Government lashed over Equitable

BlondeHeadOn

See link here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7857881.stm

"The Parliamentary Ombudsman has criticised the government's approach to compensating investors in the Equitable Life assurance company.


Ann Abraham told MPs the government had misrepresented the findings of her report on the Equitable last year.

The government has finally agreed to offer compensation to some investors who lost money in the society.
But Ms Abraham said she was "astonished" at its "unsatisfactory" response to her report. "

and

".. she told MPs on the Public Administration Committee that the government had twisted the findings of her report.


"I am disappointed to see the government picking over and re-interpreting my findings of maladministration and injustice, re-arranging the evidence, re-doing the analysis and acting as judge on its own behalf," she said.
"The government appears to be suggesting that whatever the regulators had done, it would have made no difference to the events which followed and frankly I find that astonishing," she added.
..................
"The response says I said something different to what I actually said, and then says it disagrees with something I didn't say," she told the MPs. "


As an Equitable pension holder, I can't say I am expecting to receive anything at all by way of compensation - but it's great to see that Ann Abraham is not beating about the bush!

monkeyspanner

If the government is not prepared to accept the findings of the parliamentary ombudsman then why should we expect any privete company to abide by the findings of any relevant ombudsman in other investigations?

More to the point why did the government insist on the ombudsman looking again at the Equitable affair after Penrose if it was not going to accept her findings?

The parliamentary ombudsman should report to parliament and parliament should decide on the action after her report, not government. MP's should find some guts and insist the government act on the report fully and in the recommended time scale.

I got out of Equitable as soon as I could and accepted the reduction in value of my pension fund to transfer to another provider. I am not expecting to receive compensation but will if possible cause as much trouble to the government as I can trying to claim.

What concerns me are the ex-Equitable anuitants who are on average now 80 years old and dying at a rate of 4-5000 per year who have spent their last years worrying about their reduced financial resources with no real acceptance from the government of responsibility or promise of recompence.

This government is dishonest, disreputable, unprincipled, and ineffective. It has deliberately avoided resolving this issue in the hope it will go away.

monkeyspanner

Link here to the Public Administration Select Committee session on 29 January Parliamentary Ombudsman gives her response to the Governments findings.

http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/VideoPlayer.aspx?meetingId=3307