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So what happened before the FOS?
pqrdef
Posts: 4,552 Forumite
Of course I'm too young to remember. Was there this much incompetence in the banks then? Were the banks left to profit from it? Did the directors and senior managers have any idea?
And now they do, have they got any plans to do anything about it?
What about all the problems that don't turn into formal complaints - wrong information given out by branch and call-centre staff, wrong interest payments that never get noticed, etc? Are they on the case?
And now they do, have they got any plans to do anything about it?
What about all the problems that don't turn into formal complaints - wrong information given out by branch and call-centre staff, wrong interest payments that never get noticed, etc? Are they on the case?
"It will take, five, 10, 15 years to get back to where we need to be. But it's no longer the individual banks that are in the wrong, it's the banking industry as a whole." - Steven Cooper, head of personal and business banking at Barclays, talking to Martin Lewis
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What about all the problems that don't turn into formal complaints - wrong information given out by branch and call-centre staff, wrong interest payments that never get noticed, etc? Are they on the case?
I think you fundamentally misunderstand what the ombudsman service does. The FOS has no remit over anything that isn't a formal complaint that's been escalated to them. They're not a regulator and they can't do anything except to adjudicate and make recommendations on individual complaints. That job falls to the new FCA.
At any rate there is very little anyone could do about the giving out of incorrect information by agents unless it was somehow systemic. Regulation isn't going to stop individual staff members saying something wrong - if it was then it wouldn't happen.urs sinserly,
~~joosy jeezus~~0 -
The existence of the FOS forces banks to have a formal complaint system, with the power to resolve complaints, admit mistakes and offer compensation, instead of just stonewalling and fobbing off. When they haven't got a leg to stand on, they'll do what it takes to stop the case going to the FOS. So the FOS exerts itself over many cases that never reach it, just by being there.JuicyJesus wrote: »I think you fundamentally misunderstand what the ombudsman service does.
Somebody does tests where they take faulty cars to garages and report on what rubbish they're told. Somebody should do something similar with bank branches and call centres.At any rate there is very little anyone could do about the giving out of incorrect information by agents unless it was somehow systemic."It will take, five, 10, 15 years to get back to where we need to be. But it's no longer the individual banks that are in the wrong, it's the banking industry as a whole." - Steven Cooper, head of personal and business banking at Barclays, talking to Martin Lewis0 -
The FCA (formerly the FSA) sets the requirements for complaint handling.The existence of the FOS forces banks to have a formal complaint system, with the power to resolve complaints, admit mistakes and offer compensation, instead of just stonewalling and fobbing off.
The FOS is simply a referee somewhere down the line of those requirements.
Historically the courts served a similar purpose and still do. But I'd agree that the FOS is more effective because it's free to the customer.When they haven't got a leg to stand on, they'll do what it takes to stop the case going to the FOS. So the FOS exerts itself over many cases that never reach it, just by being there.
The FSA have been doing this for years. I assume the FCA will continue to do so.Somebody does tests where they take faulty cars to garages and report on what rubbish they're told. Somebody should do something similar with bank branches and call centres.0 -
Somebody does tests where they take faulty cars to garages and report on what rubbish they're told. Somebody should do something similar with bank branches and call centres.
Like this you mean?
http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/03/banks-failing-to-give-right-cash-isa-advice-314209/
http://www.which.co.uk/news/2012/11/what-does-your-provider-know-about-your-credit-card-rights-303686/
http://www.which.co.uk/news/2011/11/high-street-banks-offer-risky-investment-advice-says-which-271658/0 -
Like that, yes. But they could also do more basic stuff like staff understanding their own systems and products.Like this you mean?
And they should do follow-ups to find out whether anything has improved. Otherwise the banks won't see any point in doing anything."It will take, five, 10, 15 years to get back to where we need to be. But it's no longer the individual banks that are in the wrong, it's the banking industry as a whole." - Steven Cooper, head of personal and business banking at Barclays, talking to Martin Lewis0 -
Before the FOS there was the Insurance Ombudsman (1981) and the Banking Ombudsman (1986) both of which were created by their respective industries themselves to act as independent adjudicators. In 2001 these were replaced by the consolidated Financial Ombudsman Service0
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