Financial ombudsman...who regulates them?

OceanSound

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

.......And so the thread enters hibernation for another few years!

Bit like some of the adjudicators at the financial ombudsman service.

OceanSound

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

.......And so the thread enters hibernation for another few years!

Your post used to be #50:

now it's become #52. Suffice to say, something is rotten in Denmark.:rotfl:

OceanSound

Not so fast:



I'm a stickler when it comes to details.:cool:

MQA

I would like to hear your thoughts relating to my offset mortgage situation. I have a fully offset mortgage account, with slightly higher balance in the savings than mortgage account.

My questions
1. What can I do to get my accounts’ balance back to how they were (ie after the two fees were added and before the lender made the unauthorised transfer between accounts) ?
2. Can the lender just transfer money between my accounts without my consent to 'correct their errors'?
3. Aside from the independent assessor, is there any other option I can try after exhausting the lender internal process? I have gone the lender's complaint process and the Senior Financial Ombudsman process and the outcome was that they agree the lender has done what they needed to do to 'correct the error'.

[Deleted User]

MQA wrote: »

My questions
1. What can I do to get my accounts’ balance back to how they were (ie after the two fees were added and before the lender made the unauthorised transfer between accounts) ?

You need to discuss that with the lender, as to whether it is even possible under the terms of your account.

MQA wrote: »

2. Can the lender just transfer money between my accounts without my consent?

Money can be offset between accounts under certain circumstances, your consent to which is given at point of opening.

MQA wrote: »

3. Aside from the independent assessor, is there any other option I can try after exhausting the lender internal process?

Small claims. But that's not a recommended route as they will go purely by the letter of the law, unlike FOS.

[Deleted User]

This thread is veering more than a little off-topic

MQA

Thanks for the comments.. please excuse this long post and I hope it will provide some more information. Relating to my offset mortgage situation which was fully offset, with slightly more money in the savings than mortgage account.

In 2018, I had made two requests which both have incurred a fee on both occasions. I had confirmed if fees was added to my mortgage there will NOT be any interested incurred. If there were interest I would have paid be debit card. I was told over the phone. ' No, as I am fully offset'. Since then no transactions had been made to the accounts except some savings interest under £2 per year earned.

Sometime later out of the blue, I had a missed call and try to find out who it was from, I was transferred to the lender's debt recovery, I was told the lender have been trying to set up a £0.25 / month (twenty five pence) Direct Debit but failed and I need to set one up now, if not I will be in trouble. And no one seem tobe able to explain why I had to pay this 25pence.. And it turned out it was not a one off payment.

For the next two years I have tried to find out why the interest and I was told I had these two fees added to the account. After many lengthy conversations where the lender had initially denied their errors and I was finally told they will rectify the problems. I later found out what they had meant was that they had transferred money from my savings account to balance the mortgage account. (I have checked and checked and the accounts were still offset even after the two fees were added and I have never consented for my money transferred). I have gone through the lender's complaint process and then the Financial Ombudsman and finally the Senior Financial Ombudsman (and do not satisfied with their responses)

In December 2019, I contacted the lender again to seek clarification on when was the account not offset and why I have incurred interest, I was told because there were some interests that had been miscalculated back in 2012 (to my acknowledge this was a separate error, which I had paid without challenging it as I do not believe I needed to pay) but as it more errors and no acknowledgment is being taken by the lender I need to find out what I can to prevent this from happening again. This week I have received a written response about the interest charge to say two fees were added to the load and the mortgage breakdown statements which have not brought any new information.

My concerns are why the above happened and what rights do I have.
I hope the information would help with my original questions listed again:
My questions
1. What can I do to get my accounts’ balance back to how they were (ie after the two fees were added and before the lender made the unauthorised transfer between accounts) ?
2. Can the lender just transfer money between my accounts without my consent?
3. Aside from the independent assessor, is there any other option I can try after exhausting the lender internal process?

-taff

What requests did you make to incur these fees? Where was it confirmed that you didn't have to pay interest? In writing?

MQA

I had requested a mortgage statement and permission to let. Over the telephone, it was confirmed no interest or penalty will be incurred if these fees were added to the mortgage and I then said add it to the mortgage. The fees are on the mortgage statement. I have checked and checked and even after the fees were added to the mortgage, the savings balance is still higher than the mortgage balance.. so I don't understand any on what the lender has done or is doing...

[Deleted User]

MQA wrote: »

Over the telephone, it was confirmed no interest or penalty will be incurred if these fees were added to the mortgage and I then said add it to the mortgage.

But increasing your mortgage will automatically attract increased interest ,surely?

You would get far more knowledgable responses if you started a new thread on a more appropriate section of this website;

Try Mortgages and Endowments
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=15

or perhaps Budgeting and Bank Accounts:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20

Click on the "new thread" button located top left of the main page of each sub-forum and choose your title


This part of the forum is for discussion about PPI.

This thread's topic is regarding criticism of the Financial Ombudsman Service.