules.

Salutations,

Hengist McStone

... in the strongest possible terms...

Dear Sir,

I write in response to your letter from Gemma McAleer dated 7th September 2011.

It is your department that has lost track of this matter, therefore I have to put it to you in the strongest possible terms it is entirely inappropriate to dismiss this complaint as falling outside of your complaints timescale.

I did not recieve any communication from the BBC in November 2010 as you claim. The facts of the matter with regards to timescale are briefly as follows:

Programme broadcast 25th January 2010
First written complaint sent 5th Feb 2010
16th June 2010 undated letter recieved from Stefan Curran
My Stage 2 letter sent by rec'd delivery 9th August 2010
Follow up email requesting reply sent through your complaints portal 18th March 2011
Sean Moss replies by email 23rd March 2011


Sean Moss did not offer any method of escalating this matter to the BBC Trust. I understand that you are subject to the OFCOM Broadcasting Code and I have cited sections 7.9 and 7.13 of the OFCOM Broadcasting Code as having been breached (I first did that through your internet complaints portal on 21st February 2010 ) . Despite the fact that I have raised the matter of sections 7.9 and 7.13 many times since you have never addressed it.

The OFCOM Broadcasting Code is external to the BBC, I telephoned OFCOM earlier this week and they have advised that they can no longer consider this, however they advised me to write a letter to the BBC Trust.

I must say I no longer have any faith in the BBC complaints department to consider this matter. I have your answers and the gist is that the BBC ignores accusations that it has breached the OFCOM Broadcasting Code .

Now I am not entirely sure that any of us would like to leave this correspondence at that point. I will write to the BBC Trust in the next week asking for this matter to be heard by them. In the meantime I would be grateful if you would review whether it is correct to dismiss this complaint as out of time when it is mostly yourselves that have been tardy.


Salutations,


Hengist McStone

BBC goes all pythonesque

A letter arrives from the BBC apologizing for the time taken  to process my complaint and saying that the time period to make a complaint has now elapsed .  


Dear Mr McStone

Thanks for contacting us.

Please accept our apologies for the delay in our reply however, my colleague Sean Moss's reply to which you refer was sent in November 2010 and your e-mail was sent in May 2011

This falls outside of our complaints timescale which is published here :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/handle.shtml

Thanks for getting in touch.

Gemma McAleer
BBC Complaints