How to Contact the Financial Ombudsman
Financial Ombudsman is an independent authority that works for taking up complaints of consumers of financial services and providing justice to them. They can be a retired judge or any other notable figure from legal or financial sectors, working independently from the banking courts, securities and exchange commissions and financial service authorities.
An ombudsman, who in most countries is a nominee by a government, addresses the consumers’ complaints on volunteer basis after they try and exhaust all other channels of justice. For example, a consumer, who is victim of any dodgy investment scheme or a product or service, is most likely to contact the person or company with which they had started the business. If there is no justice from that end, they might formally complain to the financial regulator, which can be financial service authority and to some extent exchange and securities commission or even the central bank.
Ombudsman is the last door the consumers knock on for justice. Sometimes investigations lead to unearthing of broader scams and dodgy schemes, which merely start with a complaint from an individual consumer. In the present time when markets are hit by the ongoing financial crisis, the role of ombudsman has increased manifold. It is observed that often consumers are ripped off some alluring credit card schemes or any financial scam. The role of an ombudsman increases in such cases.
Instructions
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1
First Complain to Firm
When a consumer approaches financial ombudsman, this is when they have exhausted all other options of justice. This should start with direct communication to the financial services firm or bank, which has caused the mistake. It is possible that bringing the issue to an higher authority within a that company resolves your problem. For example, it is possible that you are a victim at hands of a particular official within a financial firm, and the rip-off is not a part of a broader scam. So, if you bring the matter to the knowledge of the management of that company, you are likely to be compensated for the loss of your money and time, and that person is penalised. In this way you can also prevent more consumers being targeted by the person involved and the company further tightens its monitoring measures. -
2
Contact Financial Sector Regulator
If you are a victim of a particular scheme or a banking product that you think is in contravention of banking or financial sector's rules, you can complain to authorities in a financial services authority, securities and exchange commission or even the central bank. In case of banking product or service, the central bank is the right platform to approach since it regulates the banking sector. The situation might be a bit different in each country but standard procedures are almost the same every where. -
3
Fill Out Ombudsman Complaint Form
Generally you can download a complaint form from the website of the financial ombudsman or contact them on a given phone number to get the form posted to you. Once received, fill out the form carefully and attach all documents. -
4
Request for Taking Up Complaint
By bringing the issue in the knowledge of the ombudsman you should request for a formal inquiry into the matter. For this you have to provide all the details of the case and required evidence. It is possible that you may not be an alone victim of the fraud and more people appear to support your application.
