Channel 4 reveals failings at Financial Ombudsman Service in Undercover Documentary
A year after This Is Money reported about levels of staff discontent, chief Caroline Wayman has issued a warning to staff at the FOS that the upcoming Dispatches documentary will be “less than complimentary about the complaints body”.
Free, Fair, For Everyone
The email sent to staff by Ms Wayman, as seen by This Is Money, states: ‘As well as working on the areas raised by Dispatches, our priorities are to reassure our customers that they can trust the rigour and fairness of our answers – and to support and care for our people who may be experiencing extra pressures and a range of emotions over the coming weeks.’
The Financial Ombudsman Service are self-proclaimed as ‘free, fair, for everyone’. They offer an independent service to help customers settle disputes with businesses providing financial services. This includes complaints against high street lenders such as Lloyds, Bank of Scotland, Barclays, etc about payment protection insurance (PPI) and packaged bank accounts.
Whereas everyone is familiar with PPI, many consumers are less familiar with packaged bank accounts. These accounts have emerged more and more over the years with customers realising that they were mis-sold when they didn’t want or need the benefits.
What Is A Packaged Bank Account?
Banks, such as Lloyds, offer accounts with names like Silver, Gold and Platinum. These accounts come bundled together with benefits, usually mobile insurance, car breakdown cover and holiday insurance. In addition to these benefits, it also comes bundled with a hefty monthly fee! These fees are in the region of £10-£25 a month. On paper, these accounts sound wonderful, however the sad reality is that they have been mis-sold due to unreasonable sales targets forced upon banking staff.
Check out one of our previous blogs for even more insight into how these accounts were mis-sold.
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If you would like more information on packaged bank account mis-selling or you believe your account was mis-sold, drop your details into the form below and one of our consultants will have a no obligation chat with you to discuss your possible options. Alternatively, you can give us a call on 0800 007 3777.