Financial Ombudsman Service

[gruffalossoldier]

Can the financially informed mumsnetters help please.

Mortgage fixed rate deal ended in October. I rang mortgage provider in June to check current fixed rates on offer. Spoke to a cocky dismissive customer service officer who said I had to be registered with online banking to view and secure a new rate. Cue, me panicking trying to register with online banking. Didn't work. Loads of technical issues. The Bank of England raised the interest rates the next day.

In my panic, I contacted the mortgage broker I've used previously and they secured me a deal at 3.49%, but I have missed out on a deal at 2.67% or thereabouts.

Complaint to the mortgage provider and they have upheld part of my complaint. They admit that the agent who I spoke to over the phone gave incorrect information and was dismissive. But "we are unable to offer you an interest, backdate or alternative rate due to the time lapsed".

Compensated me with £100 .

They've advised that I can take up my complaint with the financial ombudsman service . But my question is will FOS in all likelihood uphold my complaint? I've emailed them.

Is it pointless making a complaint with them?

How much is your claim for? Have you worked out your losses? Under £500 they will usually settle over that they will investigate (10 years working for fos)

Thanks for the swift response @Swampthing55 I've worked out for the length of mortgage the difference is roughly £14,000 in additional interest. Mortgage is 30 year term but fixed for 5 years. Obviously I'll be looking for a new deal in 5 years but theoretically that's how much it could cost.

I don't think they'll award that amount though.

Just worked out the difference over the 5 years is £2160.

I would say it is worth pursuing with the ombudsman. If the customer service operator gave the correct information you could have secured the rate you wanted in the first place.

I have been compensated by the FOS twice. It takes 6 months or longer for them to review the complaint. The complaint will be reviewed by a investigator first who will try and resolve the complaint. If a resolution is not agreed it will go to an ombudsman who makes the final decision.

That's what my complaint is. It was an awful stressful time, and when the broker told me what I could have got I was fuming!

The mortgage complaints investigator has listened to call, admits I was misadvised and says the customer service officer was dismissive.

Thank you that's helpful to know

We have had a business insurance claim with the ombudsman for almost 2 years. In our experience they have very little power to make anything happen at the moment. Apparently they are understaffed and still working through the first raft of covid insurance complaints (ours is one of those). So be prepared to constantly be onto them and do not expect a quick result.

You have nothing to lose by pursuing your complaint through the FOS. I would if I was you. Make sure you quantify the financial loss. You can log the complaint on the FOS website and get a reference number.

I thought there may be a long wait for it to be resolved @SleepingisanArt

I remember complaining about PPI with the FOS years ago and didn't even get a response.

I think that's why I'm unsure as to whether it's worthwhile.

I would definitely pursue it in that case but be prepared for many months of wrangling and having a high burden of proof. Get the call recording a copy of your file etc and a good barrister. The legal costs may well outweigh the recompense, but it's the principal they should not be giving bad advise. If you accepted the 100.0 quid you will be on sticky ground as that will have most likely been a gogw in full and final settlement.

If you don't do it you defiantly won't get compensated.

If you do complain, you may get some back!!

I don't have the funds for a barrister.

The £100 was just paid in to my account, shall I offer it back to the mortgage broker as I'm not accepting their response?

I know, I'm definitely going to pursue it.

Definitely pursue it. I have asked for their assistance in the past and they were brilliant

You don't need a barrister to go through the FOS. That's only if you decide to sue them, which I wouldn't advise.

I think you could only claim for the difference over the five years maximum, as even if you had the rate you missed out on, it would have ended after five years.
But otherwise I think you should claim - you have nothing to lose

I agree @zaffa that it will only the interest for the length of the fix that I can claim.

Thanks everyone for your reassurance that it isn't a pointless claim. I've completed the FOS online complaint form so will wait and see what happens next.

Get the call recording a copy of your file etc and a good barrister. The legal costs may well outweigh the recompense, but it's the principal they should not be giving bad advise. If you accepted the 100.0 quid you will be on sticky ground as that will have most likely been a gogw in full and final settlement

Every single thing in this post is incorrect.

You do not need a barrister. You will not incur costs. Accepting the £100 will make no difference to the eventual outcome. And you do not even need to get a copy of the call or 'your file'. The FOS will get any information they need directly from the bank.

The bank have already admitted an error and saved the FOS a whole heap of work. The FOS will now only need to concentrate on whether the complaint outcome was fair - have you been put back in the same position had the error not occurred.

IME the fact that an error has been made won't be enough for FOS to declare the £2k 'loss' is reimbursed. They will look at the banks processes for implementing a fixed rate, their SLA, the liklihood that had you been given the right information you would have had enough time to secure a lower fix before the rate changed. And any compensation awarded will be tempered by whether you had any personal responsibility op - so for example, if you called the bank at 7pm on the last day, your award may be lower as you have to accept some responsibility for leaving it so very last minute.

I wouldn't even bother mentioning the £14k whole of term figure to FOS - they won't even consider that, only the fixed term.