Equitable Life report ‘alarming’

THE Chairman of the European Parliament’s Inquiry into Equitable Life, Ireland East Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness, expressed concern about the manner in which complaints from Equitable Life policy holders were dealt with by the Financial Ombudsman Service in Britain.

A report commissioned by Equitable Members Action Group (EMAG), which was carried out by a barrister Lord Neill QC, found that victims of the Equitable Life situation were treated unfairly.

Ms McGuinness expressed concern about the findings contained in Lord Neill’s report, notably his finding that the policyholders whose cases he had studied.

“Lord Neill said that the FOS has left a significant class of complainants with an abiding and entirely justifiable sense of disillusionment, frustration and injustice,” she said.

The committee is expected to complete its work by May 2007.