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Written question asked by Charlotte Nichols (Labour) on Tuesday, 27 February 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 29 February 2024. It was answered by Bim Afolami (Conservative) on Tuesday, 5 March 2024 on behalf of the Treasury.

Timesharing: Misrepresentation

Question

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the Financial Ombudsman Service tackle mis-sold timeshare complaints between 2014 and 2021.

Answer

In cases where a consumer took out a regulated financial product to purchase a timeshare, they may be able to make a compensation claim to the loan provider and may have recourse to Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if the product was mis-sold.

The FOS is an independent non-governmental body established to provide consumers and small businesses with a free, independent service that enables the proportionate, prompt and informal resolution of disputes with financial services firms. Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, it has no investigative powers of its own and cannot intervene in individual cases.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook, which sets out the rules on how the FOS should handle complaints, states that ‘the ombudsman will attempt to resolve complaints at the earliest possible stage’.  Ensuring timely outcomes is one of the FOS’s main priorities for 2024-25 and it has set itself the target of resolving 90 per cent of cases within 5 months.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
16033
Session
2023-24
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Complaints Misrepresentation Timesharing Financial Ombudsman Service
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk