Ombudsman Services - Vanishing Tansparency, Accountability and Civil Justice. (569)

To the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary:
For Clarity - Attempt 569.

569) Ombudsman Services - Vanishing Transparency, Accountability and Civil Justice.

Dear Mr Clark,

The industrial strategy at Ombudsman Services would appear to one of eviscerating any data relating to this company's handling of expensive property complaints.

When DJS Research's contract to produce independent Customer Satisfaction Reports for Ombudsman Services was terminated, information on the company's performance in handling complainants' property disputes went with them.

This would seem to be all that remains:
"Our complaints procedure;
The Independent Assessor will review the service provided by Ombudsman Services but will not consider the ombudsman's decision - this is final. The Independent Assessor does not make judgements about accepting a complaint for investigation, the weight of evidence or the amount of redress recommended."

In other words, the Independent Assessor is a giant rubber stamp.

The weight of the evidence and amount of redress featured prominently in DJS Research's Customer Satisfaction Reports. According to DJS there was a great deal of complainant dissatisfaction with both. That information is no longer made available to complainants.

This is all that's left in Post-Truth UK:
"Operational Board Report:
Property - January 2016 Mutually Acceptable Settlement 10%.
Property - February 2016 Mutually Acceptable Settlement 0%.
Property - March 2016 Mutually Acceptable Settlement 1%.
Property - April 2016 Mutually Acceptable Settlement 0%.
Property - May 2016 Mutually Acceptable Settlement ?
Property - June 2016 Mutually Acceptable Settlement ?
Property - July 2016 Mutually Acceptable Settlement ?
Property - August 2016 Mutually Acceptable Settlement ?
Property - September 2016 Mutually Acceptable Settlement ?
Property - October 2016 Mutually Acceptable Settlement ?
Property - November 2016 Mutually Acceptable Settlement ?"

That is the sum total of transparency and accountability made available to complainants seeking private justice from Ombudsman Services in England today.

Q. Mr Clark, we were told by OFT civil servants that even more questions would be asked by those replacing DJS Research - why wasn't that true and why do so many complainants find Ombudsman Services:Property's mutually acceptable settlements, unacceptable?

Yours sincerely,
Steve Gilbert.