Pensions Ombudsman revamps approach to ‘distress and inconvenience’ awards – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 18th, 2018 in compensation, complaints, consumer protection, maladministration, news, pensions by sally

‘The UK’s Pensions Ombudsman has introduced a fixed-amount award to compensate individuals who have suffered “distress and inconvenience” as a result of the maladministration of a pensions scheme.’

Full Story

OUT-LAW.com, 17th September 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Electoral Commission ‘failed to probe crooked Lib Dem donor’ – BBC News

Posted July 18th, 2014 in elections, fraud, maladministration, news, ombudsmen, political parties by tracey

‘The Electoral Commission is refusing to apologise after a watchdog ruled it had failed to properly investigate a Lib Dem donor later convicted of fraud.’

Full story

BBC news, 17th July 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Alison Hewitt family awarded £130,000 for stalker failings – BBC News

‘A family who endured a “living nightmare” at the hands of a stalker are to receive £130,000 because of Home Office failings.

Full story

BBC News, 8th July 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court reduces Ombudsman-awarded compensation due to local authority “financial pressures” – OUT-LAW.com

‘A recent High Court decision risks “emasculating” the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), an expert has said, after the judge allowed the authority to pay only one fifth of the compensation awarded against it.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 1st April 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Charity Commission ‘not fit for purpose’, says Margaret Hodge – The Guardian

‘Margaret Hodge has described the Charity Commission as not “fit for purpose” after a highly critical report warned that its failure to investigate fraud and abuse was undermining public faith in good causes.’

Full story

The Guardian, 4th December 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Foreign Office apology for Egypt rape victim – BBC News

‘A British woman who was raped in Egypt has received an apology and £1,000 in compensation from the Foreign Office after it failed to provide proper support to her.’

Full story

BBC News, 27th November 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Equitable Life scandal victims to receive compensation this year – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 11th, 2013 in compensation, maladministration, news, pensions, victims by tracey

“Around 10,000 victims of the Equitable Life scandal will receive a £5,000 compensation payment a year early, the Government has announced.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 10th September 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina (Government Actuary’s Department) v Pensions Ombudsman – WLR Daily

Regina (Government Actuary’s Department) v Pensions Ombudsman: [2013] EWCA Civ 901; [2013] WLR (D) 298

“The Government Actuary’s Department performed an important proactive role, by producing and from time to time revising the actuarial tables, which was central to the administration and proper operation of the firefighters’ public sector pension scheme, and as such was ‘concerned with the … administration of … the scheme’, within the meaning of section 146(4)(b) of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, as substituted.”

WLR Daily, 22nd July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

UK Uncut loses: Taxman’s Goldman Sachs deal “not a glorious episode”, but lawful – UK Human Rights Blog

“Tax avoidance has hit the news again, with Apple currently facing questions from the US Senate about its exploitation of Irish company law loopholes and David Cameron writing to offshore tax havens to push for more transparency over tax rules. As it happens, the High Court has just handed down a ruling in a case which raises many of the same issues.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Divorcee keeps £100,000 pension overpayment in ‘David v Goliath’ victory – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 15th, 2013 in divorce, maladministration, news, ombudsmen, pensions by sally

“A woman who received almost £100,000 too much from a pension company will keep the money, an ombudsman has decided.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 14th May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina v Applied Language Solutions Ltd – WLR Daily

Regina v Applied Language Solutions Ltd: [2013] EWCA Crim 326;   [2013] WLR (D)  123

“Where a company had an agreement with the Ministry of Justice to provide interpreters, including interpreters for criminal proceedings, it was essential that an interpreter was provided on every occasion when one was required. If there was successive non-attendance of an individual interpreter or successive failures in systems a court was entitled to view that as amounting to serious misconduct rendering the company liable for the costs thereby incurred by the Crown Prosecution Service and the defence.”

WLR Daily, 25th March 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Wrong priorities – NearlyLegal

Posted January 21st, 2013 in complaints, housing, local government, maladministration, news, ombudsmen by sally

“Every now and again, there is a Local Government Ombudsman report that seems to go beyond individual instances of maladministration and instead capture something of the zeitgeist. The LGO decision summarised here may well be one of the latter (certainly the Guardian thinks so), as arguably what it shows is a Local Authority prioritising its own administrative concerns over its legal duties in both its policy and the operation of policy. There is also a routine failure to ask the kind of questions that might have meant it had to do more. This on top of a series of administrative failures.”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 20th January 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Regina (Gallagher and another) v Basildon District Council – WLR Daily

Posted November 11th, 2010 in compensation, law reports, local government, maladministration by sally

Regina (Gallagher and another) v Basildon District Council [2010] EWHC 2824 (Admin); [2010] WLR (D) 28

“There was no obligation on a local authority to implement recommendations of a local commissioner, nor was it necessary for a local authority to have cogent reasons for refusing to follow such a recommendation; but if a local authority gave reasons for rejecting a recommendation, the court was entitled to examine whether it had taken into account irrelevant considerations or failed to take account of relevant considerations, or its decision was irrational.”

WLR Daily, 10th November 2010

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Ombudsman to investigate complaints against LSC – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 5th, 2010 in fees, legal aid, maladministration, news, ombudsmen by sally

“The Parliamentary Ombudsman is to investigate complaints of maladministration made against the Legal Services Commission by the Law Society and several law firms over its late claims to recoup payments made on account.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 4th November 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Equitable Life policyholders head to court – The Times

Posted July 21st, 2009 in compensation, insurance, maladministration, news by sally

“Equitable Life policyholders take their claim for compensation to the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday in a bid to overturn a Government ruling that gives them a fraction of what they say is a fair entitlement.”

Full story

The Times, 20th July 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Mother wins money back in NHS row – BBC News

Posted July 9th, 2009 in hospitals, maladministration, news, ombudsmen by sally

“A mother who spent £31,000 on life-saving treatment for her daughter while NHS bodies argued over funding is to get her money back.”

Full story

BBC News, 8th July 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Injustice Unremedied: The Government’s response on Equitable Life – Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Posted May 11th, 2009 in compensation, insurance, maladministration, press releases by sally

“Ann Abraham, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, has today laid before both Houses of Parliament a further report concerning Equitable Life.”

Full press release

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, 6th May

Source: www.ombudsman.org.uk

R (Parish) v Pensions Ombudsman – WLR Daily

Posted March 11th, 2009 in law reports, maladministration, pensions, tribunals by sally

R (Parish) v Pensions Ombudsman; [2009] WLR (D) 86

“Where the ultimate question to be determined by the Pensions Ombudsman in an investigation differed from the ultimate question which had arisen in previously begun court or employment tribunal proceedings, s 146(6)(a)(i) of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 did not preclude an investigation by reason of a factual issue being common to the investigation and to the court or employment tribunal proceedings.”

WLR Daily, 9th March 2009

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note that once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Harassed family gets £10k payout – BBC News

Posted January 26th, 2009 in compensation, harassment, local government, maladministration, news by sally

“A council has been ordered to pay £10,000 to a family after it failed in its handling of their complaints against neighbours who harassed them.”

Full story

BBC News, 26th January 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Authority failed to stop abuse at sheltered home – The Guardian

Posted August 8th, 2008 in care homes, maladministration, news by sally

“A local authority was found guilty of maladministration yesterday for failing to stop persistent abuse of people at a sheltered housing scheme that was ‘run like Colditz’.”

Full story

The Guardian, 8th August 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk