Published March 2024
Financial Services and
Pensions Ombudsman
Overview of Complaints
2023
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Contents
1. The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) 5
2. Ombudsman’s Message 7
3. FSPO’s referral of complaints to the regulatory authorities during 2023 16
4. Complaints received by location 19
5. Sectoral Analysis 21
Banking Complaints 2023 24
Insurance Complaints 2023 25
Investment Complaints 2023 26
Pension Scheme Complaints 2023 27
Market Exit Complaints 2023 29
Disputed Transactions 31
Tracker Mortgage Complaints 2023 33
6. How we managed complaints in 2023 40
Customer Operations and Information Management 43
Dispute Resolution Services 49
Investigation Services 60
Legal Services 77
7. Report on named nancial service providers 95
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Acronyms/Abbreviaons
AVCs Additional Voluntary Contributions
CBI Central Bank of Ireland
CCR Central Credit Register
COIM Customer Operations and Information Management
CPC Consumer Protection Code 2012
DRS Dispute Resolution Services
FSPO Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
IS Investigation Services
LS Legal Services
PRSAs Personal Retirement Savings Accounts
The Act Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act
2017
The Examination Central Bank of Ireland directed Tracker Mortgage
Examination
The regulatory
authorities
The Central Bank of Ireland, the Competition and
Consumer Protection Commission, and the Pensions
Authority.
Trust RACs Trust Retirement Annuity Contracts
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1
The Financial Services and
Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO)
The FSPO was established in January 2018 by the Financial Services and
Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017. The role of the FSPO is to resolve complaints
from consumers, including small businesses and other organisations, against
nancial service providers and pension providers.
We provide an independent, fair, impartial, condential and free service to resolve
complaints through either informal mediation, leading to a potential settlement
agreed between the parties, or formal investigation and adjudication, leading to a
legally binding decision.
When any consumer, whether an individual, a small business or an organisation,
is unable to resolve a complaint or dispute with a nancial service provider or a
pension provider, they can refer their complaint to the FSPO.
We deal with complaints informally at rst, by listening to both parties and
engaging with them to facilitate a resolution that is acceptable to both parties.
Much of this informal engagement takes place by telephone. Where these early
interventions do not resolve the dispute, the FSPO formally investigates the
complaint and issues a decision that is legally binding on both parties, subject only
to a statutory appeal to the High Court.
The Ombudsman has wide-ranging powers to deal with complaints against
nancial service providers. The Ombudsman can direct a provider to rectify the
conduct that is the subject of the complaint. There is no limit to the value of the
rectication that can be directed. The Ombudsman can also direct a nancial
service provider to pay compensation to a complainant of up to €500,000. In
addition, the Ombudsman can publish anonymised decisions and can also publish
the names of any nancial service provider that has had at least three complaints
against it upheld, substantially upheld, or partially upheld during a calendar year.
When dealing with complaints against pension providers, the Ombudsman’s
powers are more limited. While the Ombudsman can direct rectication, the
legislation governing the FSPO sets out that such rectication shall not exceed
any actual loss of benet under the pension scheme concerned.
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Furthermore, the Ombudsman cannot direct a pension provider to pay
compensation. The Ombudsman can only publish case studies in relation to
pension decisions (not the full decision) and cannot publish the names of any
pension provider irrespective of the number of complaints it may have had
upheld, substantially upheld, or partially upheld against it during a calendar year.
Formal investigation of a complaint by the FSPO is a detailed, fair and impartial
process carried out in accordance with fair procedures. For this reason,
documentary and audio evidence and other material, together with submissions
from the parties, is gathered by the FSPO from those involved in the dispute and
exchanged between the parties.
Unless a decision is appealed to the High Court, the nancial service provider or
pension provider must implement any direction made by the Ombudsman in a
legally binding decision. Decisions appealed to the High Court are not published
while they are the subject of an appeal.
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Ombudsman’s Message
I am very pleased to publish this Overview of Complaints for 2023. The FSPO’s
mission is to provide an impartial, accessible, and responsive complaint resolution
service that delivers fair, transparent and timely outcomes for all our customers,
and enhances the nancial services and pension environment. This Overview
serves as a resource for all those who can have an impact on the nancial services
and pension environment, and I would encourage providers to reect on the
nature of the complaints brought to this Ofce, and what I consider to be missed
opportunities in some situations, to have resolved those complaints internally, at
an earlier stage.
I will begin by thanking the entire FSPO team for their hard work and
commitment throughout the year. Due to their concerted efforts, the FSPO closed
5,184 complaints in 2023. This is a 12% increase on the number of complaints
closed in 2022. In doing so, we delivered outcomes worth over €4.7 million to
consumers.
At the same time, we received a record number of complaints. In 2023, the FSPO
received a total of 6,182 complaints, representing a 29% increase on the number
received in 2022.
It is clear that we need to further grow the capacity of the FSPO to meet
the growing challenges. In this regard, 2023 was an important year for the
organisation, as the Minister for Finance provided sanction to increase our
workforce by 42% from 90 to 128. This increase in resources, combined with our
work to continuously increase efciency will signicantly impact on the capacity
of the Ofce to deliver for our customers.
It is also important for providers to consider what measures they can take
to reduce the number of complaints arising. An increase of almost 30% in
the number of complaints being made to the Financial Services and Pensions
Ombudsman in just one year, should be a cause for reection amongst providers.
Where appropriate, the FSPO will do what we can to assist providers in their
work to reduce complaints. We meet with providers and their representatives
and discuss trends in complaints received. We have published over 2,300 legally
binding decisions in relation to complaints against nancial service providers.
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Our annual Overview of Complaints and our Digests of Decisions, which provide
analyses and examples of complaints and decisions are also useful resources for
both providers and consumers.
In addition to encouraging providers of nancial services and pension products
to work to reduce the number of complaints arising, I also encourage them to
adopt an approach of seeking, where possible, to resolve complaints quickly with
their customers. It is clear that many of the consumers making complaints to this
Ofce could have had their complaints addressed by their provider, at an earlier
point in time.
Even after a complaint has been made to the FSPO, there continue to be
opportunities for providers and consumers to resolve their complaints informally.
Mediation has been central to our efforts to resolve complaints at the earliest
stage and since the introduction of mediation as the default complaint resolution
process used by the FSPO, we have achieved very considerable success in
facilitating the resolution of complaints by agreement, directly between
providers and their customers. Typically, more than 70% of complaints referred to
mediation are successfully resolved through the mediation process.
Outcomes
The outcomes for those who bring complaints to this Ofce can be signicant.
During 2023, 5,184 complaints were closed, and the outcomes of these
complaints included the following:
1,275 complainants achieved a mediation settlement through our Dispute
Resolution Service, with the value of those settlements totalling €2,943,493.
A further €1,271,754 was paid to complainants by providers to settle
complaints during the FSPO’s formal investigation process.
The combined value of compensation directed in legally binding decisions
following the formal investigation process was €321,330.
An additional €175,543 in redress from providers was noted by the FSPO as
available for acceptance by complainants, leading to legally binding decisions
where those complaints were not upheld because the offer in question was
reasonable and adequate to redress the conduct giving rise to the complaint,
and no formal direction by the Ombudsman was required.
These outcomes do not include the very signicant but unquantiable benets
of redress by rectication, secured by complainants, through a legally binding
direction of the FSPO. Examples of such rectication outcomes are detailed on
page 62.
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Timelines
Although the number of complaints received increased considerably in 2023,
many of these complaints were resolved early on in our processes. I would
encourage both consumers and providers to take advantage of the swift
resolutions that can be achieved through our informal dispute resolution
process. Mediation has proven to be an effective and timely method of resolving
complaints to the satisfaction of all involved.
In 2023:
85% of complaints that closed in 2023, were closed within 12 months
of the complaint being made. This was mainly through resolution in our
Dispute Resolution Services (mediation) and early-stage assessments and
interventions in our Customer Operations and Information Management
department. This includes when a complaint was resolved directly between
the parties, or if a complaint fell outside the jurisdiction of the FSPO.
For all complaints that closed in 2023, including tracker mortgage complaints,
the average time from receipt of complaint to closure, was 8.6 months.
For non-tracker mortgage complaints that closed in 2023, the average time
from receipt to closure, was 7 months.
Certain more complex complaints, including those requiring a formal adjudication
process or formal jurisdictional assessment, or both, take longer to resolve.
This reects the fact that adjudications by the Ombudsman are legally binding
and accordingly, it is important that every decision arrived at, has followed due
process and allowed both parties to make submissions and offer observations on
the evidence and on the other party’s submissions, as appropriate.
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Complaints that
closed
complaints received
Non-tracker
mortgage
complaints closed
of banking
complaints
involved disputed
transactions.
Total
compensation
directed in legally
binding decisions
Workforce plan approved. Staff
to increase from 90.2 to 128
Value to the
complainant of our
Dispute Resolution
Services
24%
6,182
2023
29%
Average time
to closure
Average time
to closure
7 months
of complaints that
closed, were closed
within 12 months
42%
increase
€2,943,493
€321,330
85%
?
8.6 months
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Referrals to the authorities
I had cause to formally refer 9 legally binding decisions to the Central Bank of
Ireland (CBI) during 2023. Referrals take place for a variety of reasons including
in circumstances where a complaint raises the possibility of a potentially systemic
issue, which may warrant consideration by the regulatory authorities.
For example, I referred two decisions where I was concerned that there appeared
to be a shortfall in the guidance available to regulated nancial service providers
under the Central Credit Register framework, in situations of bankruptcy, or
insolvency arrangements (decision 2023-0082 and decision 2023-0083).
In another decision, I noted the provider’s incorrect approach to its Central Credit
Register reporting obligations, in relation to accounts where the card had been
revoked, and I was concerned that this may well have impacted other customers
(decision 2023-0256).
In addition to these 9 decisions formally referred, I shared copies of 107 tracker
mortgage decisions, and 26 decisions issued in complaints concerning declined
insurance claims for business interruption losses, with the CBI in 2023.
Sharing information and our perspective, with the regulatory authorities is a vital
part of our stakeholder engagement and ensures that potentially systemic issues
are raised for consideration with the appropriate regulatory body, for such action
as may be appropriate.
Customer Service
Customer service remains the primary source of complaints made by consumers
to this Ofce in 2023, representing 24% of all such complaints. Complaints
relating to customer service issues can include a provider’s failure to provide
information, and accessibility and communication issues. It is also common
for complainants to reference failures during the provider’s internal complaint
handling process. I believe that a more responsive service from providers to their
customers, could avoid many of these complaints arising.
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Complainants referencing fraud
The upward trend continues in the number of complainants referencing fraud.
Financial fraud is becoming more sophisticated, and as technology moves ahead in
leaps and bounds, it can often result in even the savviest of consumers falling prey
to seemingly legitimate, but fraudulent, schemes and scams.
It is important to note that the FSPO cannot investigate instances of fraud, as that
is a matter for An Garda Síochána. However, the FSPO can investigate a complaint
which relates to suggested service failings of the nancial service provider in
dealing with a customer who suspects fraud on their account, and any complaint
about disputed transactions.
This Overview highlights some of these complaints, through the use of
anonymised case studies, where the customer came to the FSPO because they felt
their bank had not dealt with their issue appropriately.
One case study highlights the case of Diana who complained to her bank after
she had transferred €2,720 to an online trading platform, which she said was then
transferred to a fraudulent investment company. Diana hoped her bank could
recover her money through the chargeback process. Although the bank still held
Diana liable for the transactions, it noted some service issues with the handling
of her complaint. The bank noted that Diana had been credited €1721.23 by the
online trading company and offered to refund Diana an additional €1,720 as a
gesture of goodwill.
In another case study, Marie was the victim of a scam, which was carried out by
fraudsters claiming to be from the Department of Social Protection and An Garda
Síochána. Marie was informed by the fraudsters that someone had stolen her
identity, and that this person was suspected of money laundering. She transferred
€17,000 to a foreign bank account before she realised it was a scam. Although the
bank emphasised it was not responsible for Marie’s loss, it did acknowledge that
its customer service fell short of its standards. It offered Marie €4,000 in full and
nal settlement of her complaint, which she accepted.
Eileen was an elderly lady who sent a total of €82,000 to a care worker abroad,
as a result of an ad she had seen online. She nally realised that she had been the
victim of a scam when there was no sign of the care worker coming to Ireland.
Eileen’s bank said that Eileen had authorised all of the payments herself, so it was
not responsible for the loss. However, Eileen said that the bank staff member
never queried why an 80-year-old woman was sending so much money, so often,
to a very distant country. The parties resolved the dispute in mediation and on
that basis, the bank agreed to refund Eileen’s money.
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Market Exits
It is important to note one area of success in efforts to limit the number of
complaints arising. The departure of two major nancial service providers from
the Irish market, posed the potential for a high volume of complaints to be made
to this Ofce, given the number of impacted customers. During 2023, this Ofce
received 236 complaints identied as relating to market exit, though not all of
these complaints were in relation to the conduct of those providers leaving the
market. A total of 162 complaints relating to market exit were closed during the
year, mainly through our Registration and Assessment or Dispute Resolution
Services.
It is very positive that, to date, for the vast majority of impacted consumers,
the departure of two major banks has not given rise to issues leading to a
complaint being made to this Ofce. This outcome was achieved through the
work of many stakeholders, including providers and their representatives. The
FSPO contributed by collaboratively engaging and sharing information with
stakeholders within the Irish banking sector, including with the providers leaving
the market.
In 2022, we began tracking complaints relating to market exit in order to identify
market exit complaints from the time they were received. We engaged with
those providers leaving the market, regarding their processes and plans for
resources to address both current and future complaints. We identied trends
and patterns and shared insights with relevant internal and external stakeholders.
This enabled earlier intervention to better manage issues, as appropriate,
thereby preventing new complaints arising and facilitating earlier resolution of
complaints. Complaints in relation to market exit were assessed and progressed,
as appropriate, in the same way as other ongoing complaints.
Tracker Mortgage related complaints
During 2023, the FSPO received 74 complaints relating to tracker mortgage
interest rates. This represents a signicant decline from the 139 such complaints
received in 2022 and is signicantly lower than in 2020, when the number of
tracker mortgage interest rate complaints received peaked, at 492 in the year.
These complaints continue to comprise a considerable portion of the work of
the FSPO, as they progress through both the informal dispute resolution process
and the formal investigation process. In 2023, this Ofce closed 224 tracker
mortgage related complaints, with 892 tracker mortgage complaints on hand at
the end of the year.
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I directed €38,000 in total compensation in 4 legally binding decisions concerning
tracker mortgages, which were either substantially upheld or partially upheld in
2023. A total of 103 tracker mortgage complaints were not upheld.
This Overview contains links to some of the decisions issued on tracker mortgage
interest rate complaints which may be of benet to consumers who may be
considering making a complaint, to their representatives and to providers.
My rst full year as Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman has been
rewarding, and I look forward to another year ahead, working to deliver on our
mission of providing an impartial, accessible, and responsive complaint resolution
service that delivers fair, transparent and timely outcomes for all our customers,
and enhances the nancial services and pension environment.
Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (Amendment)
Bill 2023
I welcome the publication of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Bill
2023. The Bill aims to copperfasten the protection of consumers in their access
to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) to make complaints
about the conduct of nancial service providers which have left the Irish market.
The Bill also introduces legislative amendments to ensure the Financial Services
and Pensions Ombudsman continues to discharge its statutory functions in
line with the Constitution, following a Supreme Court Decision regarding the
Workplace Relations Commission. In the context of the Bill, discussions have
also included the jurisdiction of this Ofce with regard to complaints about the
conduct of credit servicing rms and loan owners, prior to 2019. This Ofce will
continue to engage with the Minister and the Department in relation to these
matters as the Bill continues its passage through the Oireachtas.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to all who contributed to the work of the Financial Services and
Pensions Ombudsman over the course of 2023.
I have already referenced the hard work and commitment of all of my colleagues
in the FSPO. Their continued dedication to our values of fairness, independence,
effectiveness, accessibility and integrity is greatly appreciated. I wish to thank
my colleagues on the Senior Management Team, MaryRose McGovern, Deputy
Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, Diarmuid Byrne, Director of
Dispute Resolution, Tara McDermott, Director of Customer Operations and
Information Management, Úna Gately, Director of Investigation Services and Áine
Carroll, Director of Corporate and Communication Services for their hard work
and dedication.
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I would also like to thank the Chairperson, Maeve Dineen, and members of the
Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Council for their support, guidance
and assistance during 2023.
Finally, I wish to express my appreciation to the Minister for Finance, Michael
McGrath TD, and his ofcials for their ongoing support and cooperation.
Liam Sloyan
Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
March 2024
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FSPO’s referral of complaints
to the regulatory authories
during 2023
Section 18 of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017 (the Act),
as amended, requires the Ombudsman to cooperate with the Central Bank of
Ireland, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, and the Pensions
Authority (the “regulatory authorities”) in a way that contributes to promoting
the best interests of consumers and actual or potential beneciaries of nancial
or pension services, and to the efcient and effective handling of complaints.
The Act facilitates the sharing of information by the Ombudsman with the
regulatory authorities, for the purpose of the performance of the functions of the
Ombudsman, under the Act.
During 2023, the FSPO shared a copy of every legally binding decision issued,
concerning a complaint about a tracker mortgage rate of interest, with the Central
Bank of Ireland (CBI). Copies of 107 tracker mortgage decisions were sent by the
FSPO to the CBI.
The same approach was adopted for 26 legally binding decisions issued in
complaints concerning declined insurance claims for business interruption losses.
In addition to those decisions, the FSPO also refers other legally binding decisions
to the regulatory authorities, with a view to promoting the best interests of the
consumer protection framework. Referrals take place for a variety of reasons
including in circumstances where a complaint raises the possibility of a potentially
systemic issue, which may warrant consideration by the regulatory authorities.
The table below sets out the complaints which, during 2023, were referred by the
FSPO to the Central Bank of Ireland for those reasons.
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Fig. 3.1 - Complaint issues referred to the Central Bank of Ireland during 2023
Decision reference Issue raised by the complaint
2023-0160 The Ombudsman was concerned at the provider’s
reliance on a policy exclusion in its claim decision
which was no longer applicable, and which
the provider had acknowledged was an error.
This raised a potentially systemic issue in the
provider’s claim decisions.
2023-0082 The Ombudsman was concerned about an
apparent shortfall in the guidance available to
regulated nancial service providers under the
Central Credit Register framework, in situations
of bankruptcy, which can include complex sets of
circumstances, such as in the background to this
complaint.
2023-0083 The Ombudsman was concerned about an
apparent a shortfall in the guidance available to
regulated nancial service providers under the
Central Credit Register framework, in situations
of bankruptcy, or insolvency arrangements, such
as in the background to this complaint.
2023-0091 The Ombudsman was concerned that the terms
of an insurance policy in the section outlining
the cover and in the section outlining exclusions,
taken together made the policy confusing and
made it difcult for a consumer to understand
the nature and the limits of such cover, because
of the interplay between the policy wording. This
created a potentially systemic issue arising from
the likely confusion caused.
2023-0032 The Ombudsman was concerned at the poor
record keeping practices of the provider
demonstrated in its response to this complaint
and the potential impact of this on other
customers.
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Decision reference Issue raised by the complaint
2023-0024 The Ombudsman was concerned that the
interplay between two separate policy provisions
failed to meet the provider’s obligation under
Provision 2.6 of the Consumer Protection Code,
to make relevant material information available to
its policyholder, in a way that seeks to inform, and
that this issue could be systemic in nature.
2023-0023 The Ombudsman was concerned about the
provider’s failure to comply with all of its
obligations pursuant to Chapter 2 of Consumer
Protection Code, which the Ombudsman was
satised constituted conduct contrary to law
within the meaning of Section 60(2)(a) of the
Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
Act 2017, relating to errors in dealing with the
claim, in circumstances where the policy offered
no cover or policy benets for the policyholder’s
situation.
2023-0256 The Ombudsman was concerned that the
provider’s incorrect approach to reporting
accounts where the card had been revoked, may
have impacted other customers.
2023-0254 The Ombudsman was concerned about the
likely confusion caused by policy provisions
which included a denition of “gross prot” that
deviated from its well-established and generally
understood meaning, without that signicant
difference being adequately highlighted.
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4
Complaints received by locaon
Louth
133
Dublin
1,746
Leitrim
24
Kilkenny
84
Sligo
59
Donegal
135
ROI Total
4,969
NI Total
30
Fermanagh
5
Tyrone
0
Derry
7
Antrim
10
Down
7
Armagh
1
Roscommon
55
Mayo
102
Cavan
73
Longford
38
Monaghan
56
Westmeath
74
Meath
265
Carlow
59
Kildare
283
Laois
72
Offaly
69
Limerick
158
Clare
101
Kerry
115
Cork
506
Waterford
108
Wexford
134
Wicklow
181
Galway
203
Tipperary
136
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1
Belize
1
Guadeloupe
1
Martinique
4
Brazil
1
Thailand
2
1
India
3
Bangladesh
4
Sri Lanka
2
Singapore
Hong Kong
2
Philippines
1
Japan
5
Pakistan
1
Zambia
5
South Africa
2
Israel
1
Georgia
265 Unassigned
1
Argentina
2
Madagascar
1
Mauritius
3
Nigeria
19
USA
6
18
Australia
2
Russian
Federation
1
Kazakhstan
3
2
Saudi Arabia
9
UAE
6
New Zealand
2
Egypt
3
Ghana
Canada
Europe 5,805
Global
Total
6,182
Czechia
Netherlands
Belgium
Norway
Finland
Ireland
Estonia
Romania
Slovakia
Luxembourg
Lithuania
Malta
Bulgaria
Turkey
Italy
Poland
Denmark
Portugal
Spain
France
Guernsey
Switzerland
Germany
Austria
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Croatia
Hungary
Cyprus
Sweden
GB
Greece
7
4
5
Latvia
4
5
Moldova
2
75
2
15
Ukraine
9
9
11
5
3
7
16
4
50
4
22
Slovenia
6
Andorra
1
128
2
Iceland
1
10
23
61
N. Ireland
30
10
83
2
3
21
5
22
169
4,969
21
5
22
Europe
5,805
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Sectoral Analysis
This section sets out details of the complaints received in 2023 in the banking,
insurance and investment categories, as well as complaints related to pension
schemes.
A total of 6,182 complaints were received by the FSPO in 2023, a 29% increase in
comparison to 2022, where 4,781 complaints were received.
Banking complaints were the highest category of complaints received, with
3,850 complaints, or 62% of all complaints received falling into this category. This
represents a signicant increase in banking complaints to the FSPO in 2023. In
2022, 2,640 complaints received were in the banking sector.
The FSPO received 1,446 (23%) complaints relating to the insurance sector, which
accounted for the second largest category of complaints received. This compared
to 1,129 complaints received in this category in 2022.
The number of complaints received in both investment and pension categories
also rose in 2023. 461 investment complaints were received, and 336 pension
complaints were received. This compared with 366 and 233 complaints received
in these categories respectively, in 2022.
This year, the FSPO also began collecting gures for non-regulated entities and 74
complaints made about the conduct of such entities, were received.
13 complaints were labelled ‘not applicable’. This occurs where there is not
enough detail given by the complainant to assign a sector before closing the
complaint, or where the complaint was not for the nancial sector. At year end,
two complaints received had not yet been assigned to a sector. This happens
when we are waiting for further information from the complainant to enable us to
correctly determine the sector.
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Fig. 5.1 Complaints received by sector 2023
Banking
3,850
62%
Insurance
1,446
23%
Pension Schemes
336
5%
Investment
461
7%
Not applicable
13
<1%
Non-regulated
74
1%
Unassigned at year end
2
<1%
Complaints received by sector
€
Total complaints received 6,182
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As in 2022, customer service was the conduct most complained of in 2023, with
24% of complaints relating to this conduct. Customer service complaints relate
to complaints which include issues such as communications, complaint handling,
account access issues and the failure to provide information.
Fig. 5.2 – Top 10 conducts complained of:
0 450 900 1350 1800
1,506, (24%)
1,238, (20%)
905, (15%)
452, (7%)
292, (5%)
267, (4%)
232, (4%)
230, (4%)
216, (3%)
176, (3%)
Disputed fees and charges
Arrears handling
Maladministraon
Mis-selling
Refusal to give product/service
Advice Incorrect/Unsuitable (post-sale)
Disputed Transacons
Rejecon of Claim
Claim Handling
Customer Service
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Banking Complaints 2023
The FSPO received 3,850 banking complaints in 2023, a 46% increase from the
2,640 classied as banking complaints in 2022. Banking complaints accounted for
62% of all complaints received, an increase of seven percentage points from 2022
when banking complaints accounted for 55% of all complaints received.
The majority of banking complaints concerned bank accounts (1,747), followed by
mortgages (1,150) and then other consumer credit (498). These three products
were also the three products most complained of in 2022.
Fig 5.3 Banking complaints by product 2023
Accounts 1,747
Mortgage 1,150
Consumer Credit 498
Payment Service 232
Commercial 179
Mulple Product/Service 33
Foreign Exchange 11
1,747, (45%)
1,150, (30%)
498, (13%)
33, (<1%)
179, (5%)
11, (<1%)
232, (6%)
Total 3,850
Customer service was the conduct which featured most in complaints about
banking services in 2023, as was the case in 2022. Customer service covers a
range of issues, including issues such as communications, complaint handling,
account access issues and the failure to provide information. Complaints
concerning disputed transactions and maladministration were the second and
third most common conducts respectively, featuring in complaints in the banking
sector.
Fig 5.4 – Top 6 primary Banking conducts complained of 2023
0
450
900
1350
Maladministraon Arrears
handling
Applicaon of
interest rate
Disputed fees
and charges
Disputed
transacons
1,218, (32%)
905, (24%)
796, (21%)
216, (6%)
152, (4%)
152, (4%)
Customer
Service
Total 3,850
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
25
Insurance Complaints 2023
The FSPO received 1,446 complaints related to insurance products in 2023. This
represents a 28% increase from the 1,129 complaints classied as insurance
complaints in 2022. Insurance complaints account for 23% of all complaints
received, an decrease of 1 percentage point from 2022, when insurance
complaints accounted for 24% of all complaints received. The largest number
of insurance complaints received related to motor insurance (498 complaints),
followed by private health insurance (215 complaints).
Fig 5.5 Insurance complaints by product 2023
Motor 498
Private Health Insurance 215
Home and/or Property 183
Tra ve l 171
Life 126
Accident, Illness and Other 83
Protecon 60
Miscellaneous 48
Commercial 41
Mulple Product/Service 21
215, (15%)
183, (13%)
60, (4%)
171, (12%)
498, (34%)
21, (1%)
41, (3%)
48, (3%)
83, (6%)
126, (9%)
Total 1,446
Most insurance complaints received in 2023 concerned claim handling (451
complaints) followed by complaints concerning the rejection of a claim (292
complaints). Notably, complaints concerning the conduct of ‘refusal to give
product/service’, appear fth in the top 5 conducts in 2023, having increased from
62 complaints in 2022 to 126 complaints in 2023.
Fig 5.6 – Top 5 Insurance conducts complained of 2023
Maladministraon Customer Service
Refusal to give
product/service
Claim Handling
451, (31%)
292, (20%)
155, (11%)
150, (10%)
126, (9%)
Rejecon of
Claim
Total 1,446
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Investment Complaints 2023
The FSPO received 461 investment related complaints in 2023, a 26% increase
from the 366 classied as investment complaints in 2022. Investment complaints
accounted for 7% of all complaints received in 2023, a decrease of one percentage
point from 2022 when investment complaints accounted for 8% of all complaints
received.
The investment category includes not only investments, but also pension-related
investment products, a category for multiple products, and endowments. Some
products involve investments which are put in place to make provision for a
person’s retirement such as AVCs (Additional Voluntary Contributions), but a
product of that nature is not a “pension scheme” within the meaning of the FSPO’s
governing legislation. As a result, these products fall within the investment
products category.
Fig. 5.7 Investment complaints by product 2023
Investment 322
Pension related investment 129
Mulple Product/Service 7
Endowment 3
322, (70%)
129, (28%)
3, (<1%)
7, (2%)
Total 461
The conducts most complained of in investment complaints were
maladministration (133 complaints) and customer service (121 complaints).
Investment complaints relating to Mis-selling increased by 77% since 2022 (83
complaints in 2023).
Fig. 5.8 Top 5 Investment conducts complained of 2023
Mis-selling Advice
Incorrect/Unsuitable
(post-sale)
Management of
Fund
Maladministraon
Customer
Service
Total 461
0
100
50
150
121, (26%)
133, (29%)
46, (10%)
42, (9%)
83, (18%)
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Pension Scheme Complaints 2023
The FSPO received 336 pension scheme complaints in 2023 in comparison
with 233 complaints in 2022, an increase of 44%. The majority of complaints
relating to pensions in 2023, related to occupational pension schemes (71%; 238
complaints).
Occupational pension schemes are schemes set up by an employer to provide
retirement and/or other benets for employees. This includes both public sector
and private sector occupational pension schemes.
PRSAs (Personal Retirement Savings Accounts) are pension savings accounts,
normally paid for by personal contributions, although employers can pay
contributions to these plans too. They accounted for 20% (67 complaints) of
complaints in 2023.
Trust RACs (Retirement Annuity Contracts) are schemes established under
trust and approved by the Revenue Commissioners. They are for the benet of
individuals engaged in, or connected with, a particular occupation and which
provide retirement annuities for them, or benets for their dependents.
Fig. 5.9 Pension scheme complaints by product 2023
Occupaonal Pension Scheme 238
PRSA 67
Other 29
Trust RAC 2
238, (71%)
67, (20%)
2, (<1%)
29, (9%)
Total 336
The conducts most complained of in relation to pensions were maladministration
(46%; 153 complaints) and calculation of pension benet (22%; 75 complaints).
Although the Ombudsman can direct rectication in pension complaints, the
legislation governing the FSPO sets out that the value of such rectication shall
not exceed any actual loss of benet under the pension scheme concerned. For
that reason, the Ombudsman cannot direct a pension provider to separately
compensate for acts of maladministration.
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Fig. 5.10 Top 5 Pension scheme conducts complained of 2023
Failure to provide
informaon/correct
informaon
Customer
Service
Refusal to give
product/service
Maladministraon
Calculaon of
Pension Benefit
Total 336
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
33, (10%)
21, (6%)
75, (22%)
153, (46%)
17, (5%)
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Market Exit Complaints 2023
The departure of two major nancial service providers from the Irish market
in 2022 posed the potential for a high volume of complaints to be made to this
Ofce, given the number of impacted customers. On 1 June 2022, the FSPO
began tracking complaints relating to market exit, and sharing data and insight
with our stakeholders.
The FSPO contributed to the low volume of complaints by collaboratively
engaging and sharing information with stakeholders within the Irish banking
landscape, including with the providers leaving the market, ensuring that our
stakeholders were aware, on an ongoing basis, of the experience of the impacted
customers, as communicated to this Ofce.
In 2023, the FSPO received 236 complaints which were tagged with the keywords
‘market exit’, though not all of these complaints were in relation to the conduct of
those providers leaving the market. A total of 162 complaints relating to market
exit were closed in 2023. 55 complaints were closed at an early stage within our
Customer Operations and Information Management (COIM) department, where
either the complainant was re-directed to the nancial service provider, where
information had not been provided by the complainant in order to progress the
complaint, where a resolution had been reached, or the complaint had been
withdrawn.
A further 106 complaints were concluded within our Dispute Resolution
Service (DRS) for a variety of reasons, including where a settlement was agreed
between the parties, where a clarication was issued, where a resolution had
been reached outside of DRS, where the matter was noted to be best dealt with
by an alternative forum and where information had not been provided by the
complainant in order to progress the complaint.
One complaint was closed in Legal Services (LS) as it was outside the jurisdiction
of the FSPO. A complaint can go to Legal Services at any point in our processes,
but ideally in the early stages, should there be a jurisdictional query.
It is very positive that, to date, for the vast majority of impacted consumers,
the departure of two major banks has not given rise to issues leading to a
complaint being made to this Ofce. The FSPO contributed to this outcome by
collaboratively engaging and sharing complaint categorisation information with
relevant stakeholders within the Irish banking landscape, including with the
providers leaving the market.
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Fig. 5.11 Market Exit related complaints concluded by FSPO directorate during
2023
Clarificaon
Legal Services
Dispute Resoluon Services
Customer Operaons and
Informaon Management
Compliance
Incomplete
Outside
Jurisdicon
Resolved between
the pares
outside DRS
Mediaon
Selement
Withdrawn
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Disputed Transactions
There has been a steady increase in the number of complaints received by the
FSPO in relation to disputed transactions, since 2018. Disputed transactions
include fraudulent transactions, unauthorised withdrawals, a failure to provide
security on an account and non-receipt of money.
It is important to note that the FSPO cannot investigate instances of fraud, as that
is a matter for An Garda Síochána. However, the FSPO can investigate a complaint
which relates to service failings of the provider in dealing with a customer who
suspects fraud on their account, and any complaint about disputed transactions.
In 2023, nearly a quarter of all banking complaints included the conducts grouped
under the heading of Disputed Transactions. Conducts complained of within the
grouping include disputed transactions, fraudulent transactions, failure to provide
accurate account information or balances, failure to provide security measures,
non-receipt of money, and unauthorised withdrawals.
Fig 5.12 Disputed transactions as a percentage of all banking complaints
received 2018-2023
0
5
10
15
20
25
20232019 2020 2021 20222018
10%
13% 13%
20% 20%
24%
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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The increase in disputed transactions within the banking sector complaints
reects a distressing increase in fraud, particularly impacting vulnerable
customers. As digital transactions become more commonplace, those who may be
less familiar with online security measures are often targeted by fraudsters, but
anyone can fall for the clever tricks that criminals use.
Phishing attempts are where fraudsters, masquerading as trusted contacts, dupe
the customer into revealing their account security details. This results in disputed
transactions and may lead to a complaint to the FSPO if the customer believes
their bank hasn’t dealt with the issue appropriately.
There are a number of case studies within this Overview which demonstrate the
kind of scams that customers fall victim to. For example, Diana complained to
her bank after she had transferred money to an online trading platform, which
she said was then transferred to a fraudulent investment company. Diana felt the
bank should have started the chargeback process to recover her money.
In another complaint, Marie was the victim of a scam, which was carried out by
fraudsters claiming to be from the Department of Social Protection and An Garda
Síochána. Marie was informed by the fraudsters that someone had stolen her
identity and that this person was suspected of money laundering. She transferred
€17,000 to a foreign bank account, hoping to “protect” her money, before she
realised it was a scam.
Eugene lost €5,000 when his phone was hacked whilst on holiday on a cruise ship.
Eugene complained to his bank as he felt they could have done more to prevent
the transactions being completed.
Olive was another customer who believed she was signing up to a regulated
online trading platform to buy shares in a well-known company, when in fact, she
had signed up to an unregulated online trading platform where her investment
was sent to an unregulated fraudulent company. Olive said she lost a total of
€41,000 that she had placed with the platform. Olive said that the bank failed to
anticipate, prevent or notify her of the fraudulent nature of the online trading
platform.
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
33
Tracker Mortgage Complaints 2023
The FSPO received 74 tracker mortgage related complaints in 2023. As can be
seen from gure 5.13, the number of tracker mortgage complaints received each
year continues to decline.
At the end of 2023 we had closed 224 tracker mortgage complaints and had 892
on hand.
Fig. 5.13 – Tracker mortgage interest rate related complaints 2021-2023
Complaints received Complaints closed Complaints on hand at year end
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
202320222021
74
224
892
250
370
1,115
139
247
1,030
The Ombudsman issued 107 tracker mortgage interest rate related legally
binding decisions in 2023. Three of these decisions were partially upheld, with a
total value of €28,000 directed to be paid to the complainants. One complaint was
substantially upheld, and the Ombudsman directed an amount of €10,000 to be
paid in compensation in this instance.
The remaining 103 complaints where a legally binding decision was issued, were
not upheld.
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Fig 5.14 – Tracker mortgage interest rate decisions issued in 2023
Decision outcome
Number of
decisions
Overall value of directions
issued in tracker decisions
Upheld 0 €0
Partially Upheld 3 €28,000
Substantially Upheld 1 €10,000
Not Upheld 103 €0
Total 107 €38,000
An additional 117 tracker mortgage complaints were closed for a variety of
reasons, without a legally binding decision being issued. In 23 complaints a
clarication was issued, allowing the complaint to close. 10 complaints closed
where information had not been provided by the complainant in order to progress
the complaint. In 9 complaints, the FSPO determined the complaints were outside
its jurisdiction. 33 complaints closed on the basis of a settlement agreement
between the complainant and the provider, and 42 complaints were withdrawn.
Fig 5.15 Tracker mortgage complaints closed without a legally binding decision
in 2023
Outside Jurisdicon Withdrawn
Selement
Clarificaon
Compliance
Incomplete
Total 117
0
10
20
30
40
50
9
33
10
23
42
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
35
It is evident from the outcomes of the tracker mortgage decisions issued, that
we continue to receive a considerable number of complaints from people whose
complaint about a tracker mortgage rate is not upheld, following an investigation
of the complaint. Many people remain of the belief that they are entitled to a
tracker mortgage interest rate, either from the time when they took out the
mortgage loan or from a date during the life of the mortgage loan, even though
they have no contractual or other entitlement to such a rate.
The following case studies of certain decisions issued by the FSPO in 2023, offer
an insight into some of the arguments raised in tracker mortgage complaints made
to the FSPO. The details below include links to the individual decisions which are
published on the FSPO website. Each decision addresses the individual complaint
made in its individual circumstances, as a result of which the complaints below
were not upheld:
Case Study 1
Eloise and Jean drew down a mortgage loan with the bank in 2004 and took
out a separate top-up loan with the bank in 2008. The bank offered them a
variable interest rate in respect of both loans, and they were advised by the
bank that a variable interest rate was the best option at the time.
As time passed, Eloise and Jean realised that the bank never discussed
tracker interest rates with them when they applied for their mortgage
loan nance. They believed they were entitled to a tracker interest rate
in respect of both mortgage loans, because they felt that they were not
properly advised by the bank in relation to their interest rate options, and
they believed that they were misled by the bank into accepting the variable
interest rate that was offered to them. (Decision 2023-0236)
Case Study 2
Fabio and Mia took out a mortgage loan with the bank in 2005 which
operated on a tracker interest rate of ECB + 1.1%. They approached the
bank for additional borrowings in 2008 as they decided to sell their existing
home and purchase a new home. Fabio and Mia had to fully redeem their
existing mortgage loan when selling their existing mortgaged property and
the bank offered them a new mortgage loan commencing on a one-year
discount loan-to-value variable interest rate.
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
36
Case Study 2
One of the special conditions in the mortgage loan agreement for Fabio and
Mia’s new mortgage loan provided that at the end of the discount interest
rate period, was that they could choose an interest rate which was then
being offered by the bank and in the absence of any selection by them, a
variable interest rate would apply “which may be a tracker variable rate”.
When the discount variable interest rate expired, the bank only offered
them a range of xed interest rates and an LTV (loan-to-value) variable
interest rate. Fabio and Mia selected the LTV variable interest rate at the
time.
They believed they had an entitlement to a tracker interest because the
reference to a tracker interest rate in the special conditions of the mortgage
loan agreement guaranteed that they had a contractual entitlement to a
tracker interest rate on the expiry of the discounted variable interest rate
period. (Decision 2023-0135)
Case Study 3
Evelyn and Finn drew down a mortgage loan with the bank in 2006 when
they bought their home. This mortgage loan operated on a tracker interest
rate. In 2013, their property was in negative equity, and they decided to sell
the house and purchase a new property. In doing so, they had to redeem
their original mortgage loan, which was subject to a tracker interest rate,
and they then drew down a new mortgage loan on a variable interest rate.
At this time, in 2013, the bank did not allow them to transfer the tracker
interest rate on the original mortgage loan, to their new mortgage loan.
After drawing down the new mortgage loan in 2013, Evelyn and Finn
learned that the bank intended to launch a new tracker portability product
in the rst quarter of 2014. This tracker portability product allowed
customers to move home and keep the existing tracker interest rate that
applied to their primary mortgage, plus an additional 1%.
Evelyn and Finn felt they were entitled to a tracker interest rate, because
if the bank had notied them that it intended to introduce a tracker
portability product, they would have waited to sell their home and they
could have retained the tracker interest rate that applied to their original
mortgage loan. (Decision 2023-0188)
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Case Study 4
Maedhbh’s mortgage loan account was considered by the bank as part of
the Central Bank of Ireland directed Tracker Mortgage Examination (the
“Examination”). The bank identied that a failure had occurred on her account
because, on the basis of the terms and conditions of her mortgage loan
agreement, she may have had an expectation that she would be given the
option to avail of the bank’s then prevailing tracker interest rate, when the
xed interest rate period on her mortgage loan account expired. Maedhbh’s
mortgage loan account was deemed to be impacted under that Examination.
The bank offered Maedhbh compensation, but she was not happy with the
amount offered because she considered it inadequate, so she appealed this to
the bank’s Independent Appeals Panel, but her appeal was unsuccessful.
Because Maedhbh was not satised with the decision of the Independent
Appeals Panel and she felt that a tracker interest rate should have been
applied to her mortgage loan account, she decided to make a complaint to the
FSPO. Maedhbh’s complaint was subsequently placed on hold for a number
of months. This was because of an investigation by the FSPO in respect of
another complaint against the same bank, which dealt with similar issues
to those arising in Maedhbh’s complaint. When the legally binding decision
issued in relation to that other complaint (see decision 2020-0103), the
bank indicated that it accepted that legally binding decision in full and that it
intended to apply the FSPO’s approach and compensatory direction to other
mortgage loan account holders who were also affected by that particular
conduct of the bank. Maedhbh was one of these mortgage account holders.
As a result, the bank offered Maedhbh further redress and compensation to
include applying a 12% reduction to her mortgage balance and an interest
refund based on the interest charged on the 12% balance reduction, from the
date her xed rate period ended.
After engaging the services of a third-party representative, Maedhbh
informed the FSPO that she was no longer seeking a tracker interest rate
to be applied to her mortgage loan account and was satised that a 12%
reduction had been applied to the mortgage balance. However, Maedhbh was
not satised with the interest refund offered by the bank. In this regard, she
was of the view that she was entitled to an increased interest refund, because
the bank incorrectly calculated the interest refund on a simple interest basis,
instead of on a compound interest basis. (Decision 2023-0268)
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Case Study 5
Senan was employed by the bank and was therefore able to avail of a
staff preferential interest rate in respect of a certain portion of his overall
borrowings. To facilitate this, Senan drew down two mortgage loans with
the bank in 2008. He availed of a staff preferential interest rate in respect
of the rst mortgage loan, and he opted for a tracker interest rate in respect
of the second mortgage loan. The staff preferential interest rate was more
benecial to Senan at the time, because it was lower than the available
tracker interest rate.
In 2009, the bank moved Senan’s rst mortgage loan to its standard
variable interest rate when the staff preferential interest rate became less
advantageous. The bank gave Senan the option to opt out of this “switch” by
choosing to remain on the staff preferential interest rate, or by choosing to
switch to one of the xed interest rates on offer from the bank at the time.
Senan was not offered a tracker interest rate at this time. He did not opt out
of the “switch” and therefore his mortgage loan was moved to the standard
variable interest rate.
The terms and conditions of Senan’s mortgage loan agreement that related
to xed interest rate loans, stated that he would be given the option to avail
of the bank’s then prevailing tracker interest rate when his mortgage loan
account came off a xed interest rate period. Senan was of the view that
the bank should have offered him a tracker interest rate when the staff
preferential interest rate was removed from his mortgage loan account
because he understood that the staff preferential interest rate was a xed
interest rate, rather than a variable interest rate. (Decision 2023-0111)
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
39
Case Study 6
Lenka previously had a mortgage loan with the bank which she held jointly
with her former spouse, secured on their home. This mortgage loan account
was on a tracker interest rate. After their relationship broke down, Lenka
took over the monthly mortgage loan repayments. She requested the bank
to transfer the mortgage loan into her sole name, but the bank refused to
do this. Instead, Lenka had to fully pay off the jointly held mortgage loan and
make a new application for a loan in her sole name. The bank informed her
at the time that it had to carry out an assessment of her affordability, before
offering her a loan facility in her own name. At the time when Lenka applied
for the new mortgage loan, tracker interest rates had been withdrawn
from the market, and were no longer available as part of the bank’s product
offering. As a result, Lenka was offered a mortgage loan commencing on a
three-year xed interest rate which she accepted.
Lenka felt she should have been allowed to keep the tracker interest rate
when she applied to have the joint mortgage loan put into her sole name,
because she did not want to change any other details of the mortgage loan
or apply for any further borrowings. Lenka simply wanted to remove the
name of the other borrower from the mortgage loan. (Decision 2023-0070)
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
40
6
How we managed complaints in
2023
In 2023, the FSPO received 6,182 complaints, a signicant increase of 29% in
comparison to the number of complaints received in 2022. We also closed more
complaints during this period (5,184 complaints), 12% more than in 2022 (4,647
complaints).
Fig 6.1 – Complaints received and closed 2021-2023
Complaints received Complaints closed
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
4,658
5,010
4,781
4,647
6,182
5,184
202320222021
Despite closing more complaints than in each of the preceding two years, we
ended the year with more complaints on hand than in the same period in 2022,
due to the signicant increase in the volume of complaints received over the
course of 2023.
Complaints on hand are the number of active complaints on any given day. Closed
complaints may be reopened due to new information being received at any point
in the year, so the number of complaints on hand shows the volume of complaints
over the time period.
Following the approval of the FSPO’s Workforce Plan in December 2023, the
sanctioned staff complement in the FSPO was increased from 90.2 to 128.
Arising from this approval of the Workforce Plan there are 35 further roles to be
recruited in 2024. This recruitment process has commenced, and we estimate
these roles will be lled by September 2024.
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
41
These additional resources will assist us in addressing the rising number of
complaints received, as well as supporting our strategic ambition to evolve and
innovate our services and the organisation, with a strong focus on our customers
and external stakeholders and audiences.
Fig 6.2 – Complaints on hand by date 2021-2023
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
2022 20232021
The proportion of complaints received through the FSPO’s online complaint form
in 2023, fell from 80% received in 2022 to 74%. This was due to a signicant
number of complaints coming through as email queries, which our staff then set
up directly on our complaint system.
Fig 6.3 – Percentage of complaints received online 2021-2023
2023
2021
74%80%74%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
2022
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
42
Fig 6.4 – How we managed complaints in 2023
Total number of complaints closed
5,184
Customer Operations and
Information Management
2,441
Dispute Resolution Services
2,049
Investigation Services
512
Legal Services
182
See page 43
See page 49
See page 60
See page 76
Withdrawn complaints
247 complaints were withdrawn at various points in our processes in 2023.
The reason for withdrawal of a complaint can vary depending on the stage at
which the complaint is withdrawn. A common theme, regardless of the stage
at which a complaint is withdrawn, is where the complaint has been resolved
to the complainant’s satisfaction by the provider. While the FSPO encourages
settlements at the earliest stage, a settlement at any stage is always encouraged
and welcome. Complainants may also withdraw their complaint due to a change
in life circumstances. The FSPO is always willing to take such matters into
consideration and may offer to put the complaint on hold for a time instead, if
appropriate.
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
43
Customer Operations and
Information Management
complaints
closed
2,441
When a complaint is received, the Registry and Assessment team reviews and
assesses it. This initial assessment provides an opportunity for the FSPO to
determine if the complainant has provided all the necessary information to
progress the complaint and to ensure the provider has been given the opportunity
to resolve the complaint rst. In many cases, this preliminary work allows the
complaint to close, if the complainant is subsequently satised with the provider’s
resolution of the complaint.
The complaint is assessed to conrm that it is eligible for the statutory jurisdiction
of the FSPO. Not all complaints are eligible for investigation by the FSPO and so
the assessment of the complaint’s eligibility takes place at the earliest possible
stage. This may include determining whether the conduct complained of falls
within the statutory time limits, checking that consent has been provided by all
of the account or policy owners, or we may need to check if a nancial service
provider is regulated.
This early assessment service has enabled the FSPO to use its resources in the
most efcient manner. More importantly, this service has enabled the FSPO to
provide a greatly improved customer experience, ensuring the complainant is
informed early on in the process if their complaint falls outside the FSPO’s remit.
In some circumstances, the Customer Operations and Information Management
(COIM) team may need to refer a complaint to our Legal Services team for a
detailed legal review. Once the COIM team has completed its assessment the
complaint is either referred to Dispute Resolution Services for mediation or,
where the complaint cannot progress any further, it will be closed.
In an effort to get the most meaningful data from our complaints, a set of new
closure codes for our complaint management system was introduced at the end
of 2023. The purpose of these new closure codes is to better describe the reasons
for closing a complaint, as well as to provide a more integrated set of codes which
can be used by the organisation as a whole. This will enhance our reporting on
complaint outcomes going forwards.
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Fig. 6.5 – COIM complaint closure reasons 2023
Closure reason Number of complaints closed
Outside jurisdiction 844
Compliance incomplete 766
Resolved 628
Withdrawn 177
Other 26
Total 2,441
COIM closed 844 complaints during 2023 as they were outside the jurisdiction of
this Ofce. Examples of this would be where the provider is not regulated within
the European Economic Area, where the provider was not providing a nancial
service, or the complaint was outside the time limits allowed for investigation of
the complaint. The FSPO received an increased number of complaints relating
to disputed transactions in 2023, (380 more complaints were received in 2023
under this conduct heading than in 2022), which includes the category of fraud.
Where fraud was the only conduct complained of, this complaint was closed and
labelled as ‘outside jurisdiction’, because the FSPO cannot investigate matters of
fraud, as this is a matter for An Garda Síochána.
In 766 instances where the complaint was closed, the complaint was closed as
‘compliance incomplete’. In these complaints, the complaint could not proceed to
an investigation as there was information outstanding from the complainant, or in
some cases the complainant could not be contacted.
In many cases, complainants make a complaint to the FSPO without having rst
made a complaint to their provider. It is important to ensure the provider has
been given the opportunity to resolve the complaint rst, as it is only when a
complainant has been unable to resolve their complaint or dispute with a nancial
service provider or a pension provider, that they can refer their complaint to
the FSPO. During 2023, 628 such complaints were made to the FSPO, where
subsequent notication to the provider of the existence of a complaint, allowed
the complaint to be resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
In addition, 177 complaints were withdrawn by the complainant at this early
stage.
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Customer Operations and Information
Management Case Studies
Customer Operations and Information Management: Case Study 1
Customer falls victim to scam text
Following receipt of a scam text message, Sophia had €1,000 taken from her
bank account, as a result of fraud. When Sophia contacted her bank, it said
it would investigate the matter. Following its investigation, the bank said it
could not do anything, as she had authorised the transaction herself. Sophia
then submitted a complaint to the FSPO.
As part of the registration and assessment of the complaint, the
Registration Team contacted the bank and asked for further information.
The bank carried out a further review of the complaint and made the
decision to refund the full amount to Sophia.
Sophia said:
I have just been refunded the full amount from the fraud scam I fell
victim to. I would like to sincerely thank you for your help with this
matter, it is appreciated enormously.
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Customer Operations and Information Management: Case Study 2
Credit Union apologises for poor customer
service
Rita took out a loan with her credit union. Rita said she had been unable to
get a statement on her loan, despite asking for it three times. Rita also said
that despite always paying her loan, she was contacted excessively by her
credit union, and funds from her savings, which she had received following
the death of her father, had been used by the credit union to pay off her
loan, without her approval.
As a result, Rita submitted a complaint to the FSPO. On receipt of Rita’s
complaint, the Registration and Assessment Team contacted Rita’s credit
union to request information. On receipt of the request, the credit union
began a further investigation into Rita’s complaint. The credit union said it
had not previously received a complaint from Rita and it arranged to meet
her. This resulted in the resolution of the complaint.
Rita contacted the FSPO, explaining that the credit union had refunded the
money her father had left her, xed her credit rating and apologised.
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Customer Operations and Information Management: Case Study 3
Bank continued to incorrectly report customer
to Central Credit Register
Sergey went through the bankruptcy process and was discharged from
bankruptcy in 2017. Despite being discharged, his bank continued to report
Sergey’s credit rating to the Central Credit Register (CCR). Sergey believed
this to be incorrect and it resulted in him being unable to obtain credit from
any nancial institution. Sergey said this also impacted his wellbeing. Sergey
said he had contacted his bank but was told that nothing could be done.
Sergey submitted a complaint to the FSPO. The complaint was referred to
the Registration & Assessment team, who contacted the bank to request a
nal response letter from it. In its nal response, the bank agreed to request
the deletion of the records from the CCR.
Sergey was happy with that outcome and said: “It [the complaint] was closed
as the FSPO communicated with the lender on my behalf and got the result
we wanted in a short space of time, so the case was closed.
Thank you to the FSPO, I couldn’t have done it without you guys so
many thanks.
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Customer Operations and Information Management: Case Study 4
Customer complains regarding lack of
contact from her bank
Pamela used her credit card to book a holiday. The travel company Pamela
booked with ceased trading at short notice, so Pamela requested a refund
but was unsuccessful. Pamela engaged with her bank, seeking a chargeback,
but this was declined.
Pamela submitted a complaint to her bank but had difculty in getting a
response to her complaint. She then submitted a complaint to the FSPO.
Following a review of the complaint, the Registration and Assessment team
wrote to Pamela’s bank and asked it to review the complaint and issue its
nal response within 10 working days. The bank reviewed the complaint
and then offered Pamela a refund in addition to a gesture of goodwill for the
lapse in service.
Pamela wrote to us to say:
I am so grateful to you for getting such a comprehensive,
satisfactory and prompt reply from [my bank] for me.
They have acknowledged the difculties and exasperation I
experienced hence I will accept their offer of goodwill…
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Dispute Resolution Services
complaints
closed
2,049
Our Dispute Resolution Service is a voluntary and condential service that aims
to resolve complaints against nancial service providers or pension providers as
quickly as possible through mediation.
We begin this process by discussing the complaint with the complainant and
the provider and explore how both consider it could be resolved with an aim to
helping them to reach an agreement. The Dispute Resolution Ofcer mediates
between the parties with the aim of facilitating the parties in reaching an
agreement. Mediation is informal, voluntary and totally condential. Most
mediations take place by phone. Possible outcomes of mediation are:
1. A mediation settlement is agreed between the complainant and the provider.
2. The complainant receives clarication from the provider around the issues
raised, which resolves the complaint.
3. If a resolution is not reached, the complaint may be transferred within the
FSPO to formal investigation.
Our Dispute Resolution Service closed 2,049 complaints in 2023, representing
40% of all complaints closed. 62% of all complaints closed in DRS reached a
mediation settlement (1,275 complaints), which closed the complaint. The
total value to complainants of mediated settlements in 2023 was €2,943,493.
Mediation continues to be an effective way for complainants and providers to
resolve complaints in a timely manner.
In some complaints, a clarication was provided to the complainant, and this
allowed the complaint to close. This occurred in 622 complaints.
In 52 complaints categorised as ‘compliance incomplete’, there was information
outstanding from the complainant, or the complainant could not be contacted and
the complaint had to be closed.
60 complaints were closed when the parties resolved the complaint themselves
but provided no other details and 11 were withdrawn by the complainant. 28
were categorised as outside the jurisdiction of the FSPO.
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This can occur for example, when the provider is not regulated within the EEA,
where the complaint is outside the time limits set for investigating a complaint, or
where the complaint relates to fraud, which is a matter for An Garda Síochána to
investigate.
Fig. 6.6 – DRS complaint closure reasons 2023
Mediation
Settlement
1,275
Resolved between the
parties outside DRS
60
Clarification
622
Dispute Resolution Services
2,049 Complaints closed through mediation
Outside
jurisdiction
28
Compliance
incomplete
52
OtherWithdrawn
111
Value to complainant
€2,943,493
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Dispute Resolution Services Case
Studies
Dispute Resolution Services: Case Study 1
Lack of access to a xed interest rate on a
mortgage account
Robert and Colm bought a house together in the 2000s. The bank they
borrowed from left the Irish market and their mortgage was sold to a non-
banking lender. They believed that they were told that nothing would
change in the Terms and Conditions of their loan due to its sale to a non-
bank lender.
At this point in their lives, Robert and Colm had each separately bought a
family home.
When standard variable interest rates increased, Robert and Colm asked
their loan owner if they could avail of a xed interest rate. At this stage the
mortgage loan balance owed, had reduced to about 60% of the value of the
property.
Their loan owner replied that the sale of Robert and Colm’s mortgage
to it had not impacted their applicable legal and regulatory protections.
However, because the new loan owner was not involved in new residential
lending, it did not offer a range of mortgage products like xed interest
rates.
The loan owner suggested that Robert and Colm move their mortgage to a
bank lender to have access to a xed rate option. Robert and Colm said that
as they also had mortgages on their personal family homes, no lender would
offer them another mortgage, even though they were actively paying their
mortgage.
After an exchange of views in mediation, Robert and Colm decided to close
their complaint.
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Dispute Resolution Services: Case Study 2
Management of a loan in arrears
Ronan took out a student loan for €30,000 on an interest rate of 8.5%.
Whilst he was studying, Ronan only had to pay the interest due on the loan
– monthly payments of approximately €200. When Ronan qualied, the
payments would jump to €650 per month in order to pay the loan back on
time.
The COVID-19 pandemic started when Ronan was due to move to full
payments. His lender gave him a full COVID-19 loan break for six months
and took no payments at all. At the end of the 6 months, Ronan had work,
but his income was unpredictable. He and his lender agreed that for the
next 6 months he would make payments as high as he could, when he could.
Ronan managed to make payments of approximately €400 per month.
Ronan’s lender reached out again to come to an agreement about getting
the loan back on track. Ronan was busy and ignored the communication. In
the meantime, Ronan had increased his income and was making payments
of various sizes – usually more than €650 per month, but on an ad hoc basis.
Not hearing from the lender, Ronan thought “no news is good news”.
However, not having heard from Ronan for 100 days, his lender sent the
debt for collection and called in the full amount of €30,000 plus interest.
Ronan was of the opinion that his payments constituted “contact” with his
lender and in protest he stopped making any payments at all. Ronan was
also dismayed by how much he still owed on his loan, given that he had
taken it out 4 years previously. He felt his lender must be overcharging him
and must have given him bad advice during the pandemic.
During mediation, Ronan had the opportunity to listen to all the phone calls
he had with his lender when he had all his loan repayments explained to him.
He was able to understand that only paying interest for two years, followed
by no payments at all for 6 months, followed by reduced payments and
then no payments again, was not going to reduce the money owed in any
substantial manner. In mediation, his lender withdrew its request for the
full repayment of the loan and both parties entered local negotiations on
repayment with a new level of understanding and trust. The complaint was
resolved on that basis.
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Dispute Resolution Services: Case Study 3
Customer complains of time taken to assess
emergency procedure claim while on holiday
Floyd took out travel insurance for a trip to a tropical environment. Whilst
there, Floyd had a serious accident and needed surgery. He contacted
his travel insurance provider to see if he was covered for the surgery. His
insurer said it needed to investigate the situation before giving permission.
Floyd was in a lot of pain that would only be relieved by surgery.
Floyd said that it took the insurer 9 days to assess whether he was covered
for the medical treatment or not. In the meantime, in order to relieve
Floyd’s pain, his doctor went ahead with the surgery. The cost of the
medical treatment totalled approximately €24,000.
After assessment, the insurance company said that Floyd was not insured
for his accident, as his own behaviour had been reckless. It provided
photographs from the location of the accident to back up its point of view.
Floyd felt that it was very unfair of the insurance company to take so long to
assess his claim when he needed treatment, was alone, was traumatised and
in pain. The insurance company said that it needed to have medical reports
translated and it needed to get evidence from the location of the accident
to establish whether Floyd was covered or not. It felt that these were
legitimate requirements.
In mediation and listening to call recordings, the insurance company
stood over the conduct of its medical emergency team’s investigation but
admitted that it probably should have directed Floyd to his own private
health insurer earlier in the process.
For this part of the complaint, it offered a goodwill gesture which Floyd
accepted, and the complaint was resolved on that basis.
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Dispute Resolution Services: Case Study 4
Customer requests mortgage interest rate
changed from investment to home loan rate
Jack held several mortgages with his lender – some for properties that he
rented out and one for his own home. Due to nancial constraints, Jack
sold his home and moved into one of his rental properties. Jack told his
lender that this property was now his home and he expected it to reduce the
interest rate from a Residential Investment Loan rate to a lower Home Loan
rate.
When Jack informed his lender that this rental property was now his
Principal Private Residence, the lender applied the protections of the
Code of Conduct for Mortgage Arrears to the mortgage loan. This meant
that there were now greater protections on Jack’s borrowing if it fell into
difculties than if it was still a rental property. However, it did not reduce
the interest rate on the mortgage.
Jack thought this was very unfair as this house was now his home. He
regularly asked for his interest rate to be reduced and backdated to the day
he moved into the property. When his lender did not agree to this, he made
a complaint to it and appealed the outcome to the FSPO.
In mediation, Jack’s lender referred him to his mortgage contract with it
which it said was for a Residential Investment Loan with an agreed rate and
not a Home Loan. It said that there is a process to extend the protections
of the Code of Conduct for Mortgage Arrears to the loan now that it was
for his home, but that the Terms and Conditions of his signed loan contract
would not change.
Jack’s lender did identify some unnecessary delays in his complaint journey
for which it offered a good will gesture. After consideration, Jack accepted
the offer and closed his complaint.
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Dispute Resolution Services: Case Study 5
Claim for stolen car refused
Niamh was selling her car. A potential buyer test drove the car with Niamh.
They said they wanted to buy the car. Niamh gave them her bank details
for payment and the buyer acted as if they were transferring the funds and
showed Niamh the screen of their phone where it looked as if the funds had
been paid.
Niamh handed over the keys and the buyer drove off. However, the funds
never arrived in Niamh’s account. Niamh reported the car as stolen.
Niamh’s insurer would not pay her claim as it said that she had broken her
contract by not safeguarding her car.
After looking at all her options in mediation, Niamh decided to close her
complaint.
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Dispute Resolution Services: Case Study 6
Elderly woman falls victim to overseas scam
80-year-old Eileen was caring for her disabled husband at home. Through
social media, she found a care worker in a distant country who agreed to
move to Ireland to live with Eileen and her husband and look after them
both. However, the care worker said she needed nancial help to come to
Ireland, money for her passport, travel etc.
Eileen used the kiosk in her local bank to transfer money to the carer
abroad. Eileen had difculty using the screen in the kiosk so every time
she used it, she had to ask for help from staff in the bank lobby. Eileen
transferred money 22 times to this distant country and each time got
assistance from bank staff to answer questions on the screen, though she
always completed the transaction herself.
Eileen sent a total of €82,000 to the care worker, but she nally realised
that she had been the victim of a scam when there was no sign of the care
worker coming to Ireland. Eileen reported the scam to her bank, who tried
to get the payments back, but it was unsuccessful.
Eileen’s bank said that Eileen had authorised all of the payments herself, so
it was not responsible for the loss. However, Eileen said that the bank staff
member never queried why an 80-year-old woman was sending so much
money, so often, to a very distant country. The parties resolved the dispute
in mediation and on that basis the bank agreed to refund Eileen her lost
savings.
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Dispute Resolution Services: Case Study 7
Fraudsters clone website and defraud
customer of €16,000
Joe said he was approached by an investment company – he could not
recall exactly how. He said he researched the company and it seemed
legitimate. However, it turned out that someone had cloned the legitimate
company’s website, so Joe was seeing a false set-up. Over six months, Joe
made investments of approximately €16,000. He did this by adding the
investment company as a beneciary on his online banking prole and he
received an authorising “one time passcode” (OTP) from his bank, which he
used every time he instructed it to make a payment.
Joe said that the investment company was always very helpful and
attentive, ringing him regularly. However, he said that when he decided to
withdraw his investment, the company disappeared, and he realised he had
been the victim of fraud.
Joe then approached his bank and told it that he thought it should refund
him his lost money as, in his opinion, the bank should have done background
checks on the account into which he was transferring his money and
checked that the company he was sending his money to, was regulated, and
authorized.
Joe’s bank explained that the only information it received from him that
it could check, was the IBAN, and it pointed to the Terms and Conditions
of his bank account which stated that he permitted the bank to act on any
instruction he gave them, and that he understood that the bank did not
make any further security checks.
Joe and his bank discussed all of these issues in mediation. Joe was very
unhappy not to have the money given to him by his bank but he chose not to
opt for formal investigation at that time. The complaint was closed.
Overview of Complaints 2023 | Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
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Dispute Resolution Services: Case Study 8
Customer loses €22,000 in purchase of
vehicle
When online, Julia saw what she thought was a legitimate company based in
Ireland selling vehicles and machinery. She contacted it, asking about buying
a vehicle that she needed for her work. Through text messaging, she told
them what she wanted and negotiated a price of €22,000 for a vehicle to be
delivered to her west of Ireland home.
At rst, the selling agent talked of the vehicle being delivered before
payment so that Julia could check its quality. However, after a lot of
pressurised messages from the selling agent, it was agreed that Julia would
transfer a deposit of €5,000 and then the outstanding balance of €17,000
a few days later and the vehicle would then be delivered to her. The bank
details for payment given to Julia were for a bank in an eastern European
country.
No vehicle was delivered to Julia, and she then lost contact with the selling
agent. She said she realised she was a victim of fraud. This was devastating
for Julia – she had lost her savings, and it had a very profound effect on her
mental health.
Julia made complaints to both her own Irish bank and the bank of the
fraudulent sales agent. Julia’s Irish bank tried to recall the money but there
were no funds left in the receiving account.
In mediation, Julia’s bank explained to her that as she had made the
payments and authorised them herself, it believed it had done nothing
wrong so it would not be giving her the missing €22,000.
Julia felt very strongly that her bank should have checked to see if the
company she was sending the money to was regulated and legitimate, and
that it should have warned her about sending money abroad.
Whilst Julia’s bank was very sympathetic to her situation, it explained that
it had no role in checking the status of any person or company its customers
send money to and that it can only check the IBAN.
Julia accepted that she had authorised the payments and that she would not
be getting the money back from her own bank and she pursued the fraud
through the Gardaí. The complaint was closed.
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Dispute Resolution Services: Case Study 9
Bank fails to locate property deeds
Gerard and Lucy wanted to sell a property that they owned. They asked
their solicitor to get the property deeds from their lender. ver a two-year
period, Gerard and Lucy’s lender failed to reply to their solicitor’s letters
and ultimately could not locate the deeds for the property which prevented
its sale.
Gerard and Lucy could prove that their solicitor had sent the deeds to the
lender several years earlier. Gerard and Lucy believe they lost out on several
possible sales due to the lack of deeds and that it prevented them from
moving on with their life plans.
As a result of mediation, Gerard and Lucy’s lender agreed to pay to have the
deeds reconstituted, in full and nal settlement of their complaint. It also
agreed to pay the legal bills for the solicitor’s work in pursuing the deeds
from it, and gave Gerard and Lucy €5,000 compensation for any losses
incurred by the 2-year delay. The couple accepted this settlement and the
complaint was closed.
Dispute Resolution Services: Case Study 10
Car stolen from outside owner’s house
Kate was woken by the Gardaí who told her that her car had been stolen
from her driveway and crashed. Kate made a claim on her insurance. Her
insurance company refused to pay her claim, saying that there was no
evidence of the car being broken into and that the key was needed to start
the car. It quoted Kate’s contract that stated that she was obliged to protect
her car.
Kate said that she always checks that her car is locked and that a key was
missing from her home. Kate said there was no discussion about how the car
was stolen and she said the wing mirrors of her car would not close in if she
had not locked it and she believes they were closed in.
There was a lot of discussion in mediation about whether Kate was
responsible for leaving the car vulnerable or not. In mediation, the parties
agreed to share the cost of the loss and the complaint was resolved on that
basis.
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Upheld
Not upheld on the
merits of the
complaint
15
Withdrawn
58
Outside
settlement
44
208
Complaint not upheld
due to reasonable offer
made and available to
the complainant
33
Value of complaints not
upheld due to
reasonable offer made
and available to the
complainant
Value of complaints settled
during investigation on
foot of an on the record
offer from the provider
Number of complaints settled
during investigation on foot of an on
the record offer from the provider
Total compensation directed
in Ombudsman’s legally
binding decisions
€175,543
Substantially
Upheld
14
Partially
Upheld
26
Investigation Services
512 Complaints closed through Investigation Services
€ 1,271,754
114 €321,330
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The FSPO resolves a majority of complaints at an early stage through mediation
within the Dispute Resolution Service. When a complaint is not resolved through
mediation, it may be transferred to a formal investigation.
When this happens, no details of the engagement which took place between the
parties during the condential mediation are available for the formal investigation
process. This is to ensure that the engagements between the parties during
mediation can cause no prejudice to either party if a formal investigation is
required.
Subject to any issues of suitability, the investigation process begins with the FSPO
issuing a formal Summary of Complaint to the provider. This document identies
the conduct of the provider which has given rise to the complaint, and it asks
targeted questions of the provider, which are designed to gather information
regarding the issues. The FSPO also seeks certain specied items of evidence
from the provider. Sometimes the complainant will also be asked, separately,
to clarify an aspect of their complaint or may be required to supply further
documents.
The processes of the FSPO for formal investigation ensure that all information
and evidence gathered from the complainant and the provider during the
investigation, is shared between the parties. This ensures that both have
possession of all the evidence, and each party can take the opportunity to
offer any comments or observations regarding the evidence and records made
available to the FSPO.
When the parties have concluded their submission of evidence and observations,
all details are taken into account in the adjudication of the complaint, which leads
to a legally binding decision.
The Ombudsman may uphold, substantially uphold or partially uphold a
complaint.
The Ombudsman has wide-ranging powers when adjudicating complaints. If a
complaint against a pension provider is upheld, redress can be directed, limited to
the value of any actual loss of pension benet under the pension scheme.
If a complaint against a nancial service provider is upheld, a nancial service
provider can be directed to rectify the conduct complained of, whatever the value
of that rectication.
In addition, the nancial service provider can be directed to make a compensatory
payment to a complainant, up to a maximum of €500,000, or in the case of
annuities, up to €52,000 per annum.
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During 2023, the Ombudsman issued 296 legally binding decisions, which
included the following outcomes:
A combined value of compensation directed in 55 legally binding decisions
where the complaint was upheld, substantially upheld or partially upheld, was
€321,330.
A further €175,543 in redress from providers, noted by the FSPO as available
for acceptance by complainants, across 33 complaints. This resulted in the
complaints in those legally binding decisions not being upheld, because
the offer in question was reasonable and adequate to redress the conduct
giving rise to the complaint, and no formal direction by the Ombudsman was
required.
An additional € 1,271,754 was paid to complainants by providers across 114
complaints, to resolve them before a decision was issued by the Ombudsman.
Often, during our investigation of a complaint, the investigation can clarify
matters leading to the parties being satised to agree a settlement before the
outcome is decided through a legally binding decision. The FSPO encourages
early settlements at any time during our processes, as an early conclusion to a
complaint is always appreciated by both parties.
12 legally binding decisions, where the Ombudsman made a direction for
rectication of the conduct complained of. This may have been in addition to
compensation, or instead of compensation. The nancial value of a direction
for rectication, whilst potentially very signicant, is difcult to quantify and,
on occasion, remains unknown. Examples include:
A direction to the provider of an accident and sickness policy, to admit the
claim and make a payment of 60% of the cost to the complainant of hiring a
replacement farmhand, over the seven-week period when he was unable to
work (in addition to compensation of €3,000) (Decision 2023-0061).
A direction to the health insurance provider to admit and pay the
complainants’ historical claims for outpatient expenses (Decision 2023-0173)
A direction to the health insurance provider to admit and pay the claim for the
cost of the treatment abroad (Decision 2023-0209).
A direction to the provider to review and correct the information led with
the Central Credit Register (in addition to paying compensation of €1,000)
(Decision 2023-0176).
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A direction to the health insurance provider to re-assess the complainant’s
claim, to determine if the treatment was for a pre-existing condition, by
examining the relevant medical records from the period of 6 months before
the inception of cover (in addition to paying €3,000 in compensation)
(Decision 2023-0275).
The Ombudsman publishes the legally binding decisions issued in complaints
against nancial service providers. The Ombudsman also publishes case studies of
the legally binding decisions issued in complaints against pension providers.
To ensure transparency and ease of access to these decisions, the FSPO has an
online database of the Ombudsman’s legally binding decisions. This database
holds the full text of the vast majority of Ombudsman’s decisions in relation to
complaints against nancial service providers, issued by the FSPO since January
2018. These decisions have been anonymised to protect the condentiality of the
parties.
In addition to publishing the full decision in complaints against nancial service
providers, the Ombudsman also publishes periodic Digests of Decisions which
include short summaries of a selection of those decisions and can also include
additional case studies of decisions made in complaints against pension providers.
All published decisions are available at www.fspo.ie/decisions. Information on
how to access decisions and how to search for topics or decisions of specic
interest in the decisions database, is included on page 96.
The Ombudsman must also publish the names of any nancial service provider
that has had at least three complaints against it upheld, substantially upheld, or
partially upheld in a calendar year. Details of the providers that have had at least
three complaints upheld, substantially upheld, or partially upheld during 2023 are
set out on page 95.
While the FSPO encourages settlements at the earliest stage, a settlement at
any stage is always encouraged and welcome. During 2023, 158 complaints were
settled during the formal investigation process. This number includes those which
were closed as a result of an on-the-record offer by the provider and those which
closed as an outside settlement.
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An outside settlement occurs where, during the formal investigation process,
the provider makes an undisclosed offer to the complainant which is accepted by
the complainant and when the FSPO is notied, the le is closed. These closures
are recorded as an outside settlement and no decision issues. The value to
complainants for these settlements is unquantiable, but nevertheless provides
an agreed outcome for the complainant and the provider.
The following case studies provide examples of complaints resolved during the
formal investigation process.
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In vestigation Services Case Studies
Investigation Services: Case Study 1
Bank settles complaint concerning excessive
communications
Mary and Ann had a mortgage loan account. They opted to make manual
payments to it, rather than make their monthly repayments by direct debit.
They submitted several examples of what they felt were contacts from the bank
that were “not proportionate and very excessive” in the period from 2014 to
2021. In total, Mary and Ann made four complaints to the bank about excessive
contact between 2014 and 2021.
In relation to one particular day in June 2021, Mary and Ann received six
contacts starting at 9:34am. In a phone call to the bank the following day, Mary
was told that the account was completely up to date. After this telephone call,
Mary received a text message telling her that the mortgage loan account was in
arrears.
Another example quoted by Mary and Ann was in July 2021, when two texts
and two telephone calls from the bank were sent to Mary in relation to arrears.
On the same date she was told by the bank that the account was completely up
to date. She was told that the system was “automated” and that this was why
the texts were sent to her.
The FSPO requested evidence from the bank that it had complied with certain
provisions of the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears 2013 (as amended), in
particular the regulatory obligation to ensure that the level of communications
with borrowers was not aggressive, intimidating or harassing. The bank was
also asked to provide evidence that it had regard to the Consumer Protection
Code 2012 (as amended) (“the CPC”) in relation to managing Mary and Ann’s
complaints and ensuring that “the issue would not happen again.” It was also
asked to explain the basis for an automated system sending arrears messages
after it had been conrmed that the account was not in arrears.
The FSPO issued its Summary of Complaint to the bank to start its
investigation. At this time, there was already an on-the-record offer from the
bank of €2,500, which had been rejected by Mary and Ann. Before issuing its
formal response to the Summary of Complaint, the bank offered Mary and Ann
an enhanced settlement offer of €5,000 in full and nal settlement of all issues
referred to in the complaint. In the bank’s offer it accepted that there were
some service issues and it was making the offer in the spirit of resolution. Mary
and Ann accepted this offer, and the complaint was resolved on that basis.
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Investigation Services: Case Study 2
Victim of fraud requests chargeback from bank
Diana decided to make some investments. Between October and November
2020, she transferred a total of €2,720 to an online trading platform, using
her bank debit card. She said the money was then transferred from the
online trading platform to a fraudulent investment company.
In February 2021, Diana contacted her bank to tell it she had been a
victim of a fraudulent scam and asked it to return her money by starting a
chargeback process.
A chargeback is a way in which a card issuer can sometimes reverse a
payment made by card to the seller/supplier, when the customer wants to
challenge the payment for some reason. There are strict rules and timelines
for the process.
As Diana did not get her money back, she lodged a complaint with the bank.
In July 2021, the bank responded to her complaint with a nal response
letter. It let her know, that the online trading platform was the beneciary
of the transaction she made using her debit card, and she had not made any
payment to the investment company. Therefore, a chargeback to get her
money back from the investment company was not possible.
The bank let Diana know that if she felt she was a victim of fraud she could
report it to An Garda Síochána. It also explained that it had acted on Diana’s
instructions and that was the reason it would not refund her.
Diana believed the bank failed in its duty of care to protect her from such
fraudulent scams. She felt the chargeback process should have been started
to settle this dispute. As a result, Diana made a complaint to the FSPO
relating to the bank’s failure to protect her account from such activity and
its failure to return the money she had lost.
The complaint was not resolved in mediation, so the FSPO began a formal
investigation, by sending a Summary of Complaint to the bank. The bank
responded and although the bank still held Diana liable for the transactions,
it noted some service issues with the handling of her complaint. The
bank noted that Diana had been credited €1721.23 by the online trading
company and offered to refund Diana an additional €1,720 as a gesture of
goodwill. Diana accepted the bank’s offer in full and nal settlement and
the complaint was resolved on that basis.
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Investigation Services: Case Study 3
Bank fails to notify customer of card block in
a timely manner
On 11 July 2021 Gerard used his credit card to buy goods online. Gerard did
not know that the card payment had been blocked by his bank.
On the 18 July 2021 he used his card again to buy goods online. This time
the payment was declined. He believed the declined payment to be a fault
with either the third-party vendor or the payment service provider. This led
to several exchanges between himself and these rms to nd out what went
wrong. While trying to sort out the issue, he was annoyed and embarrassed
to be told by the payment service provider that the card had been blocked
by his bank on 11 July 2021.
Gerard contacted his bank who told him that the rst transaction on 11 July
2021 had been blocked due to suspected fraud. The bank tried to call his
mobile phone and landline number but was unable to contact him. It also
sent a letter, which did not arrive to his address until two weeks later.
Gerard submitted a complaint to his bank and it apologised, explaining that
his contact phone numbers had been incorrectly recorded on its records. It
offered a €100 ‘gesture of good will’, saying that this would be credited to
his account. This gesture was not credited to his account.
On 26 April 2022, Gerard experienced a similar event with his bank, when it
blocked his second credit card. He was unaware of the bank’s actions until
he received a letter on 8 May, alerting him to possible fraudulent activity on
the account.
He contacted his bank again to complain that he was not contacted on
the day the card was blocked and was only informed 12 days later by an
automated letter. The bank said it had tried to call Gerard on 26 April 2022,
but it was unsuccessful and although it apologised, it did not agree that it
had made any errors in its security checks and claimed it had followed its
own contact procedures.
Gerard was not happy with this response and made a complaint to the
FSPO. His complaint le was sent for formal investigation and a Summary of
the Complaint issued to his bank.
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On receipt of contact from the FSPO the bank reviewed Gerard’s accounts.
It conrmed that it had noted his mobile and landline telephone numbers
incorrectly on its records, and although when Gerard rst complained, it
realised the error and updated the rst account details, it did not correct his
second account’s details. His bank also discovered that it had not credited
Gerard’s account with €100 as promised in July 2021.
The bank apologised for its lapses in service and offered €6,000 in
settlement of Gerard’s complaint. Gerard accepted this offer and his
complaint was resolved on that basis.
Investigation Services: Case Study 4
Loss in value of pension after transfer
Mark contacted his investment advisor to transfer the value of his existing
pension plan to another pension plan held with another provider. When he
made the request, he took note of the value of his existing pension plan on
the dashboard of his online pension portal.
Mark said that it took some time for the transfer to take place because the
investment company delayed in executing his request to transfer funds to
the new pension plan. He said the value of his existing pension plan had
fallen by the date of the ultimate transfer, and was far lower than on the
date when he had checked the online portal and rst made the request.
Mark said the delays resulted in a loss in value to his pension.
During the investigation of the complaint, the FSPO issued its Summary
of Complaint and sought information in relation to the delay in executing
Mark’s transfer request. Following receipt of the Summary of Complaint the
investment company conducted a review of the events that led to Mark’s
complaint. It acknowledged that the process of requesting a transfer from
the existing pension plan to the new the pension plan was not as clear as
it could have been. The investment company offered an amount, in full
and nal settlement of the complaint, which represented the difference
between the rst estimated transfer value shown to Mark on the online
portal and the amount ultimately transferred to the new plan. Mark
accepted this offer, and the complaint was closed.
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Investigation Services: Case Study 5
Customer transfers €10,000 to fraudulent
third-party
Carmel said she fell victim to a scam and transferred a total of €10,000 to a
fraudulent third-party. The transactions to the third party were conducted
by way of an online bank transfer. Carmel said that the funds were
transferred through means of coercion and under false pretences.
Carmel considered that if the bank had looked at the wider circumstances
of the disputed transactions, it would have prevented the transfer.
Carmel argued that the bank had reasonable grounds to suspect that the
transaction was fraudulent, and it should not have carried out the payment
instruction, until it got further information.
The bank’s position was that Carmel had initiated an online bank transfer
to the third party and she had veried the payment request through the
required verication codes.
The bank stated that because of the large monetary amount of the
transaction, its fraud team had contacted Carmel by telephone to conrm
that she had authorised the transaction. The bank said that Carmel hung up
and that a re-attempt to contact Carmel was also unsuccessful.
In the bank’s nal response letter to Carmel, it had stated: “At the time that
you made these transfers they did not alert.” However, when submitting its
response to the complaint to this ofce, the bank accepted that the transfer
did trigger an initial alert, resulting in the telephone call to Carmel.
While noting it maintained its position that it correctly monitored the
transaction, the bank made a goodwill gesture of €1,000 in respect of the
misinformation furnished in its letter to Carmel, and she accepted the
goodwill gesture and the complaint was resolved on that basis.
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Investigation Services: Case Study 6
Customer experiences poor customer service
from bank following scam
Marie had a current account with a bank. Marie explained she was the
victim of a scam, which was carried out by fraudsters claiming to be from
the Department of Social Protection and An Garda Síochána. Marie was
informed by the fraudsters that someone had stolen her identity and that
this person was suspected of money laundering. Marie was then told that as
a result, she was suspected of a serious crime and could not leave Ireland.
Marie said that the scammers impersonated the Department of Social
Protection and transferred her call to a supposed Garda station on a few
occasions. Marie said that the fraudsters made her believe the money
laundering accounts were linked to her bank account, and she was in
danger. She explained they manipulated her into transferring all her savings
to another ‘safe’ account.
Marie’s complaint to the FSPO was that the bank’s agent assisted her to
transfer €17,000 to a foreign bank account and only asked a limited number
of security questions, failing to anticipate or prevent her from transferring
her money to a fraudster. She said the bank cancelled her credit card and set
up another card, without her consent. Marie stated that she was also given
poor customer service and the bank demonstrated inadequate complaints
handling. Lastly, Marie did not receive the €150 compensation offered to
her by the bank, when she complained.
The FSPO issued a Summary of Complaint to the bank to start the
investigation. In response, the bank acknowledged that it could have
actioned the recall request on the day that it was received instead of the
next working day. While the bank stated it operated within the timeframe
set out in the Payment Investigations Team’s Service Level Agreement, it
acknowledged any perceived delay in recalling the money.
The bank accepted that it delayed in informing Marie about the outcome
of the recall request, which should have happened as soon as the bank was
notied of it, and it noted the additional stress experienced by Marie as a
result.
The bank also acknowledged the inconvenience caused to Marie as a result
of its error in ordering her a new debit card when she had not requested
one. Additionally, the bank admitted its failure to credit Marie’s account
with the €150 offered in respect of this error.
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The bank accepted that the information imparted to Marie regarding the
status of the fraud investigation would have been confusing. In particular,
the bank noted that the uncertainty regarding “whether the investigation
[was] now closed” (as conveyed to Marie), would have had the unfortunate
and unintended effect of prolonging Marie’s stress and anxiety around
the investigation and the bank stated it sincerely regretted this. It also
regretted that it did not have any record of a follow up contact being made
with Marie in response to her initial contact.
While the bank strongly emphasised that the above errors represented
lapses in its customer service rather than errors that caused Marie’s loss,
it acknowledged it fell far short of the high standard of customer service
to which it holds itself. The bank concluded that as an acknowledgement
of its regret, and as a gesture of goodwill, it was making an offer to Marie
of €4,000 in full and nal settlement of the complaint. Marie accepted this
settlement offer and the complaint was closed.
Investigation Services: Case Study 7
Customer complains of losing €41,000 to
fraud
Olive held a savings account and credit card with her bank. Olive said she
was a victim of fraud. Olive stated she believed she was signing up to an
online trading platform to buy shares in a well-known company.
Olive said the rst contact was made by the trading platform in early 2021,
via a pop-up advertisement in which she was invited to buy shares to “earn
a regular side income.” Olive stated that once she registered her interest,
she immediately received a telephone call. On this telephone call she was
advised that “investing €500 would increase [her] monthly income”.
Olive said that she was also told that she would have to take no further
steps and that everything would be done on her behalf by the online trading
platform. Olive stated that she “was happy with that because [she] had no
experience of dealing with stock and shares.” Olive explained however, that
this was untrue. Olive placed €500 with the trading platform and received
another call from an adviser who told her that once her paperwork was
submitted, she could begin trading. Olive stated that she “was happy with
that because [she] had no experience of dealing with stock and shares.”
Olive explained however, that this was untrue.
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Olive placed €500 with the trading platform and received another call from
an adviser who told her that once her paperwork was submitted, she could
begin trading.
Olive later placed €10,000 from her savings account into her account with
trading platform. Olive’s account with the trading platform registered a
€108 prot two days later and Olive lodged this prot back into her own
bank account. Olive subsequently made further large payments to the
account on the advice of the trading platform’s representative over the
telephone.
Olive explained that she could see her investments rising and falling on the
online trading platform, but she proceeded to lose almost all of her money.
Olive contacted her bank to report a fraud and then submitted a complaint.
Olive stated that her attempted transactions using another credit card were
stopped by the bank. Olive questioned why the bank did not apply this same
level of due diligence to her rst card.
Olive argued that her bank failed to anticipate, prevent or notify her of the
fraudulent nature of the company that she was transferring funds to. Olive
estimated her overall loss as €41,000.
The bank’s position was that the transactions were completed by Olive
using her card details and a valid password which was delivered to her by
text. The bank states that Olive agreed to its terms and conditions, that
unless she advised the bank in advance that the card or password details
were lost, stolen or in the possession of someone else, then, when the card
was used with the password to make a transaction, the bank could conclude
that the transaction was made by her.
That said, the bank acknowledged some customer service issues. The
bank also accepted it did not notify Olive of the information it received
in response from the merchant when the bank emailed the merchant
about the transactions in dispute. The bank made an offer of €1,000 in full
and nal settlement of the complaint. Olive accepted this offer, and the
complaint was closed.
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Investigation Services: Case Study 8
Customer credited €5,000 due to bank’s
failings in dealing with fraudulent transactions
Eugene was travelling on a cruise ship outside of the EU. On the rst day of
the holiday his phone was hacked, and an electronic card payment app was
activated on his bank account. The bank tried to contact him by text on this
date.
Eugene was unaware of this, until he received a text message from his bank
a few days into his trip, alerting him to potentially fraudulent transactions on
his credit card account. Access to his bank account on his mobile phone was
difcult as the available wi- was unreliable at times, as the ship travelled at
sea.
Eugene managed to call his bank a few days into the holiday and was asked if
certain transactions relating to booking a hotel and car rental payments were
his. He conrmed that these payments sounded authentic, but advised his
bank that he could not access his full account online, due to where he was at
the time. The bank proceeded to release the card block on his account.
It was not until later that evening when the ship was in port, that he saw the
full list of unauthorised transactions. He immediately rang the bank and could
see numerous charges to his credit card which he did not recognise. The
bank placed a second stop on the account and told him that he should see the
amounts being credited back to him within 7 days.
When Eugene arrived home, he received notication from the bank that
it was declining any chargebacks for fraudulent transactions. Eugene was
advised to report it to the Gardaí, which he did, but he was not happy with his
bank’s response. He felt that the nature of the transactions, one after another,
were suspicious and that the bank should have stopped the card without
delay, as they had been initially unable to contact him while he was travelling.
Eugene submitted a complaint to the FSPO. The complaint was not resolved
in mediation and the FSPO issued a Summary of the Complaint to the bank
and it was asked to respond within 4 weeks. The bank reviewed Eugene’s
complaint and decided that its agent, who rst spoke with Eugene on the
ship, could have acted ‘more appropriately’ and potentially prevented the
additional number of transactions being applied to his account. The bank
offered to reimburse Eugene’s credit card account by the amount of money
lost, totalling almost €5,000. Eugene accepted this offer and the complaint
was resolved on that basis.
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Investigation Services: Case Study 9
Customer’s car insurance cancelled in error
Bernard held a car insurance policy with an insurance company. He received
a notication from the insurance company to say his direct debit had not
gone through and his policy had fallen into arrears. Bernard was an existing
customer of the insurance company and had recently renewed his policy. He
had always paid for his policy by direct debit and his banking details had not
changed.
He contacted the insurance company and conrmed the correct bank
details were on le and he was told ‘not to worry’ as the direct debit would
be taken the following month. However, Bernard received a letter from the
insurance company stating that his policy was going to be cancelled and the
Gardaí would be notied that he would be driving without valid insurance.
Bernard was very upset at the content of the letter as the error was on
the part of the insurance company and he had previously contacted them
to ensure the correct bank details were on le with them for the monthly
direct debits. In its nal response letter, the insurance company offered
Bernard a customer service award of €100 for the service experienced.
Bernard complained to the FSPO. The complaint was not resolved in
mediation and the FSPO commenced a formal investigation, issuing its
formal Summary of Complaint. The insurance company responded to this
with an increased settlement offer of €500. Bernard accepted this offer and
the complaint was resolved on that basis.
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Investigation Services: Case Study 10
Insurance company declines claim for
criminal damage to trucks
Brian held an insurance policy covering several trucks. In October 2021,
three of these trucks were parked in a warehouse yard, having been
prepared for use earlier in the day, when unknown persons entered the yard
and set re to them.
The trucks in question were considered a total loss due to the damage and
with the assistance of a legal representative, Brian made a claim on his
insurance policy.
The insurance company declined the claim as it was its belief that Brian
breached the policy’s warranties by having the trucks parked in the secured
yard of the warehouse, rather than inside the physical warehouse itself.
Brian commented that this position was not reasonable, because the trucks
were still held in a secured area and the criminal act that damaged the truck
was not, in his view, a foreseeable event.
Brian made a complaint to the FSPO in March 2022 about the insurance
company’s decision on his claim. The complaint was not resolved in
mediation and the FSPO issued a Summary of Complaint to the insurance
company, which responded to the points raised and engaged with Brian
regarding his outstanding queries.
After some communication between the parties, facilitated by the
FSPO, the insurance company reached out to Brian and they came to an
acceptable settlement on a condential and nal basis. The complaint was
closed.
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Investigation Services: Case Study 11
Customer discovers he has poor credit rating
on the Central Credit Register
In 2020, when seeking credit from several institutions, Charles discovered
he had a poor credit rating on the Central Credit Register (CCR), which he
was surprised by, having previously had a good credit rating.
On investigation, Charles discovered a bank he had held a corporate
account with previously, had reported this account to the CCR. However,
Charles maintained that because this was a corporate account, it was not
personal debt and should not have been reported as such. Charles also
noted that the company this card was attached to had been liquidated some
time earlier and the debt written off as a bad debt and then repaid in full.
When trying to engage with the bank regarding the issue Charles found it
difcult to achieve any resolution and eventually felt that he had no option
but to refer the matter to the FSPO. The complaint was not resolved in
mediation and the FSPO issued a Summary of Complaint to the bank in July
2023.
In response, the bank acknowledged that its communication regarding
the reporting of debt to the CCR fell short of its standards, although it
maintained the reporting itself was in line with the regulatory codes under
which it must act. In its communication to Charles, the bank was not clear
that it had actually reported the issues with the account to the CCR.
The bank made an offer of €10,000 to Charles in full and nal settlement of
the complaint, which he accepted and the complaint was resolved on that
basis.
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Legal Services
complaints
closed
182
The functions and powers of the Ombudsman, and the limits of those functions
and powers, are prescribed by the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
Act 2017, as amended (the FSPO Act). When a complaint is received, it is initially
assessed to conrm that it is eligible for the statutory jurisdiction of this Ofce.
Not every complaint is eligible for investigation by the FSPO and therefore the
assessment of a complaint’s eligibility takes place at the earliest possible stage.
When a complaint is received, the Registry and Assessment team of the Customer
Operations and Information Management Division (COIM) reviews and assesses
it. This may include determining whether the conduct complained of falls within
the statutory time limits, checking that consent has been made available by all
of the product owners, or we may need to check if a nancial service provider is
regulated. Further information on this process is outlined on page 43 for Registry
and Assessment.
This Ofce must ensure that we do not act outside of our statutory remit, and we
must remain alert to the possibility of eligibility issues arising at any point during
our complaint investigation processes. In some instances, eligibility issues may
not be immediately apparent when the complaint is received, and such issues may
come to light during the dispute resolution process or the formal investigation
process.
Where an issue arises, which requires a more detailed legal assessment,
the matter is referred to the Legal Services team for a formal jurisdictional
assessment, to determine whether the complaint, or certain 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 statutory jurisdiction, being mindful that the
legislation contains some provisions which are complex. The parties to the
complaint are invited to offer their comments and to submit all relevant details
during this assessment process, before the FSPO’s nal determination on
jurisdiction is ultimately conrmed to the parties.
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The following case studies from 2023 provide examples of the types of
jurisdictional issues which can arise. In some instances, it was determined by the
FSPO that the complaint could not be progressed, because it did not come within
the Ombudsman’s statutory remit, and therefore the complaint le was closed.
In other instances, some or all elements of the complaint were determined to
be eligible for progression by way of a dispute resolution, to explore whether a
mediated settlement could be achieved, or by way of a formal investigation of the
merits of the complaint, leading to a legally binding decision.
The rst two cases studies concern loan accounts which were sold by the
customer’s bank to a “non-bank” owner. Prior to 2015, such entities were not
regulated providers and, accordingly were outside of the jurisdiction of the FSPO.
In July 2015, the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act
2015 introduced a new credit servicing framework to enhance the protections
available to consumers in such circumstances. The framework provided that many
activities in respect of such loans could only be carried out by regulated entities.
The framework introduced in 2015 did not provide that the loan owner needed to
be regulated. From that time, a number of complaints (estimated at less than 50)
fell outside the jurisdiction of the FSPO, until January 2019, when the Consumer
Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2018, deemed non-bank
loan owners to be regulated, thereby ensuring that every element of a customer’s
complaint became eligible for the jurisdiction of the FSPO. There has been some
discussion in respect of this matter in the context of the Financial Services and
Pensions Ombudsman Bill 2023, and this Ofce will continue to engage with the
Minister and the Department of Finance as appropriate.
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Legal Services Case Studies
Legal Services: Case Study 1
Complaint regarding a credit servicing rm
and a Special Purpose Vehicle loan owner,
where only part of the complaint could
progress.
Jerry took out a commercial loan with a bank. The loan fell into arrears, and
Jerry’s bank sold the loan to a non-bank entity known as a Special Purpose
Vehicle. As the Special Purpose Vehicle was not regulated by the Central Bank
of Ireland, it was legally obliged to appoint a credit servicing rm to manage the
day-to-day operations of the loan, and it did so.
Jerry became dissatised by the way in which the credit servicing rm
managed his loan account between 2017 and 2018. He made a complaint to
the FSPO, that the credit servicing rm:
1. delivered poor customer service to him, and,
2. unfairly hindered his efforts to sell the property securing the loan, by
taking an excessive amount of time to consider the offer he had received
from a potential buyer.
Bearing in mind that:
The FSPO can only investigate the conduct of a regulated nancial service
provider as dened by the FSPO Act.
The Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2015,
in dening “credit servicing” specically excludes the “maintenance of
control over key decisions” in relation to a portfolio of credit agreements.
Therefore, the FSPO can investigate the rst element of the complaint,
because the credit servicing rm was regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland,
and the conduct that is the subject of the complaint is that rm’s suggested
customer service failings to Jerry.
The FSPO cannot however investigate the second element of the complaint
because the conduct at the heart of the complaint is the delay by the loan
owner in making a “key decision” regarding the approval of a potential sale
of the property. At the relevant time in 2017/2018, that loan owner was
not a regulated nancial service provider, and therefore this element of the
complaint falls outside the FSPO’s remit.
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Legal Services: Case Study 2
Complaint regarding a credit servicing rm
and a Special Purpose Vehicle loan owner
where a separate complaint could progress
against each regulated nancial service
provider.
Tammy entered into three loan agreements with her bank to purchase buy
to let properties. In August 2018 ownership of these loans was transferred
to a Special Purpose Vehicle, at which point a credit servicing rm began
servicing the loans on its behalf.
Tammy made a complaint to the FSPO that in June 2019, the Special
Purpose Vehicle had wrongfully appointed a receiver to sell the properties
securing the loans. Tammy also complained that she had received poor
customer service throughout the period when the Special Purpose Vehicle
owned the loans.
The conduct complained of, spans the period when changes were made
to the credit servicing regime in Ireland, by the Consumer Protection
(Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2015 and the Consumer
Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2018.
The credit servicing rm was regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland,
during the period of the conduct complained of. However, the Special
Purpose Vehicle only obtained transitional authorisation during the nal
months before the receiver was appointed.
Consequently, the complaint in relation to customer service failings can be
maintained against the credit servicing rm, for conduct which occurred
before the Special Purpose Vehicle obtained its transitional authorisation.
Once the Special Purpose Vehicle became regulated by the Central Bank
of Ireland, it became responsible to Tammy for any customer service issues
from that date, even if it delivered that customer service through the
agency of another provider.
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This is because, since the commencement of the Consumer Protection
(Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2018 a loan owner is responsible
for the conduct of credit servicing rms, acting on its behalf.
Consequently, two separate FSPO complaints can proceed to investigation:
1. a complaint investigation against the credit servicing rm for the
suggested customer service failings, in the period before the new loan
owner became a regulated entity, and
2. a complaint investigation against the Special Purpose Vehicle for
suggested customer service failings after it obtained its transitional
authorisation, and also for the suggested wrongful appointment of the
receiver in June 2019, at a time when it was regulated by the Central
Bank.
Legal Services: Case Study 3
Complaint not made within the time limits.
Mary entered into a commercial loan with the bank in 2008. As she
encountered difculties with the repayment of the loan, the bank took
possession of the property securing the loan, and sold it in 2011, and the
loan account was cleared and closed.
In 2021, after a meeting with her accountant, during which she reviewed
the loan paperwork, Mary made a complaint to the FSPO that the bank had
not followed the required procedures some ten years earlier, when taking
possession of the secured property.
The FSPO examined whether the complaint about the bank taking
possession of the property in 2011, had been made within the time limits
set out in section 51 of the FSPO Act. Because the repayment term for
the loan had been agreed for a period of 2 years, the loan did not full the
criteria to fall within the denition of a “long-term nancial service” within
the meaning of the FSPO’s governing legislation, which requires a nancial
service or product to have a duration of at least 5 years and 1 month.
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As the loan was not a “long-term nancial service”, any complaint had to be
made within a period of six years from the date of the conduct complained
of. The FSPO noted that the date of the conduct complained of was in 2011,
and because the complaint was not received by the FSPO until 2021, some
ten years later, the complaint did not fall within the legislative time limit, set
out at section 51 of the FSPO Act.
As the complaint had not been made within the time limits which apply to
complaints to the FSPO, no complaint investigation could proceed, and the
le was closed.
Legal Services: Case Study 4
Elements of complaint about the conduct of a
receiver outside the jurisdiction of the FSPO
Seán took out a loan with his bank in 2010. Seán experienced difculties in
meeting the loan repayments and, in 2018, the bank appointed a receiver to
the property securing the loan.
Seán made a complaint to the FSPO about the conduct of the bank. He
submitted that the bank had miscalculated arrears on his account, that it
had wrongfully appointed the receiver, and that the receiver has sold the
property, for less than its market value.
The FSPO noted that, while Sean’s complaints in relation to the actions of
the bank in 2018 could be investigated, the FSPO could not examine the
conduct of the receiver.
A receiver is not a regulated nancial service provider as dened by the
FSPO’s governing legislation and therefore the FSPO could not investigate
the receiver’s conduct. Similarly, the FSPO could not examine the complaint
against the bank about the conduct of the receiver appointed by that
bank, because, in the normal course, under a Deed of Mortgage/Charge, a
receiver is the agent of the mortgagor (i.e. the agent of the borrower/s).
As a result, the FSPO concluded that it could not investigate the complaint
that the receiver has sold the property for less than its market value. The
FSPO conrmed however, that it could investigate the complaint that the
bank had miscalculated arrears on Seán’s account, and his complaint that it
had wrongfully appointed the receiver.
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Legal Services: Case Study 5
Complaint was the subject of legal
proceedings and could not be investigated by
the FSPO without an order from the court,
under s49 of the FSPO Act, to stay those legal
proceedings.
Michael and Mairéad jointly took out a mortgage loan with a bank in 2004
to purchase a property. As they could not keep up with the repayments, in
2015, the bank repossessed Michael and Mairéad’s property.
In 2018, the bank wrote to Michael and Mairéad to inform them that,
following the Tracker Mortgage Examination process directed by the
Central Bank of Ireland, it had discovered that it had applied the wrong
interest rate to their mortgage loan. It enclosed a cheque for €35,000,
representing its redress and compensation to Michael and Mairéad.
As they were dissatised with the bank’s redress, Michael and Mairéad
issued legal proceedings against the bank in 2020, seeking damages for
breach of duty. Subsequently, in 2021, Michael and Mairéad also made
a complaint to the FSPO, in relation to the bank’s failure to offer an
appropriate level of compensation for its error when applying the interest
rate to their mortgage loan.
The FSPO noted that the matters that Michael and Mairéad raised in
their complaint to the FSPO, were the very same matters that had been
pleaded to the Court as part of their legal proceedings against the bank.
Consequently, the FSPO concluded that their complaint fell outside the
jurisdiction of the FSPO, and it would not be possible to progress their
complaint by way of formal investigation, because the subject matter of
their complaint had been the subject of legal proceedings pursuant to
sections 44(2)(a)(i) and 50(3)(b) of the FSPO Act.
The FSPO explained that, without a Court order to formally stay the
proceedings, pursuant to section 49 of the FSPO Act, the Ombudsman
could not proceed with an investigation of the complaint. Because Michael
and Mairéad did not secure such an order from the court, the investigation
could not proceed, and the complaint le was closed.
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Active Statutory Appeals and Judicial Reviews
At the conclusion of a formal investigation of the merits of a complaint, a decision
is issued to the parties, by the FSPO. Although the Ombudsman’s decision on
the merits of the complaint, is legally binding on the parties, it is open to the
complainant or the provider to pursue a statutory appeal to the High Court,
to challenge that legally binding decision. A statutory appeal can proceed in
accordance with the provisions of Section 64 of the Financial Services and
Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017. Similarly, a complainant or a provider may seek
a judicial review of the FSPO’s jurisdictional determinations which are made
regarding the eligibility of complaints.
Since the FSPO came into being on 1 January 2018, there have been several such
challenges as outlined below:
Fig. 6.8 Volume of statutory appeals and judicial reviews involving the FSPO
2018-2023
0
3
6
9
12
15
20232018 2019 2020 2021 2022As at
31/12/2017
10
2
5
2
10
14
6
The list of active statutory appeals, court applications and judicial reviews to
which the FSPO is a party, is available and kept up to date on the FSPO website.
The following is a list of statutory appeals, court applications and judicial reviews
to which the FSPO was a party, as at 31 December 2023.
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Fig. 6.9 Active statutory appeals and judicial reviews as at 31 December 2023
Court
Court Record
Number
Title of proceedings
Court of
Appeal
2014 996 Carr v The Financial Services Ombudsman
High
Court
2020/49 MCA
Utmost Pan Europe DAC -v- Financial
Services & Pensions Ombudsman
High
Court
2021/304
MCA
Permanent TSB PLC -v- Financial Services
& Pensions Ombudsman
High
Court
2022/17 MCA
Permanent TSB PLC -v- The Financial
Services & Pensions Ombudsman
High
Court
2022/19 MCA
Ryan & Anor -v- The Financial Services &
Pensions Ombudsman
Court of
Appeal
2023/256
Ulster Bank Ireland DAC -v- The Financial
Services & Pensions Ombudsman
High
Court
2023/768 JR
Lawn & Anor -v- The Financial Services &
Pensions Ombudsman
During 2023, some notable litigation developments included:
Nine judgments/determinations delivered in substantive matters and costs/
nal orders. There were seven High Court judgments, one Court of Appeal
judgment and one Supreme Court determination, eight of which can be
accessed under Court Judgments on the FSPO website. (One ex tempore
High Court judgment has yet to be published by the Courts).
Seven statutory appeals and related matters were concluded by way of High
Court judgment, as follows:
Chubb European Group S.E. -v- The Financial Services & Pensions
Ombudsman [2023] IEHC 74.
Friel -v- The Financial Services & Pensions Ombudsman (ex temp
judgment).
KBC Ireland PLC. -v- The Financial Services & Pensions Ombudsman &
Anor [2023] IEHC 234.
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Ulster Bank Ireland DAC -v- The Financial Services & Pensions
Ombudsman [2023] IEHC 350. (Four High Court matters heard together
by the Court and the subject of a single judgment)
One judicial review was concluded by way of High Court judgment: Donnelly
–v- The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman [2023] IEHC 228.
The application for leave to judicially review the FSPO was granted in May
2023, and the ex-tempore judgment on the substantive judicial review, was
delivered in October 2023. The ex-tempore judgment has not yet been
published and will appear on the FSPO’s website as soon as it is available for
publication. The judgment relating to the leave application is available at the
link above.
Two appeals were concluded by way of agreement to quash the FSPO’s legally
binding decisions and for those decisions to be remitted to the FSPO, for a
fresh adjudication.
Two High Court litigation matters were initiated during 2023, as follows:
One statutory appeal was initiated by a complainant. This appeal was
subsequently withdrawn by the appellant/complainant.
One application for judicial review of a jurisdictional determination of
the FSPO was commenced by a complainant.
One appeal was initiated to the Court of Appeal, by Ulster Bank. In respect of
the same matter, Ulster Bank sought leave from the Supreme Court to appeal
directly from the High Court. The Supreme Court refused this application.
The Court of Appeal matter remained live as of 31 December 2023 and
the Determination in the Supreme Court matter is available on the FSPO’s
website.
One Court of Appeal matter, originally initiated in the High Court in 2013, was
re-listed by the Court and assigned a hearing date of 21 March 2023, having
previously been adjourned generally by the court in 2022, with liberty to re-
enter.
One Court of Appeal judgment was delivered, in Lloyds Insurance Company
S.A. -v- The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman [2023] IECA 122.
As of 31 December 2023, two Court of Appeal matters, and three High Court
matters had been assigned hearing dates in 2024.
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During 2023, as outlined in the table below, the overall number of active
statutory appeals and judicial reviews reduced from a total of fteen
matters, to seven, including two new High Court matters initiated during
the calendar year.
Fig. 6.10 FSPO litigation developments during 2023
High Court
Court of
Appeal
Running
Total
Active as at 1 Jan 2023 14 1 15
Initiated during 2023 2 1 18
Re-entered during 2023 0 1 19
Withdrawn during 2023 1 0 18
Remitted to FSPO by
consent during 2023
2 0 16
Judgment delivered during
2023
8 1 7
Position as of 31
December 2023
5 2 7
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In any litigation, the FSPO in all appropriate cases, seeks recovery of its legal costs
by applying to the Court for an order for costs against the appropriate parties to
the litigation.
The Court Judgments page on the FSPO website includes copies of the judgments
delivered by the Courts in the statutory appeals and judicial reviews to which it is
a party. Summaries of certain notable Court judgments are also included below:
Judgment 1: A High Court challenge to the FSPO’s decision to uphold a
complaint on the grounds that the provider’s conduct was unreasonable,
unjust, and improper in refusing to remediate the damage claimed for
under the complainants’ insurance policy.
Lloyd’s Insurance Company SA -v- The Financial Services and Pensions
Ombudsman [2022] IEHC 290; [2023] IECA 122
Judgment delivered on 19 May 2022 (High Court ):
Judgment delivered on 22 May 2023 (Court of Appeal):
The complaint made to the FSPO was that the provider had wrongfully
declined an indemnity to the complainants for structural defects to their
house. In July 2020, the FSPO issued a legally binding decision upholding
the complainants’ complaint on the grounds that the conduct of the
provider was unreasonable, unjust and improper. The FSPO relied on the
grounds in s.60(2)(b), (c) & (g) of the Act. The FSPO directed the provider to
remediate the damage from which the complaint had arisen and directed
the provider to pay compensation of €20,000 to the complainants.
High Court
The provider appealed to the High Court and submitted that the
Ombudsman had fallen into serious and signicant error in directing the
provider to indemnify the complainants, where there was no breach of
contract in the provider’s declinature of the complainants’ claim. Further,
the provider contended that the Ombudsman, in making ndings pursuant
to s.60(2) and specically directing relief on the basis that the conduct
complained of was in accordance with law but nonetheless unreasonable,
unjust and improper conduct, had exceeded his jurisdiction by treating a
refusal of indemnity - which was permitted under the terms of the policy -
as unjust or unreasonable or improper.
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Lastly, the provider challenged the entitlement to compensation and the
quantum of the compensation directed, saying that it was disproportionate
to any inconvenience suffered by the complainants.
In delivering judgment, the High Court noted that there is a high
threshold to be met for the Court to intervene to set aside decisions of
the Ombudsman. The Court was of the view that it should only intervene
where the Court was satised that the decision reached was vitiated by a
serious and signicant error. The Court also stated that, in respect of the
decision made by the Ombudsman, it was required to be satised that the
Ombudsman had not erred in law, in identifying the statutory parameters
of his jurisdiction under s. 60(2) of the Act, so as to deprive himself of
jurisdiction.
The Court found that the provider fell short of establishing a serious and
signicant error to vitiate the Ombudsman’s decision. Further, the Court
found that there was evidence before the Ombudsman that he was entitled
to rely on, to arrive at the decision reached as to the cause of damage.
In respect of the Ombudsman’s decision to rely on s. 60(2)(b), (c) & (g) of the
Act, the Court found that the FSPO had failed to properly have regard to the
different circumstances in which its jurisdiction under those sub-sections
arose.
The sub sections provide that:
“(b) the conduct complained of was unreasonable, unjust, oppressive or
improperly discriminatory in its application to the complainant;
(c) although the conduct complained of was in accordance with a law
or an established practice or regulatory standard, the law, practice or
standard is, or may be, unreasonable, unjust, oppressive or improperly
discriminatory in its application to the complainant;
…
(g) the conduct complained of was otherwise improper”
The Court held the Ombudsman was entitled to rely on s. 60(2)(b) and (g)
in making the decision as it owed from the terms of the decision that the
Ombudsman considered the conduct unreasonable and unjust (S.60(2)(b))
and also that the provider’s delays and refusal of cover were considered
improper (S.60(2)(g)).
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The Court also held that s.60(2)(c) should not have been relied upon by the
Ombudsman in arriving at the decision. In order to rely on S60(2)(c), the
Ombudsman’s decision would have to have included a nding that there
was no breach by the provider of a legal requirement of the contract. In this
complaint, the Ombudsman found that the provider’s conduct, in declining
cover, was not in accordance with the terms of the policy. The Court found
that where it is quite clear from the terms of the Ombudsman’s decision
that it found that the damage was covered under the policy of insurance
on a proper interpretation of the policy, it follows that the Ombudsman
improperly relied on a jurisdiction under s. 60(2)(c).
However, the Court further held that where a proper jurisdictional basis
for the Ombudsman’s decision exists and has otherwise been identied, an
error in incorrectly identifying a further jurisdictional basis, is not a material
error because the complaint was properly upheld on other grounds i.e.
(s.60(2)(b) and (g)).
In respect of the compensation directed, the Court noted the wide
discretion the Ombudsman enjoys, and it held that the provider had not
demonstrated that that the Ombudsman fell into serious and signicant
error in the level of compensation directed.
Court of Appeal
The provider appealed to the Court of Appeal and submitted that the
High Court had erred in upholding the decision of the FSPO on foot of
contradictory ndings, on the one hand, per s. 60(2)(b) and (g) that the
appellant was in breach of policy in not providing cover, and on the other,
a nding that the appellant acted in accordance with law for the purposes
of s.60(2)(c). The Court noted that the argument the provider had relied
on in the High Court, was that all of the other grounds available to the
Ombudsman under s.60(2) were precluded, by the reliance or invocation of
the Ombudsman of s.60(2)(c).
The Court of Appeal held that the High Court could not have upheld the
decision of the FSPO on contradictory ndings in circumstances, where
in fact, it upheld the Ombudsman’s decision on two of the three grounds
invoked by the Ombudsman (s.60(2)(b) and (g)). The Court of Appeal
dismissed the appeal.
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Judgment 2: A High Court challenge to the FSPO’s decision to uphold
a complaint on the grounds that the provider’s conduct breached
provisions of the Consumer Protection Code (CPC), was contrary to law,
was unreasonable and was otherwise improper, and that it came within
s.60 of the Act.
KBC Ireland PLC -v- The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
[2023] IEHC 234
Judgment delivered by the High Court on 5 May 2023:
The complaint arose from the interest rate that applied to a deposit account
held by the complainant with the provider. The complainant complained
that the provider had failed to notify him of the periodic rate decreases it
had applied to the interest rate on his deposit account. The complainant
said that although the rate was at 0.30% in April 2018 when he opened the
account, the provider had reduced this on four separate occasions up to
March 2020, when the rate then stood at 0.01%.
On 18 January 2022, the Ombudsman issued a legally binding decision
upholding the complaint on the grounds that the provider’s conduct
breached a provision of its contract with the complainant. The Ombudsman
further found that the provider’s conduct breached provisions of the
Consumer Protection Code, was contrary to law, was unreasonable and was
otherwise improper, within the meaning of s.60 of the Act.
The provider appealed the decision to the High Court and submitted that
the decision of the Ombudsman was vitiated by a series of signicant and
serious errors.
The provider submitted that the Ombudsman had erred in its interpretation
of a notice requirement clause in the contract. The Court noted that the
interpretation of clauses in a contract is a mixed question of law and fact
and that the Court does not have to show curial deference to issues of pure
law that arise when the Ombudsman is interpreting the terms of a contract.
The Court held that the Ombudsman had erred in interpreting a clause of
the contract by concluding that because certain methods of notication
had been encompassed in a non-exhaustive list in some clauses, and
not repeated in the clause at issue, that this somehow limited the wide
discretion of the clause in question.
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In this regard, the Court further held that the Ombudsman had erred in
having regard to the CPC when considering the correct interpretation of
the clause in question. The Court noted that the CPC is a not a statute that
overrides, or even inuences, the terms in a contract entered into between
a service provider and a customer, unless it is specically incorporated into
the terms of the particular contract.
The provider submitted that the Ombudsman had erred in refusing its
request to hold an oral hearing. The Court also rejected this and noted that
the Ombudsman has a wide discretion in this regard and that the authorities
have established that it is only necessary for the Ombudsman to hold an
oral hearing, where there are disputed issues of fact, on a question that is
material to the determination of the complaint, which the Court held did
not arise in this matter.
The provider submitted that the Ombudsman had not afforded the
provider an adequate opportunity to make submissions on the issue of loss
suffered by the complainant. The Court rejected this and found that ample
opportunity had been provided.
The provider submitted that the Ombudsman had erred in directing the
provider repay the complainant the difference in the interest rates between
the initial rate applied and the reduced rate applied. The Court rejected this
and held the Ombudsman was entitled to direct this.
The provider submitted that the Ombudsman erred in failing to provide
adequate reasoning in his decision. The Court rejected this and noted that
while the Ombudsman has to provide a reasoned decision, it is not expected
that he provide a decision akin to a judgment of the Superior Courts.
The Court ultimately held that the provider had not demonstrated that the
decision of the Ombudsman was vitiated by a serious and signicant error,
or a series of such errors and the Court dismissed the appeal.
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Judgment 3: A High Court challenge to the FSPO’s decision, which
rejected the complaint against the provider but nevertheless contained
ndings that were potentially prejudicial to the provider.
Chubb European Group S.E. -v- The Financial Services and Pensions
Ombudsman [2023] IEHC 74
Judgment delivered on 21 February 2023:
The complaint made to the FSPO was that the provider has wrongfully or
unfairly declined an insurance claim made by the complainant for business
interruption losses. On 04 October 2021, the FSPO rejected the complaint
against the provider.
The provider appealed to the High Court on the grounds that the
Ombudsman had made ndings, in respect of the interpretation of the
insurance policy, that could have future adverse effects for the provider. The
Ombudsman submitted that the appeal was inadmissible and that to allow
an appeal by a successful party would run contrary to the purpose of the
statutory scheme.
The Court noted that the nature and extent of a statutory appeal in any
particular instance will depend on the wording of the relevant legislative
provisions. The Court held that the statutory right of appeal against a
decision of the Ombudsman is not conned to an appeal against the overall
outcome of the investigation of a complaint, but also allows for an appeal
against the grounds relied upon in making the decision and an appeal
against a direction to the provider. However, the Court also noted that it
has an inherent discretion to dismiss an appeal as frivolous and vexatious.
Further, the Court noted that an appeal by a party who has been successful
on the outcome may be dismissed if that party is not at least potentially
prejudiced by the decision.
The Court found that the Ombudsman’s decision contained a number of
ndings that were, potentially at least, prejudicial to the provider’s position.
In this regard, the Court noted that a published decision of the Ombudsman
which has reached conclusions on the interpretation of a particular form
of policy wording will, at the very least, represent a persuasive precedent
in respect of other complaints based on similarly worded policies.
Furthermore, the Court accepted that the decision had the potential to
trigger obligations for the provider under the Central Bank’s supervisory
framework.
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The Court held that the Ombudsman made a serious and signicant error
in his approach to contractual interpretation in that it did not apply the
established legal principles. Further, it was held that the decision was
vitiated by serious and signicant errors, as the Ombudsman’s ndings were
in breach of fair procedures due to the Ombudsman not properly engaging
with the various submissions made by the provider and failing to provide
reasoning for not following those submissions. The Court also noted that for
an error to be “serious and signicant”, it must be material to the decision-
making process but that an applicant need not demonstrate that the
outcome of the investigation of the complaint might have been different if
the error had not been made.
The Court also considered whether it should interpret the insurance policy
itself. The Court noted that the right of appeal is an important safeguard
against serious error but is not intended as a de novo appeal, and that
the Court must resist the temptation to embark upon its own de novo
consideration of the merits of the complaint. The Court further noted that
the rights of the parties will normally be vindicated by a setting aside of the
impugned decision but that the Court could, if appropriate, make an order
for remittal directing the Ombudsman to reconsider the matter and reach a
decision in accordance with the opinion of the court.
The Court set aside the Ombudsman’s decision and in circumstances where
the complaint had not been upheld, it did not make an order for remittal of
the complaint.
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7
Report on named nancial
service providers
In accordance with Section 25 of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
Act 2017, the table below identies every regulated nancial service provider,
which, in 2023, had at least three complaints against it upheld, substantially
upheld, or partially upheld. This table excludes any decision upholding a
complaint, if that decision is the subject of a statutory appeal at the time of
publication. Financial service providers are listed in order of the combined total
number of complaints upheld, substantially upheld or partially upheld. The name
of the business group is provided where the nancial service provider is a member
of a business group.
Name of
Regulated
Provider (to
include any
trading name if
different)
Member of
Business
Group
(where
applicable)
Complaints
Upheld
Complaints
Substantially
Upheld
Complaints
Partially
Upheld
Total
Ulster Bank
Ireland DAC
Ulster Bank
Group
1 2 4 7
AXIS Specialty
Europe SE
2 0 2 4
Elips
Versicherungen
AG* t/a Laya
Healthcare
Swiss Re
Group
2 1 1 4
Permanent TSB
Public Limited
Company t/a
Permanent TSB
0 1 2 3
*Known in the English language as Elips Insurance Limited
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How to search our decisions o n
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decisions, you can rstly
select the relevant sector:
1
2
Having ltered by sector, the search tool will then help you to lter
our decisions further by categories relevant to that sector such as:
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You can also lter our database
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outcome of the complaint, i.e.
whether the Ombudsman Upheld,
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click View Document to download the full text in PDF.
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