Statistics

The larger an organisation, statistically there will be a greater chance of complaints. As the financial meltdown gathers pace, many more will look to point the finger of blame to advisers.

Posted by: IFA - Sesame

The case hardens ...

Apart from feeling really rather miffed that our name does not appear in the statistics, at least then we might justify the unreal expenditure for FOS, etc., these figures only demonstrate how misrepresented the independent sector has become. Some good should come from these revelations.

Posted by: Andrew Moore

Frightened FSA

When will the FSA grow a back bone and tackle the continuous pressure/mis-selling that goes on in our high street banks day after day, month after month, year after year? It is such an enormous task they they are avoiding carrying it out. They find it much easier to target small advisors businesses who they can bully and frighten. Also, they need to start implementing TCF with the large lenders becuase since this new initiative lenders have got much worse at treating their customers fairly

Posted by: vp73

Regulatory Mess

FOS is the worst of the 3 F-Pack organisations. Most adjudicators have no real experience in financial services, some don't know the difference between KFDs and KFIs, they are told to ignore any genuine challenges from firms about jurisdiction, assume jurisdiction in every case and systematically ignore the treasry statutory order SI2326, some ombudsman's backrounds are administrators (who have the final say), some have produced fundamentally flawed reports upholding complaints, know little about the subject etc etc................. The FOS is the largest politically correct Ambulance Chaser in the UK. And to cap it we are paying form trivial complaints £500 each time. No wonder they want to whip up complaints it's a money machine with sales targets. No wonder they make a mess most of the time. The FOS should only apply to bank complaints as IFAs only have less than 1% upheld against them. Say no more.

Posted by: Incompetent Regulators Awards Team

Complaints Procedure

The FSA requires each company to have a complaints procedure, however, when faced with a call centre or an office based admin clerk who has no idea what a 'complaints procedure' is, it has to be down to the firms training (if indeed it exists). The vasr number of comments about the FSA's seemingly oblivous attitude towards banks, appears to show that the FSA themselves are unable to effectively monitor these gigantic financial institions who probably need FSA personel full time just to monitor their activities and HR/ T & C policies. How on earth a bank can post a 3.5 billion loss and for there to be no regualtory comment just amazes me. Perhaps a % of the 1.3 billion bonus pot should go towards the FSA fees. So am i suprised that there are so many bank complaints - NO I am not - am i suprised that the FSA appear power less to deal with them, YES I AM VERY SUPRISED!

Posted by: Martyn Sinclair

Horse Manure

Whilst I have no great sympathy for Banks, the FOS figures tell us nothing. The shear size of the banks, relative the rest of the industry will create more complaints, even if the proportion is exactly the same as IFA sector. All we have here are headline figures, with no referencing to the market, the transactions or anything else. And that is one of the main problems with the FSA and the FOS. They regulate and rule on the basis of rumour and ill informed opinion and not fact. And the blame for that must rest at their own self serving door. After 25 years of regulation one would expect MEANINGFUL stats to be pouring out of every orifice. They don't know how many genuine IFAs there are! Obfuscating the truth allows them to draw a darker picture, thus underpinning the necessity of their jobs and their bonuses. If the stats were to demonstrate that the level of deviancy within the industry was no worse than, say, the level of fiddling expenses in Parliament or the FSA, they would be on a very sticky wicket. When you create a body that writes its own rules, polices, judges and sentences on those rules, and is answerable to no other authority, do not be surprised when it creates a fiction in order to perpetuate itself.

Posted by: Glen McKeown