Review into ‘troubling’ FOS claims

THE chairwoman of an influential committee of MPs has said it is “troubling” that cases brought to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) by consumers may not have been decided correctly.

The ombudsman service has said an independent person will be appointed to carry out a review to better understand and address the concerns raised following a Channel 4 Dispatches investigation into the service.

Nicky Morgan, who chairs the Treasury Committee, said: “The FOS is essential in underpinning consumer confidence in the financial services industry, and in redressing the power imbalance between large financial institutions and their customers. It is troubling that cases may not have been decided correctly.”

Her comments follow the Dispatches investigation into the way complaints are being handled by the FOS, which has been dealing with surges in payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints in recent years.

The Dispatches programme suggested significant numbers of cases may need to be looked at again after finding evidence that staff with inadequate training or knowledge were deciding people’s complaints.