Banking ombudsman reports fewer complaints

STOLEN cheques, elderly women losing €52,000 on the stock market and disputes over incorrect lodgements and frozen accounts meant it was business as usual last year for the banking ombudsman, whose annual report was published yesterday.

But the bad press faced by the country’s banks during 2004 was not reflected in the number of customer complaints to the watchdog, which fell almost 20% to 870.

The Ombudsman for Credit Institutions, which was set up by banks and building societies to settle disputes between them and their customers, said more than half of the complaints received by his office were resolved after referring each case to the institution in question. The bank or building society’s internal procedures were then used to hammer out a deal with customers who had found fault.