Banks Breach the FSA Waiver (but we won't tell the FSA shhhhh)

[Amethyst]

All over the forums and in the press there are hundreds of consumers complaining about the FSA Waiver and their banks disregard for the terms contained in it.

So why haven't the FSA acted ?

In the past year, since August 2008, only 18 consumers (and third parties on behalf of consumers) have told the FSA about their banks not complying with the terms of the bank charges complaints waiver.

Only 27 complaints have been made to the FSA about the FSA's handling and management of the waiver.

This isn't reflective of the problems we see every day on the forums. There are 1,125,853 complaints currently on hold in the complaints system.*

Common examples of complaints about banks breaching terms of waiver include;

• Refusal to deal with cases of financial difficulty
• Closure of Accounts following a complaint about charges
• Timeliness of financial difficulty assessments
• Debt collection activity whilst account is disputed
• Firms’ data retention policies (refusing to provide data back to at least July 2001)

Despite lots of noise being made on consumer forums about the endemic breaches of the waiver the FSA renewed it in July 2009 with only one minor alteration.

This was met by some with derision and a lack of confidence in the FSA and accusations of the waiver being biased towards the banks.

However, if consumers do not tell the FSA of the constant breaches of the terms of the waiver and the extensive problems faced, particularly by consumers in financial difficulty to have their complaints processed, how can we expect the FSA to make the necessary improvements in enforcement and monitoring of firms compliance ?

SO if you feel your bank has not treated your complaint in line with the current waiver (which you can read in full HERE FSA Waiver ) then please take five minutes to let the FSA know.

To make a complaint to the FSA about the waiver - please email centralwaiversteam@fsa.gov.uk with full details of the breach and how it has affected you.

Or write to:
The Waivers Team
The Financial Services Authority
25 The North Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London E14 5HS


We are more than happy to help you write your complaint, so just post on your thread if you feel your bank is breaching any terms of the waiver

Expect to receive a reply that they don't deal with individual cases but your comments will be noted. These complaints help the FSA monitor the effectiveness of the waiver and make any necessary enforcements or monitoring visits. So far the FSA has visited only 7 of the 28 firms for monitoring!

Depending on the nature your complaint you could also copy your letter to the FOS (eg. account closures), OFT (eg. debt collection) , ICO (eg. data), and the Firm involved which could help add weight to your complaint.



*(LegalBeagles obtained this data from FOI requests to the FSA over the past few months)

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Banks Breach the FSA Waiver (but we won't tell the FSA shhhhh)

Just to emphasise the fact. In the first 3 months of this year when there was very good press coverage of the bank charges case, there was exactly 0 complaints January to March 2009. THAT is quite frankly hard to believe.
Let's rant on the forum but make sure we back it up with actions.

[Amethyst]

Re: Banks Breach the FSA Waiver (but we won't tell the FSA shhhhh)

I can confirm that the FSA Bank Charges Project team has received 17 enquiries or complaints from consumers or third party complaint handlers between 01 August 2009 and 30 September 2009, relating to potential breaches of the waiver requirements. In answer to part 2, the complaints alleging potential breaches of the waiver requirements related to the following areas of the waiver:

• Assessment of financial difficulty: 1 complaint.
  
• Treatment of customers in financial difficulty: 10 complaints.
  
• Timeliness of acknowledgement of a complaint by a firm: 1 complaint.
  
• Other areas: 5 complaints (1 regarding changes to unauthorised overdraft charging terms and conditions, 2 regarding the limitation period for bringing a complaint, 1 regarding record keeping and 1 regarding contact details for financial difficulty complaints).