Banking Ombudsman given the thumbs up 10 November, 2008 Respected, retired judge, Mr. Justice Lewis Goldblatt, has given the Office of the Ombudsman (OBS), the 'thumbs up' after conducting a process audit. The retired judge was engaged to conduct a process audit to determine whether the OBS was dealing with and disposing of complaints in accordance with its mandate. Internal audits have been conducted in the past, but it was felt, in the interests of transparency and accountability, that the audit be conducted by an independent, external source. The judge audited 20 files representing a cross-section of the kinds of complaints dealt with by the OBS. During the course of his audit he found that the Office of the Ombudsman "satisfactorily" complies with its Terms of Reference and Operating Procedures in the handling of complaints. The Judge found that all procedures were followed and time limits adhered to and that cases were carefully investigated resulting in speedy settlements. He found that the cases were equitably, sympathetically and courteously investigated and that difficult cases were dealt with tactfully. In three of the cases the Ombudsman was called upon to write a Determination. Two of the Determinations were accepted by the parties whilst the third one went on appeal. The Determination of the Ombudsman was upheld on appeal. The judge did, however, find that in just one case there was a duplication of work resulting in an undue delay. Save for the delay, the case was satisfactorily disposed of. The Ombudsman for Banking Services, Clive Pillay, said that the glowing report was attributable to the consistently hard work of the dedicated staff. He added that whilst the office was heartened by the judge's findings, they remain committed to improving their service standards. The Ombudsman for Banking Services is a free dispute resolution service available to all bank customers. We encourage customers who have lodged complaints with their banks, and are not happy with the outcome, to approach our office.
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