As a consumer I read the article on the ombudsman with interest (12 December, Insurance Times) and wish to relay to all brokers that they have nothing to fear.
For various reasons we complained to the ombudsman about our broker.
It took him 12 months to get round to his decision which, surprisingly enough, was in favour of the broker.
We were so appalled at the unacceptable delay to our complaint that we tried to raise a formal complaint against the financial ombudsman - guess what, the answer came back swiftly from the financial ombudsman, apologising for the delay. He said it was because he was dealing with so many other complaints, that ours got delayed?
So where does the consumer go - if it is a genuine complaint you cannot win and if you wish to complain about the service (or lack of) from the ombudsman service, it polices itself.
So how can we ever hope to win?
Shelley Gorys
Director
Alexander Francis
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