Campaign Against Property-Ombudsman: "Our People Are Highly Skilled." (428)

To the Business Secretary:
For Clarity - Attempt 428.

428) "Our People Are Highly Skilled."

Dear Mr Javid,

The Ombudsman Services' executives claim that their, "People Are Highly Skilled" but as we've tried to show in Attempt (427), DJS Research's Customer Satisfaction Reports provide evidence to the contrary.

If you go to www.ombudsman-services.org and type DJS Research into the box provided it will take you to their third and final report. On page 3 they state;
"1.12: However, views were mixed on the ease of access to the Investigating Officer, extent to which they were updated and the extent to which OS:Property attempted to resolve complaints through mediation, negotiation, efficiency of process, speed of process and overall level of service."

However, the CEO and Chief Ombudsman, Lewis Shand Smith appears not to have actually read the Customer Satisfaction Report and so was able to proclaim;
"This year we successfully managed a significant increase in property complaints."

Q. As Chairman, would you regard high levels of complainant dissatisfaction with the way your company resolved complaints through: a lack of mediation, lack of negotiation, through a lack of efficiency of its processes, through a lack of speed of its processes and an overall high degree of dissatisfaction with the level of service, as -"success?"

The Report continues;
"1.13: However, there was some strong level of strong dissatisfaction with the accuracy of
content and the report's recommendations and aspects surrounding it with nearly half  very dissatisfied."

Complainants - taxpayers - take complex property disputes with thousands of pounds at stake to a private company which has been "appointed" by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS - who can't or won't regulate their members adequately)  and has been "approved" and monitored" by the Office of Fair Trading. The OFT's Executive Director, Jonathan may, having assured taxpayers that their complaints would be investigated, "speedily," "fairly" and "independently" and what does the complainant actually get?
Investigators who aren't friendly, aren't helpful and who lack the knowledge, understanding or authority to deal with their problems, are slow and who also don't go that extra mile to negotiate or mediate."
Q. As Chairman-with-unimpeachable-integrity, would you say that your people were highly skilled and managed consumers' complaints - "successfully?"

The Ombudsmans61percent Campaign is seeking:
- answers from Jonathan May.
- answers from Vince cable.
- answers from Francis Maude.
- answers from Nick Clegg.
- answers from Mark Prisk.
- answers from Jo Swinson.
- answers from Sajid Javid.
- answers from Dame janet Finch.
- answers from Dame Maggie Jones.
- answers from The Rev. Lewis Shand Smith.
- a public inquiry into the workings of Ombudsman Services:Property (a company formerly trading as the Surveyors Ombudsman Service before undergoing rebranding) and the role of The RICS.
- compensation for the victims of the ombudsman's illogical Final Decisions,
- compensation for the victims of the executive's maladministration.
- the setting up of a truly, "fair" and "independent" redress scheme free from RICS' influence.
How would you Chair this organisation? What would be your priorities? Would you make changes and if so what changes would you make?

Yours sincerely,
Steve Gilbert - The Ombudsmans61percent Campaign.