Ombudsman Services: "A" Is For Approval. (687)

To the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary / Chair of Ombudsman Services / CEO and Chief ombudsman, Ombudsman Services and Chair of The Ombudsman Association.

For Clarity - Attempt 687.

687. Ombudsman Services: "A" Is For Approval.

Dear Mr Clark, Lord Tim Clement Jones and The Rev Shand Smith,

Approval:

"The belief that someone or something is good or acceptable."

Synonyms; approbation, appreciation, favour, liking encouragement, support, acceptance.

"Proposals for the licensing system will now go forward to the ministry for approval."

(www.oxforddictionaries.co.uk)

The OFT's, "approval" of the Ombudsman Services:Property redress scheme, on behalf of the taxpayer, was expected to do something, "good." Taxpayers were led to believe that the scheme would ensure; a speedy, fair and independent investigation of their complaint. They were told by Jonathan May, OFT Executive Director, that they could trust it. It was being monitored by good people.

What could possibly go wrong?

RE: My Complaint About Ombudsman Services:Property (OS:P) - A Cover-Up.

Date Monday 8th April 2013: (continued)

"Dear Mr Gurowich,

You say,

'In relation to your request for a public inquiry, as you have already been advised, the OFT's powers under the EAA in relation to such schemes are limited to approval and (where appropriate) withdrawal of approval.'

- The verb, "scheme" seems to be the appropriate one to use in this context.

- Each year DJS Research made OFT, "monitors" aware of the fact that hundreds of consumers were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their treatment at the hands of the SOS (now rebranded OS:P) and yet they failed to withdraw their approval of the scheme. Hasn't the taxpayer a right to know why this approval wasn't withdrawn?"

We didn't get a reply.

Q. The Rev Shand Smith, you have stated  that your decisions are your product. When a majority of property complainants have repeatedly told researchers that your product was faulty, shouldn't you have alerted the OFT monitors to this fact so that they could then have withdrawn their approval of your faulty scheme thus protecting the taxpayer and consumer?

Q. Mr Clark, what is the government's industrial strategy behind its continued approval of a private redress scheme that consistently fails property complainants?

Next:

"Similarly, the OFT does not have the power to re-open or review the individual decisions made under the state agency redress schemes it has approved."

- We have never asked the OFT to re-open or review the eye-wateringly ludicrous, "investigation" of our case - 510458 - because the company's quaintly named, "Independent Assessor" has already pointed that out to us. The Ombudsman's Final Decision - no matter how eye-wateringly ludicrous - is (at the same time as being eye-wateringly ludicrous) free from bias and can only be overturned by judicial review.

- This is why we are campaigning for an inquiry into the workings of OS:P and the role of The RICS in the company's management of complaints made against its Members and Regulated Firms. And for a review of ALL our cases.

We didn't get a reply to that either.

Q. The Rev Shand Smith, how is it conceivably possible that when so many property complainants are dissatisfied with your Lead Property Ombudsman's decisions, your Independent Assessor can find NO instances of bias on the part of the Ombudsman?

Q. The Rev Shand Smith, is this not in itself eye-wateringly ludicrous and an example of the institutionalised pro-business bias inherent in your OFT approved scheme?

Q. Lord Tim Clement Jones, does this not go quite some considerable way in explaining why some complainants - you don't say how many - are so very dissatisfied with what you like to call your, "best efforts?"

The Ombudsmans61percent Campaign cannot see where the, "good" is in any of this, unless of course by, "good" you mean Good For Business.

This, to us, is much more like, "a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse monitoring scheme" and is Very Good For Business but Very Bad For Consumers.

Yours sincerely,

Steve Gilbert - Workstock Number - 510458.

The Ombudsmans61percent Campaign is at: www.blogger.com and www.facebook.com Ombudsmans Sixtyone-percent.