One Million PPI Claims At Ombudsman

One Million PPI Claims At Ombudsman.

Figures released by the Financial Ombudsman Service suggest that over one million PPI claims disputes are now outstanding at their offices.

These figures are staggering and the illustrate the sheer scale of not just poor selling practices by banks and lenders but the power of the Claims Industry.

Financial Complaints Procedure

1. You make a written or verbal complaint if you believe you have been miss-sold to the bank or firm that sold you the policy.
2. They have 7 ‘business’ days to acknowledge your complaint.
3. They will then ‘impartially’ investigate your complaint.
4. Usually, they will reply with a full and final response to your complaint within 30 days or if they have not completed investigations they will issue an update letter.
5. Within 2 months of your complaint, they are required to issue a full and final response letter.
6. The full and final response letter will either accept in full or in part your complaint with an offer for compensation or they may decline your complaint in full or part.
7. Within the final response letter they will also give full details of the financial ombudsman service and how to take your complaint forwards to them if you are not happy with their decision (whether positive or negative.
8. The Financial Ombudsman Service is an independent, unbiased arbitrator that will then investigate your complaint and eventually offer an independent ruling.
9. The Ombudsman’s investigation can take anything from a few weeks to a year or two. 
10. When at the Ombudsman’s, a case handler will be appointed and who will look at the facts, investigate, question you and the lender further and makes requests for copies of file entries etc.
11. The case handler may or may not hold relevant qualifications but will be trained and experienced in handling such complaints.
12. The Case Handler will then offer their decision.  They may rule for or against your complaint and make decisions about any compensation due.
13. If you disagree with the case handler’s initial decision, you can ask for an appeal and it then be reviewed again by one of the senior Ombudsman.
14. Again a decision with then be made.
15. The Ombudsman again may rule for or against your complaint.  This is the Ombudsman’s final decision.
16. Rulings made by the Financial Ombudsman are legally binding on the regulated financial company but not on you. 
17. You do not have to accept the final decision from the Ombudsman, if you disagree your legal rights are unaffected and you can take matters further in court if you choose.
18. If you are unable to produce further evidence, a court is more than likely, although not for definite, likely to follow the Ombudsman’s decision as it was, after all an independent ruling neither favouring you or the bank/lender.

The Financial Ombudsman’s complaints process can be lengthy and perhaps it gives you an idea why there are now over one million PPI complaints outstanding let alone other types of complaints for bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, pensions, investments and insurance.