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| Joe Meade |
Irish Financial Services Ombudsman, Joe Meade, today published on his website significant decisions made in the July/ December 2007 period -15 instances where he upheld complaints and 5 complaints that were rejected . 4374 complaints were made to his office during 2007 an increase of 15% over 2006.
Complaints upheld
Bank Managers personal affairs mixed with the business affairs of a customer - 10,000 compensation
Mis-selling of Insurance Investment Fund- 10,000 award as management misled its own sales team
Credit Card Fraud and on the town event merits compensation of 2,500
Property Investment advice is still a problem- 55,000 awarded in two more cases
Injured carpenter gets 10,000 award following cold call insurance policy sale
Insurance Policy review led to a proposed 300% increase in premiums
Mortgage Protection Policy - 25,000 awarded in dispute over direct debit non payment of premium
Travel Insurance - cancellation cost of 4,000 repaid
Credit Card sent to wrong address - 4,500 compensation for fraudulent transactions
Misleading Investment Advice by bank- 17,000 in compensation
8,000 award as Insurance Company did not seek Specialist Consultants opinion.
Incorrect information supplied to holder of Approved Retirement Funds - 28,000 of management charges refunded
Income Protection Policy - what constitutes farmers income
Confusion as to bank transactions by an elderly customer
Insurer forwarded an incomplete company file to Ombudsman and a recommended compensation award doubled to 500.
Complaints Not Upheld
Death Benefit Claim of 800,000 - non disclosure of prior medical condition
Dormant Bank Account of 25,000 is ownerless
Forged or stolen cheques lodged to a bank account
Disposal of shares by stockbroker- conflict of interest complaint
Motor Insurance Policy- vehicle not in a road worthy condition.
Complaints Statistics
4,374 complaints were received by the Ombudsman in 2007. Account transactions, mortgages, lending problems, investments and credit card disputes were the main complaints received about Credit Institutions. Motor, travel, life assurance and investment policies were the main insurance complaints. Since its inception in April 2005 some 11,550 complaints have been received while only 893 complaints were not resolved at year end 1,100 complaints were received in the last quarter of 2007.
