FSPO is now publishing its decisions

[NoRegretsCoyote]

The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman is now publishing its decisions. Complainants' and service providers' details have been removed.

I think this will be very useful for people looking for precedent regarding consumer issues.

If you can show your bank that the FSPO has ruled in the consumer's favour in a similar case then you are in a much stronger position.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

That is great news.

I have been suggesting this for a long time rebalance it towards the consumer a bit.

There is also a digest which gives an overview
[broken link removed]

In the UK, they publish guidance on issues e.g. in what circumstances will they uphold complaints about ATM fraud. That would cut down a lot of hopeless complaints being made.


Unfortunately, as he has not yet made any legally binding decisions on trackers, they are not included in the current batch.


Brendan

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman publishes legally binding decisions for the first time

I have extracted the key bits here:

The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) has today published 228
legally binding decisions, reached throughout 2018.

While the Office successfully resolved the vast majority of complaints through mediation, of the 234 that required formal investigation resulting in
a legally binding decision, 127 were fully, substantially or partially upheld while 107 were not upheld.


...

By publishing these decisions the FSPO aims to enhance transparency and understanding of the powers and services ofthe office.

The FSPO deals with a wide range of complaints relating to insurance, banking, credit facilities and investments as well as pensions. Some examples of directions made by the FSPO in 2018 include:

 Compensation of €3,000 to a driver who lost his No Claims Bonus after reporting a crash caused by an uninsured driver;

 Compensation of €250 to an individual whose travel insurance policy automatically renewed and who was refused a refund when she sought to cancel the policy;

 Compensation of €90,000 to a couple whose mortgage provider adopted an obstructive approach after they fell into arrears with a buy-to-let mortgage;

 Compensation of €7,000 and the correction of an individual’s Irish Credit Bureau rating after the lender failed to inform him that his loan had not been fully paid off despite it ceasing the collection of direct debit payments;

 Compensation of €3,750 to a customer whose bank opened a new account without her consent or knowledge.



However, it is clear from the decisions I am publishing today that some providers do not always act in the best interest of their customers. I have found that it is still the case that some providers are not willing to listen to or engage sufficiently with their customers in order to resolve disputes. Where disputes are not resolved by agreement, I will continue to use the extensive powers available to me to investigate and adjudicate complaints in a transparent and impartial manner to ensure fairness and, where necessary, to direct providers to pay compensation or rectify their conduct”.