Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Finance Michael McGrath TD says banks seeking to prevent the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSOP) from examining complaints from customers who believe they were impacted by the tracker mortgage scandal need to lift their objections and allow the complaints to be assessed.
Deputy McGrath was commenting after he received confirmation from the FSOP Mr. Ger Deering that some banks are ‘rigorously challenging’ the jurisdiction of his office to examine some tracker complaints on the grounds that they were lodged outside the time limit.
“The tracker mortgage scandal has caused immeasurable pain and suffering to tens of thousands of customers and was entirely of the banks’ own making. The fact that some banks are now trying to prevent the Ombudsman from assessing complaints relating to the scandal completely undermines their argument that the culture within the banking system has changed”, said Deputy McGrath.
“Up to 500 tracker complaints currently before the Ombudsman are potentially affected by this issue and many more similar complaints could yet be lodged. In recent weeks, I wrote to the Central Bank in relation to this issue and I am awaiting a reply. I have also asked the Oireachtas Finance Committee to contact all of the lenders involved to confirm if they are seeking to block the Ombudsman from dealing with cases.
“The FSOP has said not all banks are adopting this tactic of obstruction. We need to hear from the individual banks now whether or not they are seeking to block the Ombudsman dealing with some tracker complaints. We also need to hear from the Minister for Finance that he objects to the banks adopting this strategy.
“This strategy of seeking to prevent cases being examined will inevitably cause further damage to the banking system at a time when it badly needs to rebuild public trust and confidence. The best way of dealing with this now is for all lenders to make a public statement that they will not seek to block the Ombudsman from assessing any complaints relating to the tracker mortgage scandal”.
