Displaying items by tag: Financial Ombudsman Service

Financial advice firm Professional Financial Services (PFS) has been ordered by the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) to pay out after advising a client to invest in an unregulated collective investment scheme.

The Financial Ombudsman Service has reported a sharp rise in SIPP complaints with 821 new complaints about SIPPs between July and September compared to 636 in the previous quarter.

The number of customer complaints made to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) relating to defined benefit transfers rose by 44% in 2018/19.

Scottish Widows has been ordered to compensate a client after a rule change around overseas pension transfers led to him being hit by an unnecessary 25% per cent tax charge.

The current level of funding and the financial structure of FOS will have to change, FCA chairman Charles Randell told the Treasure Committee today.

Complaints about SIPPs to the Financial Ombudsman rose by 37% over the past 12 months but complaints about IFAs fell steeply at the same time, according to FOS data released today.

The Financial Ombudsman Service has enlisted former Which? executive director Richard Lloyd to head a review into FOS’s complaints handling.

The review was launched after the FOS was heavily criticised following an undercover investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, in March, which appeared to show that complaints were being handled by insufficiently trained officials.

The documentary suggested that some officials had to use internet search engines to find out about the products they were considering.

Mr Lloyd, who is vice chair of Money and Mental Health Policy Institute and is UK chairman of complaints handler Resolver, will lead the independent probe and his remit has also been revealed.

He is to be granted “full access and the resources necessary” to carry out a review and can go where the investigation takes him, with unrestricted access to FOS staff and all documents.

The review will be completed by the end of June.

A document published by FOS, in relation to the review’s parameters, read: “The review will assess the evidence presented by Dispatches in respect of each of the issues raised in the programme, to consider whether there are any matters of substance which should be addressed, although it will not be restricted to the issues raised in the programme.

“If the review finds matters for concern, it will seek to identify possible root causes for them (such as management action or inaction, cultural factors, staff objectives and performance management, organisational structure or any other underlying factor) and how they might be addressed.

“The review will also consider staff morale and the factors which contribute to it.”

It was also revealed that the investigation will look into the extent to which the current governance and arrangements for providing assurance about the work of FOS to its board, including whistleblowing procedures, “are applied effectively and consistently.”

As head of the review, Mr Lloyd will be able to make recommendations for strengthening governance and assurance arrangements in his final report.

Two firms have been told they must pay compensation to clients after unsuitable advice relating to a SIPP.

The Financial Ombudsman’s annual review published today has revealed a significant increase in complaints about personal pension plans, particularly SSAS and Sipps.

The proportion of Sipp complaints upheld by the Financial Ombudsman Service has fallen to below half in the last quarter – despite a rise in new cases compared to last year.