The  Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman believes that his processes may be enhanced by increasing the level of transparency about how his office operates and, in particular, the decisions he makes. To that end he has decided to publish a selection of case manager Findings.

The December 2005 Bulletin contains 3 Findings dealing with the following disputes:

• A disputant took out 2 unsecured personal loans for her boyfriend’s benefit. Despite assurance that he would meet the repayments, the boyfriend stopped making payments once his relationship with the disputant came to an end. The disputant’s father claimed that the loans should not have been granted and should be cancelled.
• A disputant received a foreign currency cheque in payment for dogs he had advertised for sale over the internet. The cheque was larger than the amount required to pay for the dogs and, at the purchaser’s request, the disputant waited 28 days for the cheque to clear and then transferred a large proportionof the funds to an overseas bank account nominated by the purchaser. Thecheque was dishonoured after the 28 day hold period had expired overdrawing the disputant’s account. The disputant claimed that he was nottold that the cheque could be dishonoured after the 28 day hold period hadexpired and sought reimbursement of the funds the bank had debited from his account.
• A small business referred a dispute to the Scheme involving three separate matters: an error in the registration of a floating charge over the assets of a company; failure to prepare and register a transfer of property and delay in the refinancing of a commercial bill facility.

The Findings reveal the detailed level of investigation undertaken by the Ombudsman’s office before a decision is reached about the merits of a dispute. They also show the fact specific nature of disputes and the level of care taken to weigh the available information to reach a fair outcome. All Findings are made on a case by case basis and reflect the unique factual situation in each case. The sample Findings have been edited for external publication and de-identified.