PCN Received

Umkomaas

The timescale will be whatever it is, I guess. This is as new to us as it is to you.

Coupon-mad

danish57 wrote: »

Thanks ummkomass. Have started to make notes relating to the tosh (I mean evidence) that I was sent.
However, I have just read that the popla team have disbanded, and those appeals held back as a result of the Beavis decision (as in my case, according to the popla admin), will not be acted upon by the new ombudsman team so will be in limbo.
So, should I be concerned with timescales ?

There are some 4,000 cases in limbo, we believe. So it's simply important to tell POPLA by email that you've only just got the pack and then you are right, you will have longer to respond and it's not clear who the BPA will get to deal with the backlog cases.

danish57

I have spent the last 48 hours and busted a gut going through the Operator's evidence package (arrived eventually eight weeks late), so that I could provide a further submission to popla as 'further evidence' to support my appeal. However, the previous popla system will not accept further evidence. I made an enquiry, by email, to popla and the response I received is pasted below

Your appeal is out of time and should have been in POPLA on or before 31st July 2015.

A further email to them produced this response

This mailbox is not attended Your message will NOT be dealt with

Any ideas on the best way forward ? I'm thinking it would not be much good calling them if the old popla team is now disbanded but I feel they need to see my responses to the Operator's EP.

Forgot to say thanks Coupon - mad for your response above.

Umkomaas

I guess your appeal is sitting in the pile of 4,000 unresolved cases handed over to the BPA at the end of the POPLA contract with London Councils.

I suggest you make contact with the BPA to ask what you now need to do with your rebuttal. Best done in writing, although a general enquiry phone call initially might give you some idea as to how they are proposing to deal with rebuttals in the pipeline.

danish57

Ok. Will give BPA a call and feed back to the forum their response, if any.

Appears to me that anyone who had an appeal that included GPEOL was intentionally put to one side by old popla. This would have considerably reduced their workload, knowing that they were being disbanded, thereby washing their hands of the appeals process. Apologies, but I guess I'm spouting the obvious here.

nigelbb

danish57 wrote: »

Ok. Will give BPA a call and feed back to the forum their response, if any.

Appears to me that anyone who had an appeal that included GPEOL was intentionally put to one side by old popla. This would have considerably reduced their workload, knowing that they were being disbanded, thereby washing their hands of the appeals process. Apologies, but I guess I'm spouting the obvious here.

It would also have considerably reduced the bill to the BPA Ltd who already owe London Councils over £160K for running POPLA.

danish57

Any idea who is paying for the new ombudsmans appeal service ? Can't imagine it would be the BPA, so perhaps it's the unfortunate taxpayer !

Grandad123

Hi Danish.
Am in the same boat more or less.


POPLA kept putting off appeal and got nowhere chasing it up.


Appeal has nothing to do with Beavis though, so who knows what pile it is sitting in.


Same PPC as yours and evidence sent late to me as well.

Umkomaas

danish57 wrote: »

Any idea who is paying for the new ombudsmans appeal service ? Can't imagine it would be the BPA, so perhaps it's the unfortunate taxpayer !

I'd guess they might already be getting nervous given the default on payments by the BPA to London Councils.

I bet that wasn't revealed to the OSL at or before the signing of contracts stage!

ampersand

All you need to know:
http://www.ombudsman-services.org/funding.html
and
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/faq/businesses/answers/funding_a1.html