Financial Ombudsman - a recommendation

[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.

[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.

[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]

Originally Posted by Battleaxe

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!

[quote]
"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 aDirect 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

[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.

[verdant]

I've emailed the FO asking what they can do to help me with reclaiming charges made by various banks.