Ombudsman reversed their decision

Grendel_MSE

Hi,
I hope this is in the correct forum.  I'll try to be as brief as possible.  I would be grateful if someone could give me any advice.
We were in a debt management plan in 2011, managed through StepChange, with Santander. We agreed a monthly amount and started paying.  Shortly after, Santander added over £300 of charges.  I eventually reached an agreed settlement figure with them, that left £299.75 on the account, but Santander said it was closed and were happy.
I received no communication from Santander until a debt recovery agent contacted us in November 2018 demanding the money.  I phoned Santander and they said the statement was for "informational purposes only", "we don't require any further payment towards the account" and "the account is closed with that debit balance". I have a recording of this conversation.
They kept chasing me, so I complained to the financial ombudsman.  They initially ruled in my favour and said Santander should write off the balance. But Santander appealed that and they reversed their decision. I appealed that and the ombudsman says they will not uphold my complaint, as "I agree the call was confusing in parts. However, having said that,

there was enough in the telephone conversation for me to be satisfied that the advisor did

inform Mr H the balance of £299.75 was a debit"

To me, there is nothing confusing about "the account is closed" and "we don't require any further payments towards the account".
So, what can I do now?  That's the final stage as far as the financial ombudsman goes, I just don't understand how they can come to that decision.  If I don't agree with their ruling that I should now pay the balance, how else can I fight this?
Thanks.

eskbanker

Once you've exhausted the FOS process (i.e. once it's been to an actual ombudsman rather than just an adjudicator), your only remaining option is to take Santander to court, but I wouldn't rate your chances if FOS have already found against you on a case where there's room for debate.

[Deleted User]

If the financial ombudsman is anything like the PHSO you'll get nowhere. 

Grendel_MSE

eskbanker said:

Once you've exhausted the FOS process (i.e. once it's been to an actual ombudsman rather than just an adjudicator), your only remaining option is to take Santander to court, but I wouldn't rate your chances if FOS have already found against you on a case where there's room for debate.

Thanks.  I just don't see how anyone can rule that "informational purposes only", "we don't require any further payment towards the account" means that they can still chase me for it.  The Ombudsman says they agree it's confusing, but not enough to write it off.  I someone owed me money and I said "I don't want anymore money", I would then expect to be able to chase them for it!

Grendel_MSE

Grendel_MSE said:

eskbanker said:

Once you've exhausted the FOS process (i.e. once it's been to an actual ombudsman rather than just an adjudicator), your only remaining option is to take Santander to court, but I wouldn't rate your chances if FOS have already found against you on a case where there's room for debate.

Thanks.  I just don't see how anyone can rule that "informational purposes only", "we don't require any further payment towards the account" means that they can still chase me for it.  The Ombudsman says they agree it's confusing, but not enough to write it off.  I someone owed me money and I said "I don't want anymore money", I would then expect to be able to chase them for it!

* "wouldn't, not would!

Grendel_MSE

After contacting Citizen's Advice, they said
"Ok it could be that the debt is statute barred and that they can no longer enforce this debt in court. it is important to establish if this is the case because if you make a payment or write to them then this could re-start the time limit. This could be why they have closed the account. They are still permitted to send you letters but they may not be able to take any further enforcement action"
So, I guess I'll just wait and see.

dunstonh

They kept chasing me, so I complained to the financial ombudsman.  They initially ruled in my favour and said Santander should write off the balance. But Santander appealed that and they reversed their decision. I appealed that and the ombudsman says they will not uphold my complaint, as "I agree the call was confusing in parts.

When you refer your complaint to the FOS, it is looked at by an adjudicator.    The ruling of the adjudicator can be appealed by either party.    The appeal is looked at by an ombudsman and the final decision of the ombudsman is final. It cannot be appealed.

To me, there is nothing confusing about "the account is closed" and "we don't require any further payments towards the account".

Actually, there is the potential for confusion there.  For example, if the debt has been passed to a collection agency then the account would be closed and you would not be required to pay any money to Santander.  However, the collection agency would then start approaching you for repayment.

Grendel_MSE

dunstonh said:

Actually, there is the potential for confusion there.  For example, if the debt has been passed to a collection agency then the account would be closed and you would not be required to pay any money to Santander.  However, the collection agency would then start approaching you for repayment.

That's a good point.  It was passed to one collection agency, then another, so the 'debt' must have been sold on twice.