Financial ombudsman swamped
Guardian Money continues to be told the organisation continues to be beset by long delays which have seen some claims take 4 years to resolve. This week, one small campaigning organisation from Nottingham that is in dispute with Lloyds TSB was told it might be at least another Twelve months before an ombudsman would take a look at their case, four months once they first applied to the service.
Area of the problem is that banks along with other financial firms are increasingly appealing the first rulings made by the FOS, that is adding to the delays the result of a tidal wave of ppi (PPI) claims which has swamped the service.
You can even find some unsubstantiated claims the banks are using the long delays to influence customers to settle disputes instead of take their complaint any more.
The FOS was originally established to provide a speedy and cheap method to resolve disputes between financial companies as well as their customers without having to visit court. Anyone who has reached deadlock inside a dispute with a bank, insurance provider or other finance firm, can use for independent arbitration. The firm is bound through the FOS’s findings and has to pay for a £500 fee (£850 for PPI cases) for each complaint.
It is still free for that consumer, although some reason that people should have to pay for a reclaimable fee to postpone frivolous claims.
Last September the FOS told Money it had been taking on an extra 300 staff to assist bring down waiting times. At that time we reported how readers were facing long waits to have an ombudsman to examine their case, even though things may have improved slightly, the FOS admitted now that the delays many people face were “unacceptable” – for non-PPI claims, which have been separated out. News Source
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