Providence complaint not in ombudsman’s remit
I WOULD personally encourage islanders not to bother with the financial ombudsman, contrary to Douglas Melville’s claim in the press. An elderly woman hasn’t seen her cat in a couple of days. So, she searches for it and finds it in a tree. Of course, she can’t get the cat, so she calls the fire service, knowing that they can use their turntable ladder to get her cat out of the tree. When the fire service arrive, they ask where the fire is and she says that there is no fire. She says that she called them. Asked why she called them, the elderly lady then asks them to help get her cat out of the tree. She is shocked and disgusted when they refuse, saying that it’s not in their remit, even though they have the means to help.
I have a financial problem; because of Providence’s collapse, I have referred my case to the financial ombudsman but they refuse to help, saying that it’s not in their remit, when they could probably expand their remit to help me with my case, just like the fire service can expand their remit to help the elderly lady in question. But the financial aspects are more complex than getting a cat out of a tree, and maybe the financial ombudsman is under-qualified and should be wound up itself, just like Providence.
So, to islanders, I strongly recommend that you don’t waste your time with the financial ombudsman, Mr Melville or his staff, since they clearly can’t help us with our financial problems and appear to be getting paid for nothing, based on how much potential work they have turned away, with their excuse being ‘it’s not in our remit’ even though they could probably help if they weren’t so under-qualified. Also, I believe the local fire service would help the elderly lady in question, but as for the financial ombudsman, I think the time has come to pack things away…
NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD
Editor’s footnote: Douglas Melville, principal ombudsman and chief executive, replies: I fully appreciate the frustration of your reader. To protect the privacy of complainants, the Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman cannot comment on her specific case. Generally, any complaints made against Providence Investment Funds PCC Limited (the Providence Fund) following its collapse would fall outside of the remit of the Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman, due to the exclusion of all fund classes other than Class A Collective Investment Schemes. The scope of CIFO’s statutory remit is a political decision and is set by the States of Guernsey. It is set out in law and is not a matter of discretion for the ombudsman and the CIFO team.
It would be unfortunate if your reader’s concerns regarding the scope of CIFO’s investment remit were to prompt other consumers to choose not to contact our office with a complaint that did fall within our remit. CIFO can review complaints involving most types of financial services provided in Guernsey including savings and current accounts, credit and debit cards, loans, insurance and pensions. For those complaints that the law permits us to review, we are committed to providing a free, impartial and independent review to determine what in the circumstances would be a fair and reasonable outcome of the complaint.
CIFO has strong powers to investigate and to require financial services providers to compensate complainants if a complaint is upheld. We publish quarterly reports on complaints experience and a detailed annual report. These can be seen on our website at www.ci-fo.org/news-publications. In 2016 and 2017 we resolved a total of 302 complaints (relating to services provided across the Channel Islands). 64% of these were in favour of the complainant and the average award was £48,895. Of these, 64 were complaints about Guernsey financial services of which 49% were resolved in favour of the complainant. Your readers can contact this office on 722218 or enquiries@ci-fo.org.
I am aware that there is ongoing legal action in the Providence Fund matter against the fund company’s auditors, seeking compensation for those affected by the fund company’s collapse. Your reader, and others similarly affected by this unfortunate situation, seeking information may wish to contact the administration managers from Deloitte LLP appointed by the Guernsey Royal Court at pifenquiries@deloitte.co.uk.