Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 February 2022
261. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Finance the main reasons for a significant number of rejections of consumer complaints by the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (details supplied). [9771/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) is independent in the performance of her statutory functions and I have no role in the day to day workings of the office or in the decisions which she takes.
The FSPO has informed me that every complaint received by it is assessed and investigated in detail. Where a complaint closes in Registration and Assessment or in Legal Services, these complaints have been subject to an in-depth assessment.
Complaints that close in Registration and Assessment will be closed for a number of reasons. In 2020, 465 complaints were closed because they were found to be ineligible. This was mainly because these complaints were related to products, services, or service providers that do not fall within the remit of the FSPO, not enough information was provided by the complainant to proceed, the complaint was appropriate for another Ombudsman, or the complaint was deemed withdrawn because the complainant did not engage in any further communication.
There were 327 files closed following a detailed Early Jurisdictional Assessment service, where these complaints fell outside the remit of the FSPO due to jurisdictional issues. These included complaints that do not meet the time limits for bringing a complaint to the FSPO, where the complaint has been, or is the subject of legal proceedings, where fraud has been alleged or where the complaint is more suitably dealt with by a different forum.
Complaints will also be closed in Registration and Assessment when the FSPO engages directly with the financial service provider or pension provider, in order to secure a final response to the complaint for the consumer. This allows the complaint to close if the complainants are satisfied with their provider’s final response.
Where an issue arises, which requires a more detailed legal assessment, the matter is referred to the Legal Services Unit for a formal jurisdictional assessment to determine whether the complaint, or elements of the complaint, can proceed to investigation. The FSPO makes every effort to assist the parties in understanding the extent and limits of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. The parties to the complaint will be invited to make submissions during the assessment process, before the final determination on jurisdiction is ultimately confirmed to the parties. 536 complaints were closed following this detailed legal assessment. The total number of complaints closed during 2020 was 6,193 which occurred at various stages of the complaint management lifecycle, as detailed below.
|
Registration and Assessment |
1,401 |
|
Dispute Resolution Service |
2,960 |
|
Investigation Service |
735 |
|
Legal Service |
536 |
An additional 561 complaints that were ineligible were closed in 2020. Ineligible complaints include those for providers outside Ireland, for services that are not financial services, or duplicate complaints.
