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Financial Ombudsman - a recommendation


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The Financial Ombudsman is apparently so concerned about the level of complaints re bank charges and also the lack of public confidence in his office that maybe it is about time that he was made aware of the true scale of the problem.

 

I would recommend that everyone writes their own letter to the Financial Ombudsman to inform him

  • that they are bringing a bank charges claim against their bank

  • that they are not going through the Office of the Financial Ombudsman as they have no confidence in him.

  • that although he is concerned because he is receiving 150 complaints per week, The Consumer Action Group is receiving 4,000 complaints per week. In which of our two organisations does he believe the greater public confidence reposes?

This will only need a short note. It doesn't need to be expressed well or cleverly. Just send the note.

 

I think that it will help to make a difference

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Here's the address:-

 

The Financial Ombudsman Service

South Quay Plaza

183 Marsh Wall

London E14 9SR

 

or email them at:-

 

[email protected]

 

or

 

[email protected]

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E-mail sent, 151 this week now!!!

Kick the shAbbey Habit

 

Where were you? Next time please

 

 

Abbey 1st claim -Charges repaid, default removed, interest paid (8% apr) costs paid, Abbey peed off; priceless

Abbey 2nd claim, two Accs - claim issued 30-03-07

Barclaycard - Settled cheque received

Egg 2 accounts ID sent 29/07

Co-op Claim issued 30-03-07

GE Capital (Store Cards) ICO says theyve been naughty

MBNA - Settled in Full

GE Capital (1st National) Settled

Lombard Bank - SAR sent 16.02.07

MBNA are not your friends, they will settle but you need to make sure its on your terms -read here

Glenn Vs MBNA

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Done

NatWest Charges: £3708.81. Allocated to fast track 14/10/06. *SETTLED IN FULL* 23/10/06 5% donation made

 

HSBC Default Removal and £186 charges: N1 claim issued 28/11/06 *WON* 28/02/07 5% donation made

 

Egg Charges: £370. N1 claim issued 24/11/06. *SETTLED IN FULL* 12/01/07 5% donation made

 

Natwest Student: £150. N1 claim issued 24/11/06. *SETTLED IN FULL* 10/12/06 5% donation made

Natwest Credit card: £317.01 INCLUDING CONTRACTUAL INTEREST, *WON* 30/11/06 5% Donation Made

 

Ikano Data Protection Act deception and non-complience: N1 claim issued 28/11/06. *SETTLED IN FULL* 12/12/06 5% donation made

I am not a lawyer. All advice is merely my own opinion. Nevertheless, I've won £4675 so far!

Tip my scales if you like my advice :)

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Do they reply?

 

Am I entitled to complain about the bank taking every penny that goes into my account, (child benefit and child tax credit), and that I have tried and tried to get them to reduce charges/understand I can't work as I am 8 months pregnant with twins... and that I can't feed my child as they are taking all my money?

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I would ask here, there is something you can do, but I can't find it.

Citizens Advice corporate website - Home

 

Thanks

 

I've emailed them anyway!

 

My baby is well fed and happy, my husband works full time... but the child tax credit we get and the child benefit... goes into my account and we don't see a penny of it!!!

 

For all they care, after the conversations I have had with them about bank charges... we could be starving! Their answer? Get another loan madam...

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Me to and one to the OFT.

We haven't got the money, so we've got to think!

Ernest Rutherford

 

A & L

Data Protection Act Letter sent 11/08/06

Data rec'd 14/09/06, Prelim letter sent 16/09/06

LBA sent 22/09/06, MCOL 6QZ68670 issued 2/10/06 - chq for £6,375.34 rec'd 04/11/06.

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Got a reply to mine inviting a formal complaint. Replied to that saying I declined to do so at this point, but thanks for acknowledgement & invite.

 

That's apoint, Beserker, maybe we should all fire one off to the OFT at the same time - it's only a couple extra keystrokes after all.

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Stick me down!

Disclaimer: Anything I write in these forums is my personal opinion and offered without prejudice. If in doubt, please seek independent legal advice.

 

*If what I have told you in this post has helped, please press the star at the bottom left and tell me!!*

 

My charges claims:

un1boy vs egg *SETTLED* | Un1boy vs LTSB-SETTLED | un1boy vs Black Horse-SETTLED | Un1boy v Smile *WON* | un1boy v HSBC - SETTLED! | Un1boy's HSBC CC - SETTLED! | Un1boy vs Co-Op *SETTLED* |un1boy vs Co-Op CC *SETTLED*

 

Default removals:

un1boy v Equifax - Default removal

un1boy vs Experian - Default removal

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Sent mine off just now.

Cahoot

Prelim sent 2nd Aug 2006 - usual "if your not happy then sod off" reply.

LBA sent 25th Aug 2006 - another "if your not happy then sod off" and an offer to refund £130, accepted as partial settlement, used to pay for MCOL

MCOL filed on 15th Sept 2006.

Acknoledged 26th Sept 2006

Defended 12th Oct 2006 in a letter to me but not to the courts

Started judgement by default on 30th Oct 2006

Barclaycard

Citibank

Halifax sent S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) on 09/10/06 nothing back yet

Capital one

etc..........watch out here I come.

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You're right - this is something I haven't done since Easter, so a second letter of complaint will be winging it's way shortly...

Alecto, Magaera et Tisiphone: Nemesis on Earth is come.

 

All advice and opinions given by Spiceskull are personal, and are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

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Another one sent!!!!

:p Sent Data Protection Act to halifax, NatWest and woolwich on 07/08/06

received Data Protection Act frm halifax 29/08/06 charged. Sent request letter to halifax 30/08/2006

recieved gesture of £84 claiming £340 on 28/09/06

sent letter before action on 29/09/06

sent moneyclaim form , issued on 27/10/06

**WON RECIEVED SETTLEMENT LETTER 15/11/06

recieved Data Protection Act from Woolwich 31/08/2006, no charge sent request letter to woolwich 04/09/2006sent LBA on 26/10/06 have till 10/11/06 moneyclaim filed 16/11/06

NatWest 40 days is 18/09/06 . Sent request letter 31/10. Sent LBA letter 15/11/06 till 29/11

**WON RECEIVED FULL SETTLEMENT***

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i think the Ombudsman is beginning to take serious notice - have a read of the ombudsman monthly newsletter and article in thisismoney.com and issue 57 - October/November 2006

 

James Coney, Daily Mail

8 November 2006

Reader comments (1)

 

Complaints about 'rip-off' bank overdraft charges have hit record levels, figures show. pixel.gif

bankstressphone_100x110.jpg STRESS: Complaining to your bank can be a frustrating experienceThe number of people complaining to the Financial Ombudsman Service soared from 60 a week in May to more than 150 a week in October.

 

In some cases, customers have run up hundreds of pounds in charges after going just a few pence overdrawn.

With complaints expected to hit 10,000 this year, the chief ombudsman has warned banks to start acting fairly when handling claims for compensation.

He accuses banks of giving customers the run-around by paying back the charges only to those who are prepared to go to court or make a complaint to the ombudsman. And he threatened to make a legal ruling that will force banks to pay back all charges.

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.

Banks will charge customers as much as £39 for going beyond their overdraft without permission, and slap on a further charge of around £25 for every direct debit or transaction that is then bounced or allowed to go through.

On top of this, the banks will charge an interest rate of close to 30pc on unauthorised overdrafts. The charges can often send the customer overdrawn again, plunging them into a spiral of debt.

These charges are feeding record profits of a combined £34bn at the big five banks - Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, RBS-NatWest and HBOS.

Many, including the Office of Fair Trading which has launched an investigation, believe that these charges are illegal because they amount to an unfair penalty rather than being a true reflection of the cost to a bank when a customer overspends.

The OFT is expected to make an initial decision early next year. In October it demanded that banks impose a £12 cap on charges for customers who go over their credit card limit or make a late payment.

In the past six months, thousands of customers have demanded that the banks reimburse charges - banks initially reject such claims. But if the customer complains again, many banks will offer to pay back a proportion of the charges.

Only if the customer then goes to court or registers a complaint with the ombudsman will the charges be reimbursed in full. But the banks always back down before a court or ombudsman ruling can be made, to prevent any sort of precedent being set.

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.

He says: 'This sort of horseplay is bad. It seems inequitable that you will pay back money to some consumers just because they are prepared to be persistent.'

 

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.

Money Mail and This is Money's Fair Play On Charges campaign has helped thousands of readers claw back charges since May. The campaign has revealed other dirty tricks that banks use, including closing the accounts of customers who win back charges, and putting black marks on their credit records.

Marc Gander, a campaigner from the Consumer Action Group which gives advice to bank customers wanting to reclaim their charges, says: 'These charges are a rip-off. Banks have perfected the art of giving their customers the run-around.

'Complaining about your bank can be a very stressful and daunting process, so they weed out the faint-hearted. This means that many people drop out before they claim back all their money and results in the bank saving money.' A spokesman for the British Bankers' Association says: 'We are involved in a dialogue with the OFT at the moment, and we take on board the concerns with the ombudsman and will be discussing these with him. Our members believe that their charges are transparent, fair and legal.'

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Guest Battleaxe

Mooreda,

 

The first article just goes to show how mr merrick does not want to take this issue up. he wants a quiet life and let us slug it out with the banks to keep his workload light.

 

Notice how he refers to the FSA and OFT....think it says all there is about the Finanacial Ombudsman and the concern he has for the unwashed plebs of the world.

 

it will be us, the unwashed who lead this revolution in the finanacial industry.

 

It wont be the mealy mouthed politcians, or the heads of Quangos, or whatever Office..it will be the likes of Martin Lewis, BankFodder and Dave, who helped the rest of us get back what is rightfully ours and if the regulations are changed, it will be these three people we owe out thanks and our sanity.

 

Mr Merrick should hang his head in shame. No wonder the finanacial institutions cock a snoot at his office, they know he will only rapped them over the wrist with a wet bus ticket.

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