FOS award £100

RaiderHammer

The FOS have awarded me £100 against a well known bank. I was expecting a little more from the hassle I had. Without going into too much detail has anyone had success in not accepting the first offer and asking for the decision to go to an Ombudsman.

What are the chances of losing the £100 if this happens.

Something I didn't like in the report from the FOS was that basically the bank concrened are lying about me.

Any help much appreciated.

Premier_2

Who's offered you £100?

If it was the FOS, that is the ombudsman's decision

RaiderHammer

Premier wrote: »

Who's offered you £100?

If it was the FOS, that is the ombudsman's decision

FOS have awarded £100 but you can refer it to the actual Ombudsman if you are not happy. It's an abjudicator that makes the first offer / decision and not the Ombudsman.

di3004

Hi there

the £100 would this be an additional payment for distress and inconvenience perhaps?

Sorry if i have this wrong.

Premier_2

RaiderHammer wrote: »

FOS have awarded £100 but you can refer it to the actual Ombudsman if you are not happy. It's an abjudicator that makes the first offer / decision and not the Ombudsman.

The adjudicator will have seen many cases very similar to yours before and they will have a pretty good idea of how the ombudsman would be likely to view your case.

But if you have been invited to escalate the matter within the FOS, then I would suggest you do so. It is unlikely any result would put you in a worse position than the current offer available.

i.e. they will usually either agree that the current offer is considered fair, or will increase it.
(but nothing is guaranteed)

...If a case gets as far as an ombudsman, then the ombudsman will review all the papers. He or she will take particular note of any fresh evidence or arguments that either party has put forward after receiving the initial view or adjudication. If the ombudsman comes to broadly the same conclusions as the adjudicator, then the ombudsman will go straight to issuing a final decision. But if the ombudsman comes to a materially different view, he or she may sometimes decide to issue a provisional decision. This gives the parties a specified period in which to make any final submissions before the ombudsman issues a final decision...

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/19/august-the-invest-team.htm

dunstonh

The ombudsman are there to really deal with the more complicated areas of financial services or where someone believes the adjudicator is wrong.

So, if your transaction you are complaining about is difficult or unusual than an ombudsman may take a different view. If its an every day transaction that the adjudicator can deal with in their sleep, then you are just wasting a further 6-18 months whilst the ombudsman looks at your case.

the_insider

What is the reason that you feel that £100 is not adequate? Because this is what you will have to explain to the Ombudsman.

magpiecottage

I agree with Di - it sounds like a distress & inconvenience payment.

Strictly, it is not an award if it comes from an adjudicator, only a recommendation that the firm offers it. Only an Ombudsman can make an award and the ombudsman's decision is final if you accept it (if not you can go to court).

The adjudicator may suggest to the firm that it offers £100 simply to resolve the matter - there will be a time cost to the firm in allowing it to go to the Ombudsman and it quickly mounts up.

It sounds as though the firm has already been asked if it will do this and has agreed.

If you choose not to accept it, then the matter can go to the Ombudsman who may decide that the adjudicator was, in fact, only suggesting the firm made a "commercial decision" not to fight on but in reality was probably not at fault.

On the other hand, the Ombudsman could decide the adjudicator's recommendation was not enough.

So fighting on will involve a risk and, as DunstonH says, you will probably have to wait over a year for an Ombudsman to look at it.

Premier_2

the_insider wrote: »

What is the reason that you feel that £100 is not adequate? Because this is what you will have to explain to the Ombudsman.

Presumably the deceitful if not fraudulent activities of the bank the OP has become aware of

RaiderHammer wrote: »

...Something I didn't like in the report from the FOS was that basically the bank concrened are lying about me.

Any help much appreciated.

But presumably that has already been considered in the award suggested.

RaiderHammer

di3004 wrote: »

Hi there

the £100 would this be an additional payment for distress and inconvenience perhaps?

Sorry if i have this wrong.

Yes that is correct.

RaiderHammer

I decided to accept the £100 in the end. Felt it should have been more, but it would probably have dragged on forever if I hadn't of accepted. But if you have a genuine issue don't accept the banks fob off and take it to the FOS.