Appeal Financial Ombudsman finding to High Court

sam27

Registered User
Messages
39
Hi,

I would be very grateful if anyone could advise me in relation to making an appeal that went against me with a complaint I made against a Financial Institution.

I have 21 days to make an appeal to High Court.

I cannot afford services of private solicitor/barrister and am considering doing myself.

Any constructive views appreciated. Costs, etc

Would the Legal Aid Board have the power to represent me??
 
No, the Legal Aid board would be unlikely to help you in such a case.

You could represent yourself, but it would be difficult.

I have to say that I have occasionally disagreed with the Ombudsman's findings, but it's a matter of one person's informed judgement. The Ombudsman's decision on fact has never been overturned by the High Court. He has lost a few cases on the law.

Maybe you would be better accepting the Ombudsman's decision as an impartial and independent assessment and move on?
 
Most certainly wont accept his findings of fact. He has made a wrong decision on the facts that I submitted and would like the High Court to rule on this.

Why cant Legal Aid Board help? Am currently unemployed.
 
It's a question of cost and priority.

You have had a ruling from an independent body. it would be a poor use of taxpayers' money to fund everyone to appeal civil decisions they don't like.

Brendan
 
Plenty of solicitors and people with a background in banking use this board, why not post the basic facts on here and get some views on it.

As Brendan said however, just because you don't like the decision, doesn't mean it was wrong
 
Thanks for comments.

Its to do with Payment Protection Insurance bought with loan I took out.

Without going into too much detail - Was advised, by bank offical by phone, after been laid off from work that my Payment Protection Policy would not cover me.

I disagreed and argued over the point. I stated that I paid out over €1,000 euro on the insurance for on ly to be told it would not cover me.

This has been going on for some years before finally appealing it to Ombudsman.

The other party informed the Ombudsman that I met with them and they advised me to make an application to the underwriters. This meeting NEVER took place. I asked them to provide doc evidence that meeting took place. They could not do so.

They also claimed that the contacted the Underwriters on my behalf. I made a request under the Data Protection Act to the underwriters and asked for proof of such contact. They could not provide any doc proof either.

My complaint was that I was wrongly advised in relation this matter and as a result no claim was made to the underwriters.

The Ombudsman found the Banks version of events more plausible even though no docs evidence could be produced by the bank.

Would appreciate any help in this matter.

Just a note to Brendan - If everyone took that view, then no appeals to any cases would be heard. Appeals are necessary in the interest of Justice, Fairness and Equality. Furthermore, under the Legal Aid Act, if a Solicitor/Barrister finds that a person has a reasonable chance of success, then Legal Aid should be granted and if successful, costs paid back to the Legal Aid board for any monies awarded.
 
Hi sam

I would very much doubt that the High Court would overturn a decision on a matter like this. The Ombudsman seems to have had to make a decisioin on fact and found the bank's evidence more plausible. I know that this is very disappointing to you, but the Ombudsman had to weigh up all the evidence.

The High Court is very unlikely to interfere with such a finding.

If you had a point of law, they might review it.

I am not that familiar with Legal Aid. But I would hate to see taxpayers' money spent on giving every disappointed claimant a second bite at the cherry.

Brendan
 
Thanks for reply Brendan.

Am considering appealing it on my own. Have bit of experience in working in the Courts. However, this would be minimum.

I have looked up the recent appeal cases and really dont know do I want to go ahead with this on my own. I do know that the Bank lied to the Ombudsman and I feel very strongly about this.

They have no records whatsoever of the alleged meeting. The said this to cover themselves. I asked for such proof but they could not provide this. Its 5 years since this happened. Surely, there is a duty placed upon organisations to keep memos/correspondence etc in relation to something like this??
 
Hi Sam

We are just looking at your side of the story here.

The Ombudsman heard both sides. He weighed up the evidence and found against you. That is why he is there.

In most cases which go to the Ombudsman, one party is disappointed.

Brendan
 
you asked about costs:

Solicitor, Barrister and Senior Counsel as well as whatever expert witnesses you will require.

SC would be approx €15K, Barrister around €10K, solicitor around €20K. All plus VAT. Expert witnesses around €1500 per day as well as initial instruction/report of another €1000. This is a ballpark idea and could be higher.
 
I don't think you should attempt to appeal the ruling.

You're talking about the data protection act and internal communications between the customer service staff and underwriting. This is a daft argument and unless you're a top barrister such an approach is not going to get you anywhere.

The fact is, you would have been allowed to complete a claim form and underwriting would have made the decision with reference to the T&Cs. And when you lodged the complaint, it would have been investigated fully before providing you with a sign off letter to complain to the regulator.

The regulator is being beyond harsh with insurance companies due to the banking crisis. If you had a case you would have won.
 
I am looking to appeal it myself.

I have 10 days left to decide to lodge an appeal to the High Court.

A Notice of Motion and Grounding Aff need to be lodged together will have docs/correspondence between myself and bank and ombudsman.

Is there any way of just lodging the Notice of Motion with the High Court and then at a later stage, hopefully when and if Legal Aid obtained, lodging the Grounding Affadavit and all docs at a later stage.

Would really want Sol/Barrister to advise me in this regard and what to say.

Have been put on waiting list with Legal Aid.

Thanks for any responses.
 
sam, you do not need Senior Counsel. A good Junior will do fine. PM me and I will give you the names I used.
 
could you tell, you did the appeal to high court & if yes what the result. I am asking because I have nearly the same case.
Thanks
 
Hi Mix

Can you outline your issue?
Did you go to the Ombudsman?
Did he find against you?
How much was your complaint for?
 
Back
Top