Disgraceful intimidation

EdInvestor

The Telegraph's investigator reports:

Upholding the right to make a complaint

The mortgage broker I dealt with, and who I wanted to complain about, tells me I signed an agreement to the effect that any unsuccessful appeal to the Financial Ombudsman will result in a claim for costs of £2,125 based on an hourly rate of £250.Obviously, I am not going to risk a claim for that size for the sake of recovering £485, which is the amount at issue.

A:Sadly, I could not assess whether or not you had a case about the charge at issue as we did not have access to the original documents. You agreed to take the matter to the ombudsman service as a matter of principle. I spoke to the Financial Services Authority (FSA), and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).Ultimately, your original complaint was not upheld but I understand trying to dissuade customers from taking complaints to the ombudsman is an increasing trend.

The FSA did say: "It is absolutely unacceptable for any regulated firm to deter a consumer from going to the Financial Ombudsman Service."The Financial Ombudsman Service stressed to the broker that your complaint against it was not of a frivolous or vexatious nature and the firm will be in trouble if it tries to charge you for taking it to the ombudsman.

So now you know what to do if this happens to you: step one is to walk away from any mortgage broker who tries to make you sign any such agreement, as it is an immediate sign of bad faith.