Creation Financial Services bashing

[NorthernLass]

But surely you’ve missed the 6 month deadline now? Or do you mean submit to MCOL?

[NorthernLass]

NorthernLass wrote:

Just out of interest, is there a point at which the FOS itself will be out of time and can no longer pursue these cases? Just thinking it’s over 5 months now and I haven’t even had a case handler allocated.

Also, I would imagine that if there is some sort of statute of limitations on the FOS, Creation’s lawyers will be all over it.

[Rui N.]

You’ve miss the deadline with the FOS now, there’s nothing you can do.

[EwanG]

Rui N. wrote:

You’ve miss the deadline with the FOS now, there’s nothing you can do.

Was this in reference to @Paul B?
I hope he meant ‘Creation’ when he said ‘Curve’, and if it was a final response it might have said something like: “I have reviewed your complaint and my decision is to not uphold your complaint. I have detailed the outcome of my investigation in the attached letter, some of your details have been removed for security purposes.
Ultimately, if you are not happy with my decision, you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge but I hope that will not be necessary…”

@NorthernLass, the only deadline I’m aware of is the 6 months (post final decision) to get your case into FOS. Once submitted and sitting with FOS, I wouldn’t expect your case to time out! Someone like @JDB is better clued up than I am, hopefully he can verify?

[NorthernLass]

I have no idea but with criminal cases there are varying periods of time during which you can bring a prosecution so I was wondering if it was the same with consumer law.

[Rui N.]

EwanG wrote:

Rui N. wrote:

You’ve miss the deadline with the FOS now, there’s nothing you can do.

Was this in reference to @Paul B?

Yes, it was to Paul. Forgot to mention the name in the response.

[JDB]

NorthernLass wrote:

Just out of interest, is there a point at which the FOS itself will be out of time and can no longer pursue these cases? Just thinking it’s over 5 months now and I haven’t even had a case handler allocated.

No, you are fine. Once the complaint is lodged with the FOS inside the six month time limit, it won’t be timed out. The FOS actually operates with time limits greater than those provided for in the Limitation Act 1980 as it does not have the absolute bar at 15 years owing to the long term nature of some financial products.

@PaulB if you missed the six month deadline to complain to the FOS after the final decision, you need to cite exceptional circumstances for the delay to be allowed to pursue the matter. The FOS has a few case studies on its website of where it has or hasn’t allowed late submissions.

[NorthernLass]

Thank you – good to know.

[zio]

NorthernLass wrote:

Just out of interest, is there a point at which the FOS itself will be out of time and can no longer pursue these cases? Just thinking it’s over 5 months now and I haven’t even had a case handler allocated.

Strange…I submitted on the 12th of this month and had an email today from my case handler introducing herself. I know there has been discussion of the merits or otherwise of being pushy but given it has taken 10 days for me to be assigned it seems worth making contact after 5 months. Did you get an initial “do not reply, we’ve received your complaint” email? Mine said it could be 4 months before I would be assigned so I was shocked at this afternoon’s email.

Assuming of course that the outline of our complaints is the same: no voucher after spending 10k, points not transferred following notice of account termination etc.

[NorthernLass]

I’ve had nothing other than an acknowledgement email back in March saying it would take 4 months to allocate a case handler, OH submitted at roughly the same time, got assigned a case handler about a month ago but has heard nothing since then. We’ve both got case numbers so I’ve no idea what’s going on!

[EwanG]

Interesting @zio
I submitted my case the day before yours. Aside from the automatic acknowledgment I’ve not heard anything, mind you I wasn’t expecting to for some time.

The FOS auto-reply imcluded “We’re helping a lot of customers at the moment, so I’m sorry we won’t be able to reply straight away. You can expect to hear back from us within 7 working days.” Today is only the 7th working day for me, seems odd (some might say unfair) if cases are not being managed strictly in the order received. Perhaps an initial triage allows identical/very similar cases to have the same outcomes applied, after all?

Just to add, I’m in no hurry for mine to be resolved !

[JerrySignfield]

Paul B wrote:

points_worrier wrote:

Paul B wrote:

Any success stories from the FOS yet? I had not pursued, lazily, and I guess I’m too late to do so now. Was very much in the same boat as many owed points, a free night voucher and arguably a refund of the fee

You may not be too late – the ombudsman deadline is 6 months from the date of the final response from the company. Have you complained and had a final response? If not, complain now (if it is becoming clear they will lose at FOS, they may well settle at a complaint stage). If you have complained and not had a final response, send a chaser, as it keeps it ‘live’. If you have received your final response < 6 months ago, then escalate to FOS. If it is > 6 months, then you cant submit unless there is extenuating circumstances. In this case I would wait and see how the winds blow – you have 6 years to resort to MCOL. If there are multiple success stories, it may be worth considering this.

Do you know what, I did send a complaint to Curve and receive a final response back in December, or at least I think it was a final response, it included info. re. the FOS. It sounds like nobody has received a resolution yet so maybe I should just wait, or better to get something in now?

I didn’t receive a final response until April so its fair to say that you may have received a letter at a later date, file your complaint now and quote exceptional circumstances if they apply perhaps

[rams]

The talk of deadlines made me check and I received my final letter from Creation in May. I have kept up to date with this thread and it seems like nobody has had a final decision from the financial ombudsman yet?

I will submit mine shortly. Is there a recommendation over level of detail/facts vs opinion required here vs say in a MCOL application?

Thanks

[Paul B]

Thanks, I shall file anyway taking your advice to quote X. Foolishly I never held on to what I believe was the final response from Creation.

I don’t suppose there is a general template somewhere here to follow for the FOS? I’m in the same boat as most, missing a statement or two’s points, the Free Night and arguably a refund of the card fee I guess.

[Paul B]

JerrySignfield wrote:

Paul B wrote:

points_worrier wrote:

Paul B wrote:

Any success stories from the FOS yet? I had not pursued, lazily, and I guess I’m too late to do so now. Was very much in the same boat as many owed points, a free night voucher and arguably a refund of the fee

You may not be too late – the ombudsman deadline is 6 months from the date of the final response from the company. Have you complained and had a final response? If not, complain now (if it is becoming clear they will lose at FOS, they may well settle at a complaint stage). If you have complained and not had a final response, send a chaser, as it keeps it ‘live’. If you have received your final response < 6 months ago, then escalate to FOS. If it is > 6 months, then you cant submit unless there is extenuating circumstances. In this case I would wait and see how the winds blow – you have 6 years to resort to MCOL. If there are multiple success stories, it may be worth considering this.

Do you know what, I did send a complaint to Curve and receive a final response back in December, or at least I think it was a final response, it included info. re. the FOS. It sounds like nobody has received a resolution yet so maybe I should just wait, or better to get something in now?

I didn’t receive a final response until April so its fair to say that you may have received a letter at a later date, file your complaint now and quote exceptional circumstances if they apply perhaps

Thanks, I shall file anyway taking your advice to quote X. Foolishly I never held on to what I believe was the final response from Creation.

I don’t suppose there is a general template somewhere here to follow for the FOS? I’m in the same boat as most, missing a statement or two’s points, the Free Night and arguably a refund of the card fee I guess.

[HughM]

I was pleasantly surprised today to discover how easy it was to obtain a copy from Creation of its final and cursory dismissal of my complaint, issued five months ago. I used the e-mail DSARRequests@creation.co.uk to ask for a copy of my original complaint, lodged using their online form. They sent me copies of all correspondence relating to the closure of my IHG premium rewards card, by e-mail with an access code sent by post. The standard letter, dismissing complaints relating to the card closure and forfeiture of points/reward night, is a pdf file [your name]_FRL.doc. The reply e-mail comes direct from bnp paribas pf (personal finance?)

[PeteM]

So I am now on my third investigator… Is it something I said, as they keep leaving? 🙂

[Lady London]

Rui N. wrote:

You’ve miss the deadline with the FOS now, there’s nothing you can do.

If you’re in any doubt just write to them and ask them to confirm or raise some extra point requesing their answer.

[HughM]

I banged my FOS appeal in last night, hard on the deadline. It feels good.
The glossy brochure is sounding unrealistic: “How long does it take? … generally we aim to acknowledge and allocate your case to a handler within a few weeks although at busy times (now is a busy time) it can take significantly longer. Most cases are then resolved within 90 days.”
A free night in 2024? Who knows!

[stevenhp1987]

I raised my case with FOS on 7th Feb.

The only time I’ve from them is the automated email telling me what my case number is.

Has anyone who went down the MCOL had any success? Tempted to just go down that route instead given this ridiculous wait for FOS!

[HughM]

MCOL was sounding too much like hard work. My hope was always that these cases would be settled together. I just pushed the button yesterday to keep my foot in that door.

[The Urbanite]

rams wrote:

The talk of deadlines made me check and I received my final letter from Creation in May. I have kept up to date with this thread and it seems like nobody has had a final decision from the financial ombudsman yet?

I will submit mine shortly. Is there a recommendation over level of detail/facts vs opinion required here vs say in a MCOL application?

Thanks

I had a final decision from the FOS in my favour, which Creation have contested. My case handler is on leave but I hope to hear back from them in a week or two.

[NorthernLass]

What did you ask for? I’ve had no response in over 6 months now, sent them a letter a couple of weeks ago asking for an update.

[JDB]

The Urbanite wrote:

rams wrote:

The talk of deadlines made me check and I received my final letter from Creation in May. I have kept up to date with this thread and it seems like nobody has had a final decision from the financial ombudsman yet?

I will submit mine shortly. Is there a recommendation over level of detail/facts vs opinion required here vs say in a MCOL application?

Thanks

I had a final decision from the FOS in my favour, which Creation have contested. My case handler is on leave but I hope to hear back from them in a week or two.

Did you actually get a final decision? A final decision by an Ombudsman cannot be contested and once you accept the outcome it is binding on Creation. From your description, it sounds as though you had a preliminary decision from your case handler which Creation has contested (and you could have contested if you didn’t like the decision or resolution) so the matter will now be escalated to an Ombudsman for a final decision.

[The Urbanite]

NorthernLass wrote:

What did you ask for? I’ve had no response in over 6 months now, sent them a letter a couple of weeks ago asking for an update.

I just wanted the points from the month they nuked my accounts (around 90k so worth chasing) and the free night I earned. I argued the closure was improper which the FOS have upheld.

JDB wrote:

The Urbanite wrote:

rams wrote:

The talk of deadlines made me check and I received my final letter from Creation in May. I have kept up to date with this thread and it seems like nobody has had a final decision from the financial ombudsman yet?

I will submit mine shortly. Is there a recommendation over level of detail/facts vs opinion required here vs say in a MCOL application?

Thanks

I had a final decision from the FOS in my favour, which Creation have contested. My case handler is on leave but I hope to hear back from them in a week or two.

Did you actually get a final decision? A final decision by an Ombudsman cannot be contested and once you accept the outcome it is binding on Creation. From your description, it sounds as though you had a preliminary decision from your case handler which Creation has contested (and you could have contested if you didn’t like the decision or resolution) so the matter will now be escalated to an Ombudsman for a final decision.

Right you are, it was the conclusion made by the case handler, it hasn’t been referred to an Ombudsman yet.