Financial Ombudsman - a recommendation

[Dread]

An email to the FO, I wonder if I'll get a reply, what does FO stand for again? Oh yes, I remember now.

 

Dear sir/madam,

 

I am writing to inform you of my intention to take Clydesdale Bank PLc to court to recover more than £2,500 (+interest) of illegal charges made to my account over the past six years, I am also researching how I can go back to 1976 when I opened my account. Communication with the bank can only be described as atrocious with two certain cases of Data Protection violations and one possible but unconfirmed. Their behaviour is aggressive, threatening and obstructive to the point where on application for my personal details under the Data Protection Act I was informed that details further back than 2005 would have to be paid for at £5 PER STATEMENT, I had to contact the Information Commissioners Office to compel the bank to provide me with the details I am legally entitled to. Their claim to have misunderstood the Data Protection Act displays either incompetence by the data controller or a cynical means of having consumers go to as much trouble as possible to dissuade them from pursuing their claim. Personally I think it is the latter as I am in touch with, via the Consumer Action Group, a number of people who received the same letter.

 

Whilst on the subject of the Consumer Action Group, I would like to point out that I have received immense assistance from an organisation set up to assist consumers maintain and defend their rights, a mission the Financial Ombudsman is clearly failing to accomplish. I should not have to be subjected to the humiliation of dealing with a barely literate organisation that on occasion’s fails even to address their letters to me correctly (Clydesdale Bank not the FO).

 

I trust you will add this email to the many you have already received from Consumer Action Group contributors.

 

Yours Faithfully

 

Dread

[phatram]

Why not forward a copy to your MP?

[Guest Battleaxe]

Will the FO react to the emails?

Will the FO do something?

Will the FO stop sitting on the fence?

 

All this will be answered in the sands of time.

 

Writing to your MP might help. Even if you get the same response which I received, you will know what side of the fence your MP lives on. Mine, has interest in several Banking organisations and he is all for punitive charges to dissuade us from going overdrawn. Of course go OD and help swell my pension fund..

[un1boy]

Will the FO react to the emails?

Will the FO do something?

Will the FO stop sitting on the fence?

 

All this will be answered in the sands of time.

 

Writing to your MP might help. Even if you get the same response which I received, you will know what side of the fence your MP lives on. Mine, has interest in several Banking organisations and he is all for punitive charges to dissuade us from going overdrawn. Of course go OD and help swell my pension fund..

 

No way? did he say that?

[Guest Battleaxe]

He didn't tell me to boost his pension fund but yes he said the charges were good idea in these days of rising debt.

 

See my thread 'I know what my MP thinks'.

[notlam]

Not sure if I was dreaming, but last night, on TV, our nations leader, Mr TB, invited anyone and everyone to let the Government know about any issue that concerns you:

 

All you need do is text - Talk - Unlawful Bank Charges and send it to 62233

[phatram]

Done

[lorfatz]

Done my email to them.........

 

Thanks for all the help and support offered by your site. iI really find it invaluable.

[thecornflake]

Bill UK

 

All they can do is investigate, they do nothing else and have no powers to award damages or anything. I re-iterated that this why the financial institutions sneer at us and recommend that we take our complaint up with them knowing this.

Phillipa

 

 

Considering the following from the article on the This Is Money website -

 

...he threatened to make a legal ruling that will force banks to pay back all charges....

 

Mr Merricks warns that if banks failed to pay back consumers, or if the OFT investigation was lengthy, then he would be forced to weigh in with a ruling that could force banks to reimburse customers.

 

and even better

 

Instead, he wants banks to accept that their charges are unfair and refund them when customers complain, rather than resorting to delaying tactics and bargaining over how much they should refund....

 

...Chief ombudsman Walter Merricks believes that if banks reimburse those customers who are prepared to complain several times, then they should have to pay back money to everyone who makes a claim.

 

 

I am thinking about trying to get hold of a more direct and useable quote to this effect that could possibly be added on to the prelim letters. Plus we then continuously hound him/them asking why he hasn't carried through with his threat even the banks are still holding out till the last minute on every single claim. Not to mention the abuse of the court system.

 

I know it's an empty threat but our complaints would have more of a solid backing if the banks are directly conflicting with what the FO says and if it got a little publicity on this angle it would do no harm.

[kecimot]

Hi I just sent email to FO as well.

I will now fill in small claim against Halifax, regarding approx. £900.00

[flash]

It's in the post

[stevied]

Email sent - synopsis - ombudsman is toothless and government cow tows to the banks. To think I could have been interviewed by Sky News this week too!!

[rascal3103]

mine done

[danielking]

A reply from the FO, and my reply follows.

Dear Mr King

Thank you for your email.

I am afraid that there are some limitations to our powers. One of these is that we do not have a general "policing" function with regard to banks. We do not, for example, have power to order or recommend that a bank should limit its charges to a particular level or should exercise its discretion in levying charges in particular circumstances.

I note from your email that you are unhappy with the business practice of the bank and therefore you should refer to the industry regulators; Financial Services Authority (FSA.) They can be contacted on;

Financial Services Authority

25 The North Colonnade

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5HS

Tel: 0207 0661000

Fax: 0207 6761099

Web Site: http://www.fsa.gov.uk/

Yours sincerely

Kerry Scannell

Consumer Consultant

Financial Ombudsman Service

Tel- 0207 093 7034

My Reply:

Dear Ms. Scannell,

Many thanks for your reply. I will forward details to the Financial Services Authority.

I would, however, expect that some or all of the following areas are within your power:

Applying pressure to banks to follow legal procedures for administering charges.

Notifying banks operating under your sanction that their policies are unfair on the consumer.

Acting on complaints brought to you by consumers.

Nevertheless, I am grateful for the response, and will continue my course of action through Her Majesty's Court Service.

Yours Sincerely,

So it looks like a forwarded mail to the FSA is next!

[bill-k]

Well done, Danielking - wish I'd said that !!

[Guest Alison82]

Hi folks, here is the response to from my email

 

Dear xxxxxxx

 

Thank you for your email.

 

I am afraid that there are some limitations to our powers. One of these is that

we do not have a general "policing" function with regard to banks. We do not,

for example, have power to order or recommend that a bank should limit its

charges to a particular level or should exercise its discretion in levying

charges in particular circumstances.

 

I note from your email that you are unhappy with the business practice of the

bank and therefore you should refer to the industry regulators; Financial

Services Authority (FSA.) They can be contacted on;

 

Financial Services Authority

25 The North Colonnade

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5HS

Tel: 0207 0661000

Fax: 0207 6761099

 

Web Site: FSA

 

Yours sincerely

 

Leigh Williams

Consumer Consultant

Financial Ombudsman Service

Tel- 0207 093 7016

Fax- 0207 093 7017

[danielking]

How disappointing/predictable - a standard response....

[morkandmindy]

Have just sent e-mail to financial ombudsman. Am in the process of working on letters to Lloyds TSB for both business and personal accounts

[HSBCrusher]

Just sent off my email, hopefully they will start getting the point....

eventually....

[un1boy]

Just sent off my email, hopefully they will start getting the point....

eventually....

 

I dunno, mate, you'd hope, eh?

 

I've written a letter to my MP about all this and he's sent it to the state secretary for the department of trade and industry. If we all lobby our MP's they might start getting the picture!!

 

I have a thread with it all in, if you want to have the link, let me know!!

[strebor]

Seems to me that the FO and OFT are both a waste of time. Whilst continuing to attack the banks directly, I would suggest as many letters to MPs as possible. AND, someone on this site must be able to get some media exposure. Get 'consumer action group' on the news or Watchdog and I think we will start to see some results.

[un1boy]

Seems to me that the FO and OFT are both a waste of time. Whilst continuing to attack the banks directly, I would suggest as many letters to MPs as possible. AND, someone on this site must be able to get some media exposure. Get 'consumer action group' on the news or Watchdog and I think we will start to see some results.

 

Well, I've emailed Watchdog today - if more people do then the researchers will have to take notice:

 

Try this:

BBC - Consumer - TV and radio - TV and radio

 

and I've written to my MP who has referred my letter on to the state secretary for the department of tradee and industry, so it will be interesting to see what their reply is.

[strebor]

Thanks for the link - I've just emailed them too.

[un1boy]

Thanks for the link - I've just emailed them too.

 

No probs!

[phatram]

Lets not forget Mr Blair and his cronies.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Force the banks to repay unlawful bank charges and remove the six year time bar, forcing them to pay back everything from at least 1980.