Pompeyfaith v Co-op PPI

[johnnymitch]

It happens all the time PF , and the unfortunately FSA and FOS seem to ignore it .......

 

Having it in writing that it's 'In Dispute ' is a bonus of course, so if you want report them you've got cast-iron proof of their deliberate flouting of the Code .

[pompeyfaith]

Alan, Johnny,

 

What you make of this, could it be true ?

 

FTAdviser.com - Whistleblower claims FOS adjudicators risk rushing complaints

 

PF

[alanalana]

FTAdviser.com - Whistleblower claims FOS adjudicators risk rushing complaints

 

is this link working?

 

The link works. Question is this accurate information?

 

I would suggest in the light of the massive influx of complaints lodged with the FOS that this statement could in fact be accurate. We never have sight of the actual data on PPI reclaims and we know the FOS has been innundated with complaints on PPI and a lot are being assessed by adjudicators. A lot of the adjudicators have been taken on to deal with the massive increase in complaints about mis-sold PPI. So the main question now is how are the complaints being addressed in the light of inexperienced staff on the FOS team?

 

Are Consumers still at risk from mis-selling of PPI and if that is the case then a formal complaint should be submitted to the Ombudsman.

 

I would at this point suggest the FOS are asked some serious questions on the reclaiming of mis-sold PPI.

 

aa

Edited July 13, 2009 by alanalana

[johnnymitch]

Hi PF ,

 

IMHO it is happening. Complainants on this site alone have reported offhand and cavalier treatment by FOS investigators who seem to be untrained. Rumour had it that they were using students to sieve complaints and they don't appear to have the expertise to deal with it.

 

Only strong complaints and a demand for a more senior investigator to address a problem seem to get the kind of attention required .

 

Given the level of complaints (147,000-odd , with 43% of them banking related ........) it's not surprising that they can't cope.

[johnnymitch]

is this link working?

 

It's working for me aa ..........

[pompeyfaith]

This is the vibs i am getting swamped with PPI complaints something clearly needs to be done as the banks are throwing to many claims out and naturally consumers are going to the next step.

 

Sounds like the government needs to get a grip of this.

 

I know the OFT and FSA are still investigating PPI market as a whole but it appears not enough is being done soon enough to cope with the flow.

 

PF

[pompeyfaith]

I posted the link with firefox not sure if that would make any difference

 

PF

[pompeyfaith]

FTAdviser.com - Whistleblower claims FOS adjudicators risk rushing complaints

 

PF

[alanalana]

hello PF the link did work it was just me not sure on the post I submitted if it would work but it clearly did;)

 

There could be serious question asked on the issue of the competency of the FOS to deal with such a massive amount of claims with staff that are clearly not trained to deal with the complicated issues of PPI and the mis-selling issues. We could have complete novices trying to resolve issues that are clearly quite comprehensive in the details of the case for reclaiming mis-sold PPI. (not to be taken or addressed lightly as I see it).

 

aa

[pompeyfaith]

Well hopefully my letter to Walter Merricks CBE will do the trick

 

If not and i still get the same answers well its step three as that is all that is open to me.

 

With the letters from the FOS and the Co-Op there is plenty of evidence.

 

My only consern with the court route is the cost of it as it will not be a small claims case due to the size of my claim im sure i can get a solicitor on board though.

 

PF

[pompeyfaith]

I'm just just doing a web search of FOS issues and I'm quite shocked at what im finding.

 

Mistakes, and incompetence at the

Financial Ombudsman Service

This website describes the problems with the Financial Ombudsman Service whilst trying to get justice for an aged Aunt.

I publish it so that consumers will know what can happen if they go to the FOS to resolve a dispute, and be aware of the standards and policies which that organisation uses when reaching a decision.

The information on this site is taken from my evidence to the 2008 "Lord Hunt" review of the FOS. Lord Hunt was chosen by the FOS to review some aspects of their service, he was not appointed independently. 151 members of the public submitted evidence to the review, but only 4 were published by Lord Hunt. He could have de-identified them to protect individuals identity, but he chose not to publish most of them. The problems I had with the FOS were so severe that I specifically requested that my evidence be published on the review web site. You can read it below.

My experience of the FOS includes

 

 

• Incompetent staff

  
  

• Baffling decisions

  
  

• Unwillingness to explain their reasons

  
  

• Inability to admit an ombudsman has made a mistake. They admit an error, but prefer to blame another FOS department which was not involved in the ombudsman's decision

  
  

• Failure to follow their own guidelines

  
  

• Not treating both sides of the dispute equally

  
  

• Lack of a meaningful independent regulator or means to appeal (or even question) a final decision even though FOS admit a separate mistake was made in the same case

  
  

• Huge delays

  
  

I believe the FOS is arrogant and complacent, unwilling to admit that its 500 Adjudicators and Ombudsmen can make mistakes and unwilling to correct mistakes if they are found. I also feel the FOS Independent Assessor is far too close to the FOS and is essentially a toothless watchdog.

A few examples from my Aunt's case:

 

 

• FOS decided an 84 year old woman who had inherited a share portfolio and never traded was an experienced investor

  
  

• FOS decided that advice for an 84 year old, unwell, woman to remove money from a building society for investment and leave only 7% of her assets in cash was perfectly acceptable. My professional adviser says the bank was negligent to offer such advice, which would have caused a failure if offered as an answer to a question in a basic IFA examination. ( I do not know if the Adjudicator or Ombudsman hold an IFA qualification).

  
  

• FOS publish guidelines for firms and consumers on tax and interest rates to be used in compensation calculations, but the Chief Ombudsman says these do not apply to the FOS itself. It seems that FOS policy is to use the guidelines if it has to calculate a compensation figure itself, but not to use them when the firm calculates the compensation itself.

  
  

• FOS just accepted the firm's compensation calculations without checking them properly (thus missing an error).

  
  

• FOS will not explain to me why their guidelines should not apply in my Aunt's case, despite her original award falling £8000 below the guideline requirements and it is still £4500 below despite a tax error (wrongly approved by the Ombudsman) being repaid by FOS itself.

  
  

• FOS will not admit that the Ombudsman made a mistake despite having actually repaid tax which was incorrectly deducted as part of the Ombudsman's award. Instead of blaming the Ombudsman because he failed to notice the taxation error, the Principal Ombudsman chose to blame another FOS department which had no part in the decision whatsoever.

  
  

• FOS decline to answer their own Independent Assessor when he asked them to review the interest rate used to arrive at the compensation and, perhaps even worse, the Independent Assessor just allowed them to get away with this refusal, despite having the power to force them to answer him.
  

 

Despite three years of arguments with the FOS, on top of months of earlier discussions with the Bank, my Aunt still has not got the level of compensation she would have been awarded if the FOS had applied their own guidelines to her case. They will not explain why the guidelines are not applicable to her and refuse to discuss the case further.

Extraordinarily, the FOS probably would have applied the guidelines if the Bank had refused to offer any compensation, but as the Bank did make an offer of some sort, FOS do not feel they need to apply their guidelines and accepted the Bank's figure without checking it in detail. Even more extraordinary is the fact that the Chief Ombudsman, says these guidelines are to enable firms and consumers to settle without coming to the FOS, so it follows from this that they must by definition produce a fair and reasonable result.

 

What can be done now ? Well probably nothing. There is no way of appealing against an FOS decision, nobody to turn to to complain. My Aunt's MP is not interested in taking the matter up in Parliament, though he does mention the possibility of direct court action against the FOS. We could take the FOS to court on the basis that they have been negligent (my solicitor says we do probably have a case) but he advises against this. He says FOS are likely to appeal any judgment against them and we would end up in the Court of Appeal with unlimited costs. My Aunt cannot afford this risk.

 

We could have asked for a Judicial Review, which seems to be the only way to get an independent review of an FOS decision, but FOS did not tell me that that option was available and now it is too late, in any case it is very expensive compared with the likely gain.

We could go to mediation, (we would probably end up at mediation if we take the FOS to Court), but even if FOS agreed to pay the extra interest due, they would certainly insist upon a gagging clause so it would all be hushed up. I am reluctant to be involved in a cover up of matters that should be public knowledge. FOS should not try to hide anything.

Ombudsmen continue to make their decisions, safe in the knowledge that they cannot be challenged. Errors remain undiscovered and uncorrected and the overall standard of decisions will gradually fall as the Ombudsmen continue beyond criticism. Until some method of allowing a decision to be reviewed is introduced, the FOS will continue in a world of its own, happy in their certainty that over 500 Adjudicators and Ombudsmen never make any mistakes in the 100,000 cases they handle every year.

Unless, of course, more consumers complain about FOS policies and procedures. Or perhaps the role of the Independent Assessor is reviewed, and he is made more independent of the FOS, and his powers increased.

 

 

PF

[citizenB]

You still not heard from Walter Merrick then, PF ?

 

I do so love your new avatar..

[pompeyfaith]

No not yet citizen oh and where have u been hiding these last few days

[pompeyfaith]

thanks 4 the heads up on my avatar yes it is what we need to do with 20th century bankers PF

[pompeyfaith]

Hiya All, Right as this complaint does not seem to be making any ground at the FOS pass as to why i have decided to go over all the letters ive had from the co-op bank in the hope i can figure out what is holding this up i will then send a letter to the FOS stating again why i was missold and why the banks offer was not acceptable PF

[pompeyfaith]

Hiya All, Right as this complaint does not seem to be making any ground at the FOS pass as to why i have decided to go over all the letters ive had from the co-op bank in the hope i can figure out what is holding this up i will then send a letter to the FOS stating again why i was missold and why the banks offer was not acceptable PF

[pompeyfaith]

Hiya All,

 

Right i phoned the FOS yesterday to get an update and i was told that my complaint had gone upstairs to be finalised she did say i had won and apologised for the wait but went on to say they will be informing the Co-operative bank the outcome of there findings early next week.

 

So not long to go now which is good because i have council tax to pay and my car is on its last legs.

 

Regards

 

PF

[citizenB]

Sounds like good news then PF, hopefully you will get the confirmation soon.

 

 

Dont want to put a damper on things, but there are few areas of postal strikes over the next few days.

[pompeyfaith]

Yes there are Citizen, but there was post today in my town.

 

PF

[citizenB]

Yes there are Citizen, but there was post today in my town.

 

PF

 

That's good then, hopefully the FOS have sent that response out today:D

[landy_alert]

Hiya All,

 

Right i phoned the FOS yesterday to get an update and i was told that my complaint had gone upstairs to be finalised she did say i had won and apologised for the wait but went on to say they will be informing the Co-operative bank the outcome of there findings early next week.

 

So not long to go now which is good because i have council tax to pay and my car is on its last legs.

 

Regards

 

PF

 

Hi PF:)

 

So pleased to hear you're almost there with this, you thoroughly deserve it after all you've been through - I can't wait to see the 'won' tag on your thread:D

 

Regards,

 

Landy x

[pompeyfaith]

Landy,

 

Thank You so much its kind words like those that fuel my desire to help everyone else.

 

There will of course be a big donation to Cag and a bl**dy holiday for my family because we sure have been though the mill this year with the MBNA court case, mydads passing and the heart attack i had.

 

Regards

 

PF

Edited August 7, 2009 by pompeyfaith

[landy_alert]

You're very welcome PF - you've been an absolute inspiration to me since joining CAG:)

 

You were the second person to post on my first thread and coincidentally even though Mr Landy and I now live far away, you are from my home town!

 

I'm sure you and your family will have a wonderful holiday courtesy of the Co-op - but please don't desert us here on CAG once it's all over:(

 

Regards,

 

Landy x

[pompeyfaith]

Landy,

 

No not at all the fight goes on for others so i will still be here, besides everyone here are a great bunch to talk too.

 

Regards

 

PF

[pompeyfaith]

Amazing what a bit of good news can do to because this afternoon when i went into the chemist to pick up my meds i got them to check my blood pressure.

 

Yup it was lower than usual. hehe

 

PF