Ann Abraham, the Parliamentary Ombudsman has agreed to re-open her enquiries into Equitable Life, in terms of how the company was regulated. The news could be bitter sweet though, as Ms Abraham will only be able to investigate the matter further if the Government widen the scope of what she is allowed to investigate.
Ms Abraham apparently received over 2,000 calls to re-open the case.
Our View
In Ms Abraham's initial enquiry, she concluded that the industry regulators had not failed to protect the interests of consumers. Many Equitable Life policyholders now have renewed hopes into the decision being changed and them compensated.
We do not know how realistic this is going to be. If the Government do not allow Ms Abraham to investigate certain government departments then she has already said she will not re-open her investigations.
This could lead to Government lobbying and further prolonging the case for the Equitable victims.