The Rev. Lewis Shand Smith. The Ombudsman Association. Maladministration. (467)

To the Business Secretary:
For Clarity - Attempt 467.
.
467) The Rev. Lewis Shand Smith. The Ombudsman Association. Maladministration.

Dear Mr Javid,
We sent  the following letter to The Ombudsman Association:

Dear Director,
We did try writing to you earlier in our campaign to complain about the following:

Your Association - The British and Irish Ombudsman Association (BIOA) - clearly state  in its Rules that to be an associate member each ombudsman scheme is required to have a Whistleblowing Policy.

This seemed fair and reasonable to us.

One member of your Board, The Rev. Lewis Shand Smith is CEO and Chief Ombudsman for Ombudsman Services. Ombudsman Services does not have a Whistleblowing Policy.
Q Why is The Rev. Lewis Shand Smith a Board Member when the scheme for which he is CEO does not have a Whistleblowing Policy?
Q. Why is Ombudsman Services permitted to remain a member of your organisation when it doesn't have a Whistleblowing Policy?

We were told by the BIOA Secretary that he, "was in the process of reconfirming the membership of all existing members."

In short, you did nothing about the Ombudsman Services deliberate breach of your rules.

It would seem that when a member - The Rev. Lewis Shand Smith's Ombudsman Services - break your rules of membership instead of expelling that member you simply amend the rules to accommodate them. And so it became no longer a requirement for members to have a Whistleblowing Policy.

The British and Irish Ombudsman Association - now rebranded as The Ombudsman Association state in their present day rules;
"The Association will only give recognition to Ombudsman's Offices whose primary role is to handle complaints by individuals about; maladministration, unfair treatment, poor service or other inequitable conduct of those subject to investigation."
(www.ombudsmanassociation.org/docs/ OA-Rules-Schedule1)

You will be shocked to learn that last year the Ombudsman Services Independent Assessor wrote the following;
"I was concerned by the scale and significance of the failings I identified in certain cases.

I was surprised to find such instances of maladministration in an ombudsman organisation."
(For The Good - annual report and accounts 2014-15)

The Independent Assessor was surprised at the scale and significance of maladministration at Ombudsman Services..

We weren't in the least bit surprised because we have had dealings with The Rev. Lewis Shand Smith in the past and so has our MP Oliver Colvile.  The scale and significance of the maladministration comes as no surprise to us whatsoever.

However, if the BIOA (now rebranded as The Ombudsman Association) had acted on our earlier complaint a significant number of consumers might have been spared; the inadequate conduct, the poor service, the unfair treatment and the maladministration of their complaints by the Rev Lewis Shand Smith.

Q. What do you intend to do about these instances of maladministration by your Board Chairman? Cover them up - again?

Yours sincerely,
The Ombudsmans61percent Campaign at www.logspot.com

Q. Mr Javid, you have a close and continuing relationship with Ombudsman Services. Is the reason why you haven't called for a public inquiry into the governance of this scheme because you have a close and continuing relationship with its maladministrators and are as guilt of maladministration as they are?

This is a fine example of early 21st century rigged market capitalism where executives and colluding politicians have captured the market in private redress at the expense of individual citizens who continue to seek justice in ever increasing numbers but who are being denied it in ever increasing numbers.

Yours sincerely,
Steve Gilbert - The Ombudsmans61percent Campaign.