hi everyone.hope we can get some help here i lodged a complaint with above back in 2011 with regard to extra charges and a balance that blemain claim is outstanding. we had a secured loan on property over an 84 month period.we made payments every month but when i was made redundant we had to pay on a different date from the original one.blemain kept sending letters at £35 a time and this was a separate issue and they have now agreed to re credit these once ombudsman was involved. however they will not answer as to why there is a large sum outstanding on the loan when we have made all the payments.we now have a deadline to accept the final decision or lose blemains offer of charges refund. i have emailed fos but they keep saying they cannot do anymore. please can anybody help asap??? regards mark

The FOS report that they are currently receiving 1500 PPI related complaints every day. In the August issue of their news they give some examples of cases they have upheld,and also those rejected.Worth a read. http://financialombudsmanservice.newsweaver.co.uk/Newsletter/1nqfti6z0ss1ejplibozya?rss=true

Hello Everyone I would like to share my terrible experience with you all... HSBC and then the Ombudsman.... My concern started in October 2009... personally I am a Financial Analyst and decided to invest some money in a HSBC Invest Direct (share dealing) account, which is DD to my HSBC Plus account, which means I have got 2 different contract with HSBC. I made quite few thousands in couple of years... In October 2009 unfortunately I was diagnoised with swine flu and could not manage to get out of the bed, in the meanwhile few days before couple of my orders were executed and which made me overdrawn £5,750 in my HSBC Plus current account but considering I have got £1,500 authorised overdraft limit and appx £15,000 worth shares in my Invest Direct account.... HSBC started to charge me around £398 in 2 months and then decided to sell my shares and suspend my account... The contract says: HSBC Invest Direct: If you do not have sufficient funds in your account, HSBC has got rights to sell your shares.... HSBC Plus account says: I have got an authorised overdraft limit of £1500 and excessive use of this limit will be penalised with daily interest + fees (which does not state any kind of how much unauthorised you can go up to) Wait for this... I was overdrawn around £5,750 from which I have got an authorised overdraft limit of £1,500 and they sold a total of £6,145 worth shares in 2009... and also they suspended my share dealing account for around 10 days in which I had around another £9K worth shares.... I tried to contact HSBC and proceed my complaint and of course dont be naive... NO result.... when has anyone seen to get a result with their complaints in the first step... I tried to contact the person who authorised to sell my shares, and asked him why he sold more than even the overdraft? his answer was: "We left you a budget for your daily expenditures" I asked him if he has ever seen me paying any bills from my account? he said "No" I took this case to the Ombudsman.... Great big Ombudsman... only 500-600meters away from HSBC headquarter.... 3 adjudicator amazingly found HSBC within their terms and conditions.... I appealed and requested a "Final Decision".... in August 2010.... Mr Ombudsman took my case as the adjudicators are not allowed to give the final decision.... He took his time and in February 2011... he gave a "Provisional Decision" of fair compensation for me his words were: "A = Total amount sold B = Unauthorised overdraft (which means - £1,500 of authorised overdraft) C = A - B So I was supposed to be getting C amount of shares in todays value as compensation .... When I proved that my C amount of shares are worth £6,750 in todays value (current BBC prices), I think they did not like that... Then what happened.... Final Decision came in October 2011... NO COMPENSATION given and HSBC has rights to do so??? I took it further and went to the Independent Asssessor.... No result..... upppss sorry, I should not say like that... here is the result I got: The Great Big Ombudsman sent me a cheque of £100 as an appology as it took 21 months to come to this conclusion (if you consider average handling time for each case is 6 months) ... I call it as "Consolation Prize" Keep quite son! we give you £100 go and have a glass of wine, which will cool you down What I dont understand is; if I used my credit card and bought lots of stuff and gone overdrawn, what would have happened? I dont expect HSBC would come and cease my clothes or the stuff I bought? Even if they were right (which they are not) why did they charge me £398 for an unauthorised overdraft fee + Interest + daily charges? It is a service that I have not received and why did they sell my shares? I dont really know what happened between Feb and October 2011 but it is not really surprising especially if you consider HSBC HeadQuarter and Financial Ombudsman is only 2-3 street far away each other.... May be a nice lunch break in an expensive restaurant or a small coffee shop will be a great place to negotiate??? What do you think???? Anyway I really dont know what to do??? I tried to contact the media sources, tried everything... Sky, BBC, ITV Daily Mail, FT, etc... even Daybreak and Lorraine no response.... I would really appreciate if anyone can help me as I ran out of my options... Btw European Ombudsman is not even bothered about it, they are more interested in Euro then GBP Kind regards

My original ISP was closing their service so after a lot of questioning too and fro, I agreed to sign up to their broadband offer. However, within a day of placing the order, they already started to cause problems, changed the agreement, failed to return calls, left me with a complete mess to sort out and so I cancelled (or I tried to) within their time limit. They attempted to block my cancellation in time and later went on to say that I had not done so, even though I can clearly demonstrate that my email was sent and received in time. I contacted then Consumer Direct who pointed out that the company had failed to abide by the Distance Selling Regulations as well as failed under the Sale of Goods Act in other aspects of closing the other service. Since then, the situation has gone from bad to nightmare. I have been at best, misled, and then lied to. I have complied with all their demands and then they change their story and make further demands. I was eventually sent a MAC so I could set up a service with a totally new provider which I have done quite happily and they are brilliant. In the meantime, the first ISP has now turned things around to say that a) the MAC was never used and therefore I have not closed my account (which is patently not true), b ) that I owe them money and they'll pass "the debt" to a debt collection agency and c) that because I refused to send them the original email from my new provider, (which contained personal account information that is private and I should not be forced to reveal), that I had not agreed to close my account. In desperation I applied for help from the Ombudsman who, after a very trying phone call today, and despite reaching an agreement, has just taken the side of the other party despite my agreeing I would send the information to them (which I have) and refused to take the matter forward. The new Citizens Advice service which has replaced Consumer Direct have not helped at all as all they said was go to the Ombudsman or take the other party to court! What do I take them to court for and how can I do this without any funds? Trading Standards were not interested in the fact that the company have broken the DSRs saying it's only a civil law and they don't get involved, but I can take the company to court! After a pushing and pushing, they said that if I provided evidence they'd look at it, but quite frankly the way it was said left me feeling that they were just being placatory to get me off the phone and had no intention of taking any action. I feel that not only have all those agencies let me down very badly, I keep jumping through all the hoops, complying with demands that keep changing and I'm being punished because I am getting so upset about this. The original provider has at best, been very misleading and have deliberately twisted everything around to make it look as if I am being unreasonable. However, the information they require is available to them simply by contacting the wholesale provider who could give them all that they require and more that I cannot give because I cannot deal with the wholesaler. I have provided all that I can but am putting my foot down on giving them my personal account details with the new provider. I am being threatened by a huge company who has broken the law repeatedly, broken promises, twisted things around, refused to take the appropriate actions that they could take to remedy the situation and I'm beside myself? Where do I stand? What do or can I do next?

Today, the Local Government Ombudsman ( Dr Jane Martin) released to the public a copy of her report into Blaby Council. The Press release issued on their website today is as follows: Blaby Council did not exercise proper control over bailiffs it employed to collect council tax debts, finds Local Government Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin. In her report, issued today, she says: “I am issuing this report in the public interest because the practice of bailiffs’ ‘double charging’ for visits is not uncommon. These bailiffs were acting on behalf of the Council and it was within the Council’s control to contractually curb excessive charges by the bailiffs. I would expect local authorities and their agents to consider the reasonableness of their practice in this area in future and I am pleased that this Council has now done so.” She adds: “The Council has an obligation to collect council tax and to pursue people who do not pay. Mrs S has not paid her council tax for some considerable time. She also failed to honour the payment arrangements made to clear the debt. So the Council was entitled to take enforcement action against her, including instructing bailiffs. But the Council should ensure that the bailiffs who act on its behalf comply with the relevant regulations and that debtors are charged only sums which are properly due. It is clear this did not happen in Mrs S’s case.” Mrs S owed arrears of council tax. She complained that bailiffs employed by the Council to collect her council tax arrears had not acted within the law and had overcharged her. She also complained that the Council failed to properly answer her queries and complaints about these issues, including a serious allegation that four bailiffs tried to break into Mrs S’s property and obtained money from her partner by clamping and taking occupation of a car that was not his. The Ombudsman’s investigation found that the Council failed to exercise proper control over the actions of its bailiffs and the fees it charged. The bailiffs had charged eight visit fees (because Mrs S had arrears for eight years: ie there were eight accounts) on two occasions for one visit by one bailiff, and failed to carry out DVLA checks on the ownership of the vehicles. The Council also failed to properly investigate Mrs S’s complaints until she complained to the Ombudsman. These faults caused Mrs S stress and anxiety, and she had to take significant time and trouble in pursuing her complaints with the Council and the bailiffs. Once the Ombudsman became involved the Council: reduced the fees charged by £630.50 carried out DVLA checks on the vehicles, which showed they did not belong either to Mrs S or her partner, so removed the remaining levies and associated fees, and negotiated a new contract with its bailiffs only allowing one fee to be charged for one visit even where multiple accounts are involved. The Ombudsman finds maladministration causing injustice, and is pleased that the Council has agreed to pay £300 to Mrs S for the distress and inconvenience she was caused, which it will offset against the outstanding council tax arrears. The Ombudsman has urged Mrs S to enter into a reliable regular payment arrangement with the Council to avoid future action, such as an attachment of earnings either through her or her partner

After dealing with the FSA and the FSO I have come to the conclusion that they haven't got a clue what they are on about? As a consumer before making a complaint I read every rule and regulation and every handbook there was available to try and make some sense out of the whole system of regulation and to try to work out where I stood. I was left confused as some are rules that FSA members are supposed to adhere to but others are merely guidelines and lenders can please themselves. Isn't it about time that there were strict rules laid down for lenders, forget the guidelines they are a waste of time. So that the ombudsman and the customers know where they stand from the outset. Surely this is more logical approach. Well here's hoping for the future.

Hello I am new to the forum and not sure where to post - did read through - but still not 100% sure. My question relates to taking small claims action after insurance ombudsman has not found in my favour. I think I know what the process is but would be intersted in any view on likely success / court view is ombusman has already said no. Many thanks and happy to re post once I know where The Duke

I am acting on behalf of someone else. Aug 2010 unsigned CCA Request sent to Nationwide Credit Card Services. They refused due to request being unsigned. Harrasment via text, phone, letter and door step visits followed. Request sent again requesting that harrasment stops and note that account is in dispute. Harrasment via text, phone, letter and door step visits continued. Copy of passport with signature removed and verified by Nationwide branch. Signed and Stamped sent. While account in dispute, account in reciept of benefits was frozen. Funds are still in this account. Letters of complaint sent to Nationwide, OFT, TS, FSA, FOS and HM Treasury. Unsatisfactory response recieved. Harrasment via text, phone, letter and door step visits still continued. More letters of complaint sent to Nationwide, OFT, TS, FSA, FOS and HM Treasury. Unsatisfactory response recieved. Harrasment via text, phone, letter and door step visits still continued. Office complaint filed with FOS. Harrasment via text, phone, letter and door step visits still continued. FOS ruled in favour of Nationwide, stating that CCA Request was unsigned. Non-compliance with Nationwide's request to provide signed authority. They have a copy of the CCA. They are have that it is valid. They are happy that funds were legally transfered as per the terms and conditions. FOS also state many inaccurate statements. Is it worth appealling against this (by 15th June 2011)? Or should I take this straight to parliment, as OFT, TS and FOS all seem to be in bed with Nationwide. Or are the Government in bed with them too? Or is it time to go for an IVA or Bankrupcy???