DISP 2.6 To which activities do the rules apply?

2Under article 2 of the Mortgage and General Insurance Complaints Transitional Order, the Ombudsman can also consider a relevant transitional complaint under the Compulsory Jurisdiction where it relates to an act or omission of a firm which was, immediately before the relevant commencement date, subject to a former scheme, provided that:

1. (1)

   the act or omission occurred in the carrying on by that firm of an activity to which that former scheme applied; and

2. (2)

   the complainant is eligible and wishes to have the complaint dealt with under the new scheme.

Complaints about acts or omissions by a firm include complaints about acts or omissions in respect of activities for which the firm is responsible (including business of any appointed representative for which the firm has accepted responsibility).3

For the purposes of DISP 2.6.1 R (5), ancillary banking services include, for example, the provision and operation of cash machines and safe deposit boxes and the provision of account aggregation services (that is, services where details from several accounts which may be held by different financial service providers can be accessed by a single password).1

A complaint about a non-mainstream regulated activity conducted by an authorised professional firm will be handled by the relevant professional body.

18The carrying on of an activity in DISP 2.6.8A R includes offering, providing or failing to provide and administering or failing to administer a service in relation to the activities covered by that rule. This includes the manner in which a licensee has administered its business, provided that the business is an activity subject to the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service.

A complaint may be covered by the Voluntary Jurisdiction under one or more of the subparagraphs of DISP 2.6.9 R

DISP 2.6.9 R (6A)includes:

1. (1)

   making arrangements for a borrower or potential borrower to enter into, or vary the terms of, a loan secured by a charge over land;

2. (2)

   making arrangements with a view to a borrower or potential borrower who participates in the arrangements entering into a loan secured over land; and

3. (3)

   advising a borrower or potential borrower on the merits of entering into, or varying the terms of, a loan secured by a charge over land.

DISP 2.6.9 R (6B)includes:

1. (1)

   introducing, proposing or carrying out other work preparatory to the conclusion of contracts of general insurance business or long-term insurance business or reinsurance;

2. (2)

   concluding such contracts;

3. (3)

   assisting in the administration and performance of such contracts, in particular in the event of a claim;

4. (4)

   dealing as an agent, or arranging deals, in such contracts (or rights in them);

5. (5)

   managing, safeguarding or administering assets consisting of, or including, such contracts (or rights in them); and

6. (6)

   advising on the merits of buying, selling, subscribing for or underwriting such contracts (or rights in them).

But customers of reinsurance intermediaries are unlikely to be eligible complainants.

DISP 2.6.9 R (7) enables complaints about VJ participants which, immediately before the commencement day, were members of one of the former schemes replaced by the Financial Ombudsman Service to be dealt with under the Voluntary Jurisdiction. This is in respect of the financial services activities for which the VJ participant was previously covered but excludes complaints which fall into the Compulsory Jurisdiction as relevant complaints. So the complaints which are covered by DISP 2.6.9 R (7) are only those which arise out of acts or omissions occurring after the commencement day.

DISP 2.6.9 R (6) includes the activities referred to in DISP 2.6.6 G.

DISP 2.6.9 R (8)enables a firm that is subject to the compulsory jurisdiction for regulated activities to become a VJ participant in order to cover complaints about earlier events relating to those activities before they became regulated activities.

The provisions of DISP 2.6.12 R are made under the power in sections 227(13) and 227(14) of the Act. Those sections allow for a complaint relating to an act or omission occurring either before commencement or before the VJ participant joined the Voluntary Jurisdiction (or both) to be dealt with under the Financial Ombudsman Service. Under section 227(13), the act or omission must be one which could have been dealt with under a former scheme. Under section 227(14), the VJ participant must agree; but that agreement is provided by DISP 2.6.12 R (2)and DISP 4.2.5 R. Where complaints in this category are not already covered by the Compulsory Jurisdiction as relevant complaints, they can, therefore, be included in the Voluntary Jurisdiction under DISP 2.6.12 R.