Firstly, I must point out that the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman is independent in the performance of his statutory functions. I have no role in the day to day workings of his office.
However, I have been advised by the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman that he currently has 1,221 complaints on hand in January 2019 which relate to tracker mortgage issues. Of those, 723 complaints were received in 2018.
The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman has maintained that the most effective and efficient way to provide redress and compensation to borrowers who have been wrongly denied tracker mortgages was for the banks to co-operate fully with the Central Bank Examination. Therefore, whilst the Examination was still underway individual tracker mortgage-related complaints were placed on hold pending confirmation that the Central Bank Examination had concluded in respect of those complainants.
In July 2018, a decision was taken to begin to take complaints that could potentially progress, off hold. The duration required to investigate a complaint can vary depending on the number of submissions made by the parties to the complaint as each one will trigger a transparent and sometimes extensive exchange of evidence and submissions. Each complaint is considered on its own merits. No legally binding decisions on trackers were issued by the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman in 2018.
The, now dissolved, Financial Services Ombudsman dealt with tracker complaints since 2009. It received approximately 2,000 complaints relating to tracker mortgages. Findings were issued in respect of 683 complaints. Of these 115 (17%) were upheld, 59 (9%) were partly upheld and 509 (74%) were not upheld. A number of these findings directed financial service providers to restore tracker mortgages to complainants.
In addition, to issuing findings and decisions both the FSO and the FSPO resolved complaints, including tracker mortgage complaints through informal mediation and through the acceptance of settlement offers made by financial service providers after the engagement of the FSO and FSPO.
I understand from the Ombudsman that calculating a “value” for complaints is not possible until the Ombudsman arrives at his decision which may include potential compensation/rectification.
I understand that the FSPO wrote to all members of the Houses of the Oireachtas informing them of the Protocol for the Provision of Information to Members of the Oireachtas by State Bodies and providing a dedicated email address for the timely provision of information to members of the Oireachtas.
