Crazy situation - Need some advice please (financial ombudsman situation)

Mikew1990

Hi all, 

I really need some advice on how you would deal with this situation or i am not entitled to feel the way i am? I need to know your views/opinions/experiences! 

So basically in a nutshell to condense it, I complained about my bank to the ombudsman, I recieved a email telling me an investigator has been assigned, and they introduced their self and asked for me to provide information about something which is not/whom I complained about.

i explained this to them, and told them this is the experience i have been having with my bank for the past 5 months, when I complain about this situation they always manage to !!!!!! it up. 

In a nutshell they keep referring my complain to Coinbase transactions when I couldn’t make it any clearer it’s nothing to do with them, it’s like they are avoiding/longing out the situation playing stupid. 

I then receive a call of my ombudsman investigor stating that because my bank have got my final complaint wrong (they have misread my complaint) I need to resubmit it? I then go on to explain I have been going round in circles with said bank for 6 months and can’t be any clearer about what I’m complaining about. 

The call handler who took my complaint at the start with the FBO had no problems understanding. Even at the bottom of my final complaint letter it states the business/transactions I am complaining about, and no where does it mention Coinbase… in my mind this is just more proof of how incompetent they are. 

The call ended with me being told she cannot investigate till my bank fully understands what I’m complaining about, and I need to go back to them and re explain, even though it shows in black and white they just have basically disregarded what I was complaining about and chose to speak about something else. 

We ended the call and I sat on it. Not happy I then ring up the ombudsman and explain the situation, the call handler agreed that this isn’t right and I have been misinformed, he looked at the documents and said it’s not my fault the bank didn’t respond correctly and it should go ahead (and said this is even just more proof of bad CS).

I told him I do not want to proceed with the same investigator who misinformed me, has he bickered and obviously has been confirmed I have been mid informed. He told me it is bad practice and that he is reporting this to her manager, and I will receive a call of said manager and get a new case handler.

literally within 20 minutes the investigator who I complained about rang me, saying I have misinterpreted what she said and tried to cover her tracks, it basically seemed that she has had a bollocking and tried to rectify what she told me.

now I am definitely not happy with this situation, I definitely will not trust her to manage this case now and all this has happened. And I still find it very very unprofessional how someone I complained about then rang me up straight away after obviously being told? Am I right in thinking this is wrong? I thought for someone like the ombudsman this is very unprofessional.


or am I being sensitive? Please help me 

HillStreetBlues

If you haven't done so I would make sure it's being handled by their customer complaints team. https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/who-we-are/customer-service/service-complaints
I would be peeved as well

Mikew1990

HillStreetBlues said:

If you haven't done so I would make sure it's being handled by their customer team. 
I would be peeved as well

Glad I’m not the only one… surely this breaks some form of data protection? Never in my life would I of thought a firm like the ombudsman would allow for this to happen unless she did it off her of back, but she obviously got informed by someone as it was 21 minutes between me putting the phone down to her ringing …. Feel like I’m in a loose loose situation now as I need them but how can I trust them now .. madness 

boingy

The important thing to understand about the ombudsman is that those "investigators" are there to weed out the weaker complaints and to deter the stronger ones. I had a 100% set-in-stone certainty of a complaint and the "investigator" still tried to dissuade me from taking it to the proper ombudsman. I stood firm and insisted and the ombudsman agreed. The bank apologised and compensated me. 

So don't take no for an answer. Ignore everything they say and insist that the case is elevated to the proper ombudsman. Those "investigator" people are like GP receptionists where their prime role seems to be to put you off disturbing the Doc rather than actually helping you.

Section62

Mikew1990 said:

...

I told him I do not want to proceed with the same investigator who misinformed me, has he bickered and obviously has been confirmed I have been mid informed. He told me it is bad practice and that he is reporting this to her manager, and I will receive a call of said manager and get a new case handler.

literally within 20 minutes the investigator who I complained about rang me, saying I have misinterpreted what she said and tried to cover her tracks, it basically seemed that she has had a bollocking and tried to rectify what she told me.

now I am definitely not happy with this situation, I definitely will not trust her to manage this case now and all this has happened. And I still find it very very unprofessional how someone I complained about then rang me up straight away after obviously being told? Am I right in thinking this is wrong? I thought for someone like the ombudsman this is very unprofessional.


or am I being sensitive? Please help me 

Do as HillStreetBlues says.  Make a service complaint - make it clear you are complaining about the service you have had from FoS, and in particular this investigator phoning you back and saying what they did.  The initial call was probably recorded and the service complaint handler should be able to review exactly what was said.

Unfortunately some investigators and ombudsmen appear to feel they are a law unto themselves - if you get to that point then a service complaint is probably the way to go.

It was simply nonsensical for them to tell you to go back to the bank... the bank had their chance to deal with your complaint fairly, they failed, so you were absolutely within your rights to ask FoS to get involved.

M25

You'll need to make a complaint against the ombudsman.

Exactly what is the original complaint? Did you explain it properly? I ask because your post doesn't make a lot of sense.

masonic

When you make a complaint against an individual and ask for them to be taken off your case, then it is impossible for this to be actioned without tipping off the individual. Their conduct will be questioned and the case will be assigned to someone else. It doesn't take a genius to put 2+2 together. I don't see how that could have been avoided. Even if the case was left with that individual, your complaint called for them to be told to adjust their behaviour towards you or the case, which again would identify you as the complainant.

The investigator should not have called you to discuss your grievance against her, and that is certainly something you should complain to your new case handler about and potentially raise as a complaint against the FOS.

Mikew1990

Obviously they would have been told and asked/questioned. Don’t understand what you’re getting at with that comment.

im upset about the the fact that they then followed on to contact me after I raised the complaint, which I deem very unprofessional. 

Hoenir

M25 said:

Exactly what is the original complaint? Did you explain it properly? I ask because your post doesn't make a lot of sense.

Is that why the call handler struggled? 

masonic

Mikew1990 said:

Obviously they would have been told and asked/questioned. Don’t understand what you’re getting at with that comment.

im upset about the the fact that they then followed on to contact me after I raised the complaint, which I deem very unprofessional. 

It was addressing your question "surely this breaks some form of data protection?"

As you say, "obviously they would have been told and asked/questioned" as this is a necessary step, so this would not be a DPA breach to disclose to the investigator information relating to the allegations made against her and that she was being removed from the case.

As stated, it is not acceptable for the investigator to follow up herself after it's been agreed someone else will be assigned to the case. She should have waited and let them deal with it.

born_again

M25 said:

You'll need to make a complaint against the ombudsman.

Exactly what is the original complaint? Did you explain it properly? I ask because your post doesn't make a lot of sense.

This might help

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6604966/i-need-legal-advice-quick#latest

TBH, that thread makes no sense either. As to what exactly the issue is🤷‍♀️

Sounds more like OP has lost money on Crypto & is not happy & blaming Revolut for the loss.