THE Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading is proposing to increase the maximum award limit under the Isle of Man Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme from £100,000 to £150,000.
The new limit will apply where an act or omission which gives rise to a complaint occurs on or after April 1.
The Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme is a free, independent dispute resolution service for customers with a complaint against a financial service provider operating in or from the Isle of Man.
It became fully operational in January 2002 and is now established under Schedule 4 of the Financial Services Act 2008.
The current maximum award limit of £100,000 has remained unchanged since the scheme was established in 2002.
This limit has decreased in real terms as increasing the amount in line with inflation since January 2002 would see it set at approximately £146,000.
The UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service increased its maximum award limit to £150,000 on January 1. In addition, the proposed financial ombudsman for Jersey and Guernsey is also expected to adopt this figure.
The Office is seeking comments from members of the public or the industry on the proposal. The full consultation can be found on the OFT website at www.gov.im/oft. The closing date for comments is Friday, March 16.