Financial Ombudsman..good info to use with your defence.

[MARTIN3030]

Following recent communications with the Financial Ombudsmans office they sent a reply.

They basically say that they have not had any cases to deal with regarding disputes for full settlements,this may indicate that they have been involved where there have been issues regarding partial settlements,but it looks as though those issues have gone on to be resolved by full settlement.At the early stages of claimant communications with banks,they frequently suggest that if you are unhappy you should contact the Financial ombudsman......The FSO now seem to clarify that the banks are settling without too much intervention....at the very least there have been no interventions regarding full settlements.I think this is a good piece to quote in claimants submissions.

for the benefit of reference here is a snippet from the reply.

 

 

Dear Martin

 

Many thanks for your email.

 

So far, we have not had to make any formal decisions on disputes about

bank charges - because the banks have preferred to settle the

complaints

brought to us, making offers to customers to repay disputed charges on

a

goodwill basis. And if a bank offers to settle a complaint in full,

there is nothing for the ombudsman to decide.

 

A different government body, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), is

looking at the wider issues involved in banking charges. The OFT is

separate from the Financial Ombudsman Service and has different powers

to us. The OFT cannot deal with individual customer complaints - as we

do.

 

We've got a special FAQ section on complaints about banking charges on

our website at:

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/faq/bank-charges.html

 

We can and do look at complaints about difficulties in opening bank

accounts - just as we look at complaints about banks closing accounts.

Often these complaints involve other aspects and issues too - for

example, where the consumer has financial difficulties, and problems

have arisen in the relationship between the bank and the customer over

a

period of time. This is why we have to look at each case on an

individual basis, to see whether and how we can help given the

particular circumstances.

 

In the first instance we tell consumers to give the bank or building

society an opportunity to investigate the complaint and sort out the

problem. If this doesn't work - or you're not sure who to get in touch

with at the bank - you can contact us free for help on what to do next.

 

 

I hope this information is useful.

 

 

Claimants having difficulty with Parachute accounts may also not the comments about complaints too.

[Enron]

May I also add that the Financial Ombudsman made the following statement in their Oct/Nov 2006 newsletter which would be useful to include in any bundle:

 

"It's understandable that the regulators do not want to be accused of becoming price-fixers. Nor do we. But for certain charges, the law on contract variations and penalties demands a reasonable relation between cost and price, and requires those who seek to justify the price to produce evidence of their actual costs."

 

issue 57 - October/November 2006

[tafkam]

Out of interest, my partner has today received a letter from the FOS stating that Lloyds have agreed to pay her £1060 in respect of all charges made over the last 6 years on her (now empty) account.

It has taken a while - the FOS were so busy that they just sent letters for the first 3-4 months saying they would get round to it, but once they did, it's taken 6 weeks to get this offer. Just to send the acceptance now and see how long it takes Lloyds to hand over the cash!

[tafkam]

Following on from that: £1060 deposited today in Lloyds account :o)

[SPROUTY]

Well done, did this represent 100 % of the bank charges you had received over the last six years ,if not what would you estimate the % to be ?

[tafkam]

Yes, that was 100% of charges, although no interest or similar.

[make_me_happy]

Hello,

 

Can someone please give the e-mail address of the Financial Ombudsman as have sent an e-mail with my complaint to:

[email protected]

 

twice and it came back undelivered twice.

 

if anyone there can help me I would very much appreciate.

 

Many thanks

[galley1]

Hello to all.

 

Please can someone advise me on the following.

 

I received my statements from the Halifax and returned them listing all the charges and the 14 day template letter and they confirmed that the correspondence was received same on the 14.03.2007.

 

I am owed just over £1000.00 and today I received a letter advising that they have 8 weeks to respond to this complaint as per the FSA REGULATIONS.

 

Please can someone advise me in lay-man's terms what eactly the 14 day letter means and is it working days or calender days.

 

When I contacted the bank in question the staff member that I spoke to was abrupt and terminated the call just simply because I questioned her responses to the 14 day timescale.

 

Please please advise the next step and should I call them back to complain about her conduct.

 

Kind Regards

 

 

Ryan

[Delboy01]

Check up here Ryan

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/31460-example-step-step-instructions.html

 

DELBOY

[maybelline]

I have had two of my complaints to financial ombudsman returned, no luck with fsa either or ts? not a bank but unfair terms, missold insurances, any other route?

[jdey123]

Don't bother with the FOS. They are a private limited company financed by the financial services industry. You may as well ask the bank's lawyers for an adjudication. The European Parliament has widely condemned the UK's financial services regulators:-

 

European Parliament - News - Press service - Info - Equitable Life final report says compensate the victims and improve EU lawmaking

[maybelline]

jdey123, thanks for the link, its an intersting read, it is also very sad and frustrating, UK regulators of the finance industry, I've heard an expression, not fit for purpose?

[Rhino69]

Just a thought?

Considering the positions of Judges, Bank managers etc, Has anyone thought to ask for disclosure of membership of the Masons amongst these people and that any membership of the Masons or any other organisation may influence the outcome of any court case?

 

Many years ago, whilst suing my landlord, I discovered that he and the judge that was due to hear my case belonged to the same lodge of the Masons and I Insisted that another judge try my case. The case was dismissed and I received over £5,000.00 in compensation from my landlords!

[Volkswagen]

Yes, that was 100% of charges, although no interest or similar.

 

tafkam,

 

I have a claim with the Ulster Bank and am considering to take it to the Financial Ombudsman instead of through the courts. I do want to receive a settlement which will include interest as the amount of money taken off me over the 6 years amounted to a lot. This meant that I suffered greatly by the banks actions over that period.

 

Was the £1060 the full amount you were reclaiming from the start and had you included any added on interest?

 

Volkswagen

[markthedrainman]

If a claim is over the £5000 limit for the Small claims court then would the financial ombudsman route be better to deal with your claim ??

[Volkswagen]

markthedrainman,

 

In Northern Ireland the small claims court has a limit of £2,000. My claim is over 7 x more so small claims is out. I would prefer to use the Financial Ombudsman but really want to be paid the full amount because of the past hardship over the amount of money taken from us by the bank.

 

I am still worried that the FOS will not obtain the 100% figure. Also, does anyone know if I can start a court case myself if the FOS have made a judgement which I do not agree with.

 

Volkswagen

[duncan_disorderly]

markthedrainman,

 

In Northern Ireland the small claims court has a limit of £2,000. My claim is over 7 x more so small claims is out. I would prefer to use the Financial Ombudsman but really want to be paid the full amount because of the past hardship over the amount of money taken from us by the bank.

 

I am still worried that the FOS will not obtain the 100% figure. Also, does anyone know if I can start a court case myself if the FOS have made a judgement which I do not agree with.

 

Volkswagen

 

Hi VW

 

You are not bound by any decision by the FOS and are free to pursue any action through the courts after an FOS decision.

 

In saying that, in NI it is possible to issue a Civil Bill for claims up to £15,000 (before interest).

 

From my readings, Ulster Bank seem to pay up pretty swiftly and painlessly after they have been issued with a court claim. However after recent events, due care and dilligence should be taken when considering any court action - especially as a Civil Bill action could leave you exposed to costs if you were to lose.