EQUITABLE LIFE MEMBERS

Carr & Moss Opinion on the FOS

Last Updated: Saturday, December 27, 2003 03:35 PM

This report is the Carr QC & Moss QC opinion on Equitable policyholders' complaints to the FOS. Although it was produced on 30 September 2003, it has not been available until December 2003 and only by special request from Lovells.

It reveals that (in their view) Jane Whittles (FOS Principal Ombudsman) has accepted that Hirst is correct.

If this is so, then anybody who has signed up for one of ELAS' 5% or 2.5% offers, has kissed goodbye to proper compensation through the FOS which will almost certainly be much higher.

The Carr/Moss opinion is dated 30 September 2003. In the interim, the FOS appears to have been complicit in acting as postman to forward hundreds or possibly thousands of these offers to complainants, in the full knowledge that those who wait will probably get more.

The covering letter does of course carry a get out, "it's entirely your decision, we cannot recommend either way" etc.

The waiver that victims sign if they accept these offers, means that they forego ALL rights to claim in the future including a share in any compensation from the Treasury. They may end up worse off than people who have never even lodged a claim.

The following reports are in Adobe Acrobat format. If you do not have a copy you can download it by clicking on the above logo. Note that the reports are quite large and may take a while to download.

1. Lovells (Equitable's Lawyers) letter to the FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service) - 831kb

2. Carr & Moss (part 1) - 1.55mb

3. Carr & Moss (part 2) - 1.94mb