Do you trust Financial Ombudsman?

eskbanker

You can obviously conclude what you want, but would be somewhat foolhardy to interpret your position as being implicitly agreed just because people tire of rising to the bait to challenge it!

As per the MSE report that you cite, FOS is relatively well regarded by its customers when compared with similar bodies in other industries, but inevitably there are some who will remain convinced that it's flawed/biased/bent or whatever and no amount of facts or rational analysis will persuade them otherwise, hence threads like this reaching stalemate where there is no value in continuing, i.e. to latch onto your analogy, the degree of stubbornness demonstrated would suggest donkeys rather than 'higher mammals'.

Or to put it more concisely in the parlance of the day, haters gonna hate....

peterbaker

Again, eskbanker, my position is open to being changed, but I fear it can't happen without major changes at FOS of a type I simply do not read as currently happening.

Do please bring on the facts and rational analysis - I think you are the first even to acknowledge the November 2017 MSE "Sharper Teeth" report on various Ombudsmen?

As per the MSE report that you cite, FOS is relatively well regarded by its customers when compared with similar bodies in other industries ...

You may be right in setting a tone, but does it actually say that anywhere in its 74 pages? What are you relying upon in its text to arrive at your summary?

The word relatively or relative appears only once in the report. Are you relying upon "Consumer responses indicated that the Financial Ombudsman Service’s decisions are most likely to actually be put into action." for example?

Or maybe the table on page 54 where FOS scores in the top 3 of various Ombudsmen services for the least proportion of consumers (54%) who rate the FOS service as poor? Or in the top 6 for the greatest proportion who rate FOS service as Great (22%)?

peterbaker

So, to recap on some essential reading:

November 2017:https://images6.moneysavingexpert.com/images/documents/MSE-Sharper_teeth_interactive.pdf

March 2018: https://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/investigation-at-fos-finds-staff-with-severe-lack-of-training

July 2018: http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/pdf/independent-review-2018.PDF

pmduk

peterbaker wrote: »

So can we all now quietly conclude that indeed FOS should not be automatically trusted,

You may conclude this should you wish, many of us will decide to be less paranoiac and recognise some complaints don't succeed because they have no merit.

peterbaker

Well I am sure that the hoards at large would disagree with the er .. many (??) of you, i.e. that a healthy distrust of FOS is a medical condition - most of us do not bandy about words ending in "-iac"! Trust you perhaps - you're a doctor perhaps?

The corollary of your latest assertion can be found in the reports I linked to i.e. that whilst some claims have no merit, a rather larger proportion submitted to FOS do, and there exists considerable evidence that many claims are incompetently handled.

So what should be done about it? Do we just deny there's a problem and/or keep calm and let the wonderful multi-titled guys and gals of the inglorious FOS carry on? Or would it be more sensible to continue to independently monitor and review their work on a very regular basis and lobby for rapid and real improvements?

veryintrigued

Another example of a thread where forumites 'thank' other forumites due to their username and post history rather than judging individual posts on their worth.

JuicyJesus

veryintrigued wrote: »

Another example of a thread where forumites 'thank' other forumites due to their username and post history rather than judging individual posts on their worth.

I judge the comments I thank on their worth, which is why I've thanked the people talking sense and most certainly not thanked the people who post rambling screeds of nonsense.

JuicyJesus

I wish I was being paid to read your nonsense.

JuicyJesus

That's nice, you've posted it three times now. You can stop.

dunstonh

JuicyJesus wrote: »

I wish I was being paid to read your nonsense.

If there is someone who you wish to add to your ignore list then click on their name, select "view public profile". There is a link on that page called user lists. Click on that and select "add to ignore list".

Then you no longer see their posts. You know they have posted and can view them if you want but it. It is useful for adding the forum trolls to