Dean Dunham asks the Financial Ombudsman what LBC listeners want to know
17 February 2023, 13:18 | Updated: 17 February 2023, 13:23
Dean Dunham asks the Financial Ombudsman what LBC listeners want to know
In Dean Dunham’s ‘Ask’ series, he asks key individuals and organisations (such as regulators, consumer organisations, ombudsmen, alternative dispute resolution providers, energy providers, online marketplaces and other retailers) the burning questions LBC listeners are asking.
ASK THE FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN SERVICE
This week I ‘Ask The Financial Ombudsman Service’ (FOS) all the key questions LBC listeners have been asking and need to know. Tim Archer, Ombudsman Director from FOS joined me to provide answers to your questions.
As my regular listeners know, one of the key pieces of advice I always give consumers is ‘don’t pay with cash’ and where possible to pay with your credit card; so you have the protection of section 75. However, lots of people report to me that there card provider rejected their section 75 claim so I put this to the Ombudsman. The response is good for the consumer!
I asked:
“Under what circumstances will FOS uphold a section 75 claim lodged by a consumer and what evidence would you need to see?”
“What is the most common reason given by the FOS for rejecting a section 75 claim?”
Another popular subject on the LBC Consumer Hour is insurance and in this respect one of the most common issues I hear about is when an insurer undervalues a stolen or written off vehicle. Anyone in this situation will want to listen to this interview as there is positive news.
I asked:
“When a consumer comes to FOS and says the insurance provider has valued a written off car too low how do you approach this?”
We also spoke about exclusion clauses in insurance policies as these tend to catch consumers out, especially in relation to travel and home insurance.
I asked:
“If an insurance provider rejects a claim on the basis that the event giving rise to the claim fell within an exclusion within the policy, but the consumer says they were not aware of the exclusion, how would the FOS approach this?”
Debt collectors also now fall within the remit of FOS so I asked:
“When can a consumer complain to the FOS about a debt collector?”
“What remedy can the FOS impose in relation to debt collector complaints?”
Finally, lots of people have complained in recent times about the length of time it takes FOS to process complaints so I asked about this. I was given a post pandemic update on process times and what the future looks like in this regard.
If you have any form of lending, a bank account, a debit or credit card or insurance policies this is a must watch interview.
