Financial Times

Financial Ombudsman resolves 40 disputes
By Lenin Amarawickrama
Sri Lanka's new Financial Ombudsman has certainly been busy in the six months since he began operating - resolving 40 disputes between the public and financial institutions.

Walter Ladduwahetty, also a retired former judge and Justice Ministry secretary, has another 110 cases to attend to most of which involve a lack of communication between the aggrieved and financial institutions.

"For example when some customers place deposits in finance companies under an agreed interest rate, a dispute arises when the finance company doesn't stick to the agreement due to interest rate variations," he told The Sunday Times FT. "These disputes can be minimized if companies clearly explain to clients about risks and possible interest rate fluctuations."

He said companies should keep clients informed of interest rate changes. Citing one such case, Ladduwahetty said a customer who once wrote to the bank raising some issues didn't get a reply, resulting in a major dispute. This case was amicably resolved with the intervention of the financial ombudsman.

The office of the financial ombudsman was created last year after the Consumer Affairs Authority became inundated with financial disputes that were mostly due to communication lapses between two parties.

Many other cases are linked to the non-payment of installments on leasing agreements and when banks execute parate execution rights on properties.

Ladduwahetty says that since most commercial agreements are in English, customers who cannot understand English particularly the legal jargon agree but later complain that they didn't understand the agreement.

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