Ceeney warns of hard attitudes

Chief Ombudsmen Natalie Ceeney has warned customer disputes are getting tougher because “a hardening of attitudes on both sides means that disputes are becoming more hard-fought”.

In the latest issue of Ombudsman News, she said: “Some businesses are clearly taking a more legalistic approach, consumers are increasingly less willing to concede, and there is a growing reluctance to reach agreement.

“As a result, a larger proportion of the cases referred to us are those that are particularly complex and difficult to resolve – with increasing numbers of disputes requiring final ombudsman decisions as the last stage of the process.”

New strategy

In September the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will publish a new strategic planning document. Ceeney warned that recent developments “are likely to have a significant impact both on us and on our customers”.

In a warning that sounded like she meant higher fees, she said: “It will form the basis of important conversations we will be having with our stakeholders over the coming months.”

The FOS will publish its league tables of complaints against firms.