Financial Ombudsman - a recommendation

[angry cat]

Hello & Welcome Stephen French !

 

 

"I can confirm that the ombudsman lacks expertise and power and all people whom I have dealt with have been incompetent.

 

To back up my claim one instance recently was when progressing a claim for a caravan, FOR WHICH ALL DETAILS had been given to the ombudsman, I got a letter back asking such questions as what size was its engine, the claim lasted well over a year and the whole event was farsical. Many letters from the ombudsman kept asking for details which had been supplied over and over again by myself .

I am a member and receive their monthly magazine, which if you read it,

spends a lot of the editorial boosting each others egos.

 

Time to put a stop to that and make them accountable".

 

I totally agree with the (your) above view.

 

The point is though...HOW?

 

Angry Cat

[steve5080]

While I support the FO's intervention in such things as helping to reduce credit card charges all that seems to have happened in that credit card companies have put up thier interest rates to compensate

 

I have to tell you that not all of the credit card have dropped their charges, at least not the ones i'm dealing with.

Creation Finance, still charging £20 late "fee" and £20 overlimit "fee"... inspite of the fact that they set the limit and then send you over the limit with they charges so that you can pay again and again........sorry I'll get off my soap box now......anyone got a ladder.......or prehaps I'll send that e-mail off to the Ombudsman while I'm up here.

[JonCris]

Hi Stephen your most welcome

 

Your help & advice will be needed. Also I'm pleased to see a member of your profession joining us who is prepared to say how it is.

[mikesmotor]

Just a thought on Stephen French's comments, I noticed that when I ever mentioned the FSA in my verbal dealings with my bank and creditcard companies, this was greeted with an extreme amount of indifference. Perhaps they are aware of Stephen's description of the FSA and they know full well that nothing will be done to support the consumer.

 

I for one have had second thoughts and I will have to give serious thought to whether or not to involve the FSA in my dealings with my bank and others.

[JonCris]

Until these so-called watchdogs start actually fullfilling their charters then they will be treat with contempt by not only those they are supposed to oversee but also by those whom they are supposed to protect..namley the consumer. They only appear to protect those they claim to govern.

[Stephen French]

Hi Just thought I would provide some basic details

 

FSA

South Quay Plaza

183 Marsh Wall

London

E14 9SR

 

SWITCHBOARD 020 7964 1000

Consumer Enquiries 0845 080 1800

Technical Help Desk 020 7964 1400 (business and professional consumer advisers only, unless of course we change that)

Technical advice desk 0845 080 1800 (consumers only)

 

Chief Ombudsman Walter Merricks

 

Web site http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk where you can browse through earlier editions of the ombudsman news which I refered to earlier. this allows you to search through previous case studies etc.

 

Regarding joncris last comment I agree, you only have to look at the list of board members to see that some of them actually work for or have worked for banks.

[winifred]

As I stated before, Halifax could not care less as to your situation.

 

When we first contacted them for help they told us to pay our bills by cash and cancel our direct debits. But they were told if we cannot pay last months bill how can we pay this months.

 

They asked us why, and they were told that the charges they put on the account over a period of 2 1/2 months came to £950.00. They gave us back £250.00 one month to pay for their loan and then charges us more charges. Four weeks later they gave back £350.00 to pay for their loan again and charges and then the charges esculated again. We were living on an overdraught.

 

We had used all our holiday payments for the mortgage, all our savings, and when nothing was left they treated us like a piece of dirt. We were snapped at by members of staff.

 

Our problems started with illness, long term, loss of employment and a death in the family.

 

The policies we took out with the Halifax to cover the Loan and Mortgage which were meant to be for both of us, I could not claim on as I was not the main salary earner, so these policies were cancelled. This was over £100.00 per month.......wasted money.

 

We wrote to the Ombudsman and were told that it was nothing to do with them, they would only intervene if the banks did nothing and we got no satisfaction. We got satisfaction from no-one.

 

We are now declared BANKRUPT thanks to HALIFAX and they are still putting charges on .

 

They need to have a little more compassion, and the FO needs to get to grips and stop this money making scheme that banks are allowed to get away with

[JonCris]

What about naming the Ombudsman as defendant in a claim for negligence........failure in their 'duty of care' to the consumer etc:

[Guest Battleaxe]

The FSA is a toothless tiger, they don't give a darn about the people they are supposed to be helping and if you are taking the legal route they certainly don't want to know about it, but perhaps as someone else suggested once we get our charges back, we should also make a complaint to the Ombudsman about his lack of Due Care to us and then post the replis to this site for all to read.

 

My MP doesn't give a toss, he has declared interests in several banks and he thinks the charges are a good thing to stop us the unwashed from getting further into debt. I have paraphrased his words. Oh i think is a trained solicitor, so he is in a win win situation.

 

Can we commence a class action regarding the Ombudsman?

[JonCris]

Your MP is like many in the legal profession completely unaware that the banks conduct is unlawful.

 

I should write back & ask him/her in if regard of their stated position he/she condones what is clearly unlawful conduct by the banks.

 

If that in fact is the case then you feel he or you should share his views with the rest of the electorate, preferably by having a frank & open discussion in the public arena (the press)

 

PS who is it?

[Guest Battleaxe]

Jonathon Djanogly member for Huntingdonshire. He believes that the banks have a right to charge.

 

he is the successor to John Major.

[JonCris]

Ok as well as my previous post write & ask him if the view of all of the now overwhelming evidence to the contrary (the OFT, the Ombudsman etc) he still takes the view that the banks should continue to be allowed to act unlawfully.

 

Tell him that if he isn't aware of any of the above your more than willing to enlighten him by providing the case law & the statements made by the various statutory authorities critizing the banks.

[Guest Battleaxe]

I have already done this and am waiting for his reply. I know his workers will be around to have a chat to me regarding his re-election, so have a pack prepared to hand them and wanting a detailed response to my questions where he stands on several issues. I am not after the party line.

 

Last time I wrote to him I was contacted.

 

methinks it time to atend one of his 'surgeries'

[mikesmotor]

I think it would be fair to say that legal duty of care is something that the FSA has not yet had to deal with so, perhaps a class action agaist them on these grounds might make them sit up and take notice.

 

As far as MP's are concerned I think that they should realise that they are in their job at the behest of us the voters. I am sure that somewhere there is legislation that demands that they get more involved than they are prepared to do.

 

P.S. Battleaxe, don't demean us by calling us the unwashed, its just bringing us down the their level. I have a number of descriptions and names for the individuals whom I have had to deal with in the past and, I have to say that on occassions I have used them. All that does is it gives them ammunition against us.

 

For one I am just biding my time. for the moment I need the banking facilities that my 'bank' provides, but as sson as my finances get sorted (hopefully in a couple of months), I will go in with all guns blazing.

[Guest Battleaxe]

Mikesmotor,

 

I must admit this is feeling I get everytime I have to deal with my MP. I will refrain from using that term again.

 

You would really be offended if you heard some of the terms I would love to use but have not.

[mikesmotor]

Hi Battleaxe

 

I doubt that there is much that could offend me. Although I am now a teacher I earned my wings in an industrial environment and the university of hard knocks.

[meagain]

He believes that the banks have a right to charge.

 

We do not dispute the bank's right to issue a charge in any way. Our gripe is entirely with the amounts they charge and the way they handle it.

[Sev]

Sent it today:

 

Dear Sir or Madam,

 

Find enclosed correspondence relating to intimidation and harrassement by Equidebt Limited on behalf allegedly of Cahoot.

 

I am sickened and disgusted that you allow this sort of pervasive intimidation to go unabated.

 

I have also recently taken my bank to task over unfair charges – something which you seem to have let comfortably continue without any intervention or comment over the years.

 

I have notified you, as the banks have suggested, but I have no faith in your office. You are set up by the banks to serve the banks, and hence have no real interest in helping the likes of the individual such as myself have a voice.

 

Apparently you are concerned because your office is receiving 150 complaints per week, The Consumer Action Group is receiving 4,000 complaints per week. In which of the two organisations does you believe the greater public confidence reposes?

 

lets see what happens.

[angry cat]

Hello Sev...Glad to see that you are still Battling away!!

 

Here is the letter that I sent to the FOS.

 

 

 

FOS "NO Confidence In The Financial Ombudsman Service

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I amongst many other consumers that are members of the BAG/CAG are fed up with the Financial Ombudsman Service!!

 

The following is a letter of complaint that I have sent to the FOS, basically it is a "Name & Shame" letter-

 

 

"FORMAL COMPLAINT

 

Dear Sir,

 

I am very dissapointed about the FOS. Therefore I am making this Complaint because you have never truly supported me, a consumer. Because you have always failed me, I have had no alternative other than take my complaints to a higher level, thereby the issuing of County Court Claims.

 

All of my complaints involve Unlawful Penalty Charges. One of your adjudicators (Michael Kent) letters to me states:-

 

"We would not say that MBNA cannot apply charges, such as the late payment fee, which is in accordance with its published tariff".

 

The above conclusion was and is wrong!!

 

MBNA and other Banks have caused me great hardship by their arrogant attitude and continuing denials that there excessive charges are lawful, yet I know and you should know that they are factually dissproportiate and Unlawful.

 

As Ombudsman, it should be your Duty to adopt an unbiased position when investigating complaints, it should also be your Duty to protect the vulnerable consumer, thereby look into complaints correctly and ensure that the gathered facts are correct, before making your final response/ruling. You should NOT give out a final immoveable response, based upon biased and incorrect facts, resulting in a complaint not being upheld.

The result of the complaint not being upheld is that the vulnerable consumer has to take their complaint to Court and possible Litigation, which you know full well, is out of the scope of nornal consumers means.

 

It is a scandal, that one cannot appeal against an Ombudsman's final response. Even more so, when the Ombudsman is wrong in the first instance.

 

Recently, I showed an eminent Barrister one of the final response letters that I had received from the FOS, he was clearly not impressed and said as much.

 

I personally have been harassed and forced to pursue the right to get my charges refunded. I have suffered stress, anxiety, sleepless nights (all whilst being unwell) and extra expense of having to write endless letters to Banks; who continue to break the law by insisting that their penalty charges are lawful.

 

I personally have no confidence, at all, in the FOS

 

Yours

 

XXXXXXXXXX

member of the Consumer Action Group"

 

Although I emailed my Complaint to the FOS, it was not sent to a particular party. However, you will note that the email does name an adjudicator!

 

I have already received an acknowledgement-

"Thank you for your email, which we will respond to as soon as possible.

Michael Kent Adjudicator".

 

How can the FOS answer?

How can they get out, of making such a statement?

 

The FOS have only one way to go and that is, to make a complete U Turn and then contact everybody that has had there complaint - "Not Upheld".

 

I wait with baited breath, for their (FOS) interesting full response, to my Formal Complaint.

 

Love Angry Cat

 

updated with the later response !!

 

Okay Guy's...Wait for it!!

 

Here is the response to my letter of complaint.

Please note, the response (which of course, fails to answer my 'rattling of chains) is simply a sidestep, as expected. Obviously the FOS cannot cannot take back the words written to me by one of their adjudicators.

 

Oh and also take note of the fact that my Complaint, has been renamed

"Your Complaint about MBNA Europe Bank Limited"

when factually my FORMAL COMPLAINT was about The Financial Ombudsman Service!

 

"Dear Angry Cat

 

YOUR COMPLAINT ABOUT MBNA EUROPE BANK LIMITED

 

I write further to my e-mail of 15 December 2006. I have obtained our file for your complaint from our archive, as the complaint closed in April 2006.

 

In view of your recent comments, today I have passed your file and recent e-mail to our Service Review Team, who will write to you after considering the points you have made. In the mean time if you wish to contact us, please write to me.

 

Yours sinvcerely,

 

Michael Kent Adjudicator".

 

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

 

Incompetance, Waffle, Waffle.....!

 

Mr. Kent, this is NOT about reviewing my Complaint re: MBNA. My letter was complaining about your QUANGO FOS service.

 

Now I really am a Spitting & Hissing.....Very....Angry Cat.

 

The above side stepping letter just reinforces my and perhaps our opinion, that the FOS really just does not get it...or maybe they do! but will not put pen to paper.

 

AC

[Paul10]

emailed him today.

 

copy of email:

 

The Financial Ombudsman Service

 

Dear Sir

My family bank with the Abbey.

My wife and I are very distressed that we have incurred charges of £20.00 for being overdrawn for 1 day. This overdrawn amount was incurred when Abbey paid a Direct Debit; consequently, we had an additional charge of £30.00.

We feel that Abbey should have acted in our best interest and not paid that Direct Debit. We would have preferred to have sorted this ourselves, rather than paying £50.00 in charges, plus the higher interest rate whilst overdrawn.

In our opinion (and the majority of people in this country) the charges are excessive; Abbey’s action is unreasonable and tantamount to robbery. Subsequently we will be making a claim against the bank.

We are disappointed that you have not taken proceedings to stop this form of legalised robbery. We are not going through the Office of the Financial Ombudsman as we have no confidence in him.

We are aware you receiving 150 complaints per week, The Consumer Action Group is receiving 4,000 complaints per week. In which of these two organisations do you believe the greater public confidence reposes?

[bill-k]

Well done, Paul, and a warm welcome to you here !!!

[arty]

i went via the obman sent letter waited 8 weeks no reply from my bank asked to wait a 2 more weeks still no reply from either usless

[Guest Battleaxe]

Perhaps the Ombudsman needs to receive a print out of this thread, to help him realise the strength of feeling out here. I am living in the ideal world again.

[kizel]

add another

[prushton]

Hi just sent this to him:

 

 

Dear Sir,

As you already know, thousands of Bank customers are requesting the return of their Bank charges now that it has come to light that the banks have been abusing their position and charging extortionate default charges, contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations. At the moment these customers have no other recourse but to pursue court action to recover their charges. Often the banks in an effort to keep the issue out of court, settle before the court date. They do not have the slightest intention of defending these claims but continue to keep up the charade in an attempt to deter their customers from reclaiming what is rightfully theirs.

Your web site states that: You were set up by law to help settle individual disputes between businesses providing financial services and their customers

You must by now, realize that there is a serious problem regarding these default charges. The amount of complaints to your office must make this abundantly clear. I note that in November you told the banks to either put up or shut up, (BBC2 the Money Programme – broadcast on 11th December 2006 at 9pm) Yet we still have to continue with the charade.

I myself have issued proceedings against my current and former banking providers, one of which, the Abbey Plc you must be well acquainted with by now. They do seem to be the worst for stringing their customers on, using all sorts of underhand methods; in the hope they will go away. I started my claim on the 14th August 2006 and I have only now just received a court date for the 3rd of April 2007. I fully expect that the Abbey will stretch the process out as far as it can before settling out of court.

My question to you is:- what are you doing or going to do about the situation? if you do not have the necessary regulatory powers then who does have? And have you made them aware of the situation. You may think your office is busy dealing with complaints about the Banks, but you should realize that internet forums such as The Consumer Action Group is receiving 4,000 complaints per week and growing, this is just the tip of the iceberg. In which organisation do you believe the greater public confidence reposes?

I would be very interested to hear what you have to say regarding this matter.