Ombudsman Services - "M" is for Malfeasance. (685)

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

For Clarity - Attempt 685.

685. Ombudsman Services - "M" is for Malfeasance.

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

When talking about US cops John Steinbeck said, "a long and picturesque list of malfeasances is not designed to reassure."

(Travels With Charley - John Steinbeck)

Having looked up the word, "malfeasance" we believe it could quite readily be applied to the maladministrators at Ombudsman Services and their moribund monitors.

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

Date Monday 8th April 2013: (Continued)

"Dear Mr Gurowich,

You continue,

'You have asked the OFT to reopen and/or review the decisions made by OS:P' 

- We asked the OFT "monitors" a number questions as to how it was conceivably possible that the Surveyors Ombudsman Service (SOS - now rebranded as OS:P) redress scheme continued to meet Jonathan May's assurances to the consumer that it was; "speedy," "fair" and "transparent" in light of the alarming data collected by DJS Research.

- This is a company that has removed its Minutes from its website. How does this satisfy the OTF's requirement to be, "transparent?"

We didn't get a reply.

When we phoned Ombudsman Services to ask about their website we were lucky to spak to a very helpful employee who redirected us to another site and helpfully suggested that we might care to, "look at the Minutes if you really want to know what's going on here." So we did.

Q. The Rev Shand Smith, were the Minutes removed because they really did inform the consumer as to what was eally going on at Ombudsman Services?

In 2013 the European Directive EU/11/2013 (www.eu-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT) came into force. It spoke of the need for Trust. That those, "in charge of ADR should be independent of all those who might have an interest in the outcome and should have no conflict of interest which could impede him or it from reaching a decision in a fair, impartial and independent manner."

No interest in the outcome?

The Minutes for the 15 Dec 2009 5.8 state: "The Chief Executive noted that there had been some concern over the apparent increase in the levels of recent awards."

The Property Ombudsman, Gillian Fleming, lowered awards, "significantly" They've since gone from £1.511.75p to 50 quid.

Q. Rev Shand Smith is that not a direct interference in the independence of the Ombudsman?

Q. Rev Shand Smith, why weren't awards raised as was suggested by DJS Research?

Q. Rev Shand Smith, doesn't this suggest that Member Companies and not consumers dictate what is considered to be, "fair" and "proportionate" at your Members' Club For The Riggers of Redress?

This is the opposite of what the EU Directive proposed.

Q. Lord Tim Clement Jones, as Chair of Ombudsman Services why haven't you put  ALL the minutes - from year one to the present day - on the company's website and thus complied with the EU Directive's requirement for transparency?

Q. Lord Tim Clement Jones, does this present and unsatisfactory state of affairs not go some way to explain why some complainants - you don't say how many - are so very dissatisfied with what you describe to be your, "best efforts?"

Pre-Brexit and Member Companies would appear to have, "taken back control" of Alternative Dispute Redress right more or less from the start - 15 Dec 2009. It began in 2008. For property complainants on the other hand, its been a downhill customer journey ever since.

Q. Lord Tim Clement Jones, can you possibly get those financial awards even lower for you Member Firms?

Nigel Farage and his friends in certain sections of the press have promised us that we'll take back control.

Q. Mr Clark, from the vanished minutes of Ombudsman Services it's abundantly clear that consumers never had any control whatsoever in the first place. It was seized by those expressing, "some concern" and rigged from the off.  When are you going to step up, confront those vested interests and right some very serious wrongs?

In his customer journey around the American landscape, John Steinbeck went on to say, "There's absolutely nothing to take the place of a good man." (or woman) He was so right. We've met very few on ours so far.

Yours sincerely,

Steve Gilbert - Workstock Number - 510458

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