Context: Why Fairness Is Becoming More Complicated
(Synopsis of John Howard’s argument)
In a recent reflection, John Howard explores why fairness—once the beating heart of the Financial Ombudsman Service—is becoming increasingly difficult to uphold.
Using a simple but powerful thought experiment involving an elderly woman asked to leave a first-class train carriage, John shows how our sense of fairness shifts as more context is revealed: rules, capacity, corporate behaviour, vulnerability, and intent all change how “fair” a decision feels. The exercise exposes a core truth: fairness is not fixed; it depends on the whole situation, not just the rulebook.
John then connects this insight to recent government proposals that narrow the Ombudsman’s remit. Under the new approach, if a firm complies with FCA rules, its conduct may automatically be deemed “fair and reasonable”—even if the outcome feels plainly unjust. This represents a profound shift away from judgement, discretion, and humanity, towards box-ticking and procedural defence.
His warning is clear: when principles give way to rules alone, trust erodes, vulnerability is sidelined, and unfair outcomes become easier to justify—especially for powerful institutions.
What Citizen Investigators Need to Know in a Changing System
When people come to Get SAFE, they often say the same thing:
“But they followed the rules.”
“How can this be allowed?”
“Surely someone will see this isn’t fair.”
Those questions make sense.
They are human questions.
But they collide with a hard truth:
Fairness is not found in rulebooks.
And relying on rules alone is one of the biggest mistakes a citizen investigator can make.
The Comfort of Rules — and Why They Fail You
Rules feel safe.
They are written down.
They look objective.
They promise certainty.
But rules are blunt instruments. They cannot see you. They cannot feel context. They cannot respond to vulnerability.
A firm can follow every rule and still cause serious harm.
That is not a loophole.
It is how the system is increasingly designed.
Recent changes to how complaints are assessed mean that rule compliance is being treated as proof of fairness — even when outcomes are clearly unjust.
This shifts the burden onto you.
Fairness Lives in Context, Not Checklists
Imagine the same action happening in different circumstances.
- Same rule
- Same behaviour
- Completely different impact
What changes is not the rule — it’s the context.
For citizen investigators, this means something critical:
Evidence without context is weak.
A decision-maker may say:
- “The process was followed”
- “The disclosure was provided”
- “The terms allowed this”
Your job is to show why that still wasn’t fair in your situation.
Vulnerability Is Not Obvious — You Must Prove It
Many people assume vulnerability is self-evident.
It isn’t.
Stress, illness, bereavement, cognitive overload, fear, and power imbalance are often invisible on paper — unless you document them clearly.
If vulnerability is not evidenced:
- It may be ignored
- Or worse, reframed as incompetence or consent
As a citizen investigator, you must make vulnerability unavoidable.
That means:
- Explaining what you were dealing with at the time
- Showing how this affected your ability to question, resist, or understand
- Linking vulnerability directly to the harm that followed
This is not about sympathy.
It is about truth.
Patterns Matter More Than Excuses
Fairness is not decided in isolation.
Decision-makers look for patterns — whether they admit it or not.
That cuts both ways.
Firms often try to paint consumers as:
- “Experienced”
- “Repeat actors”
- “Should have known better”
Citizen investigators must respond with something stronger:
Patterns of behaviour by the firm.
That includes:
- Repeated delays
- Template responses
- Ignored warnings
- Consistent refusal to exercise discretion
- Similar outcomes for different people
A pattern changes the story from “unfortunate case” to “systemic behaviour.”
Why “They Followed the Rules” Is Not the End
This is the most important lesson.
When a firm says:
“We followed all relevant rules.”
That is not the end of the argument.
It is the start of a better one.
You are allowed to ask:
- Was discretion available?
- Was harm foreseeable?
- Was this outcome reasonable for a person in my position?
- Would a fair system accept this result?
These are principle-based questions, not technical ones.
They are harder to answer — and that is why they matter.
What Citizen Investigators Must Do Differently
The system is changing.
Protection is narrowing.
Discretion is shrinking.
So citizen investigators must adapt.
That means:
- Focusing less on “gotcha” rule breaches
- Focusing more on story, context, and coherence
- Building evidence that explains why something was unfair — not just what happened
Your goal is not to out-lawyer anyone.
It is to out-clarify them.
Why Get SAFE Exists
Get SAFE exists because too many people discover this too late:
That fairness is no longer assumed.
It must be demonstrated.
We do not promise quick fixes.
We do not promise rescue.
We offer something more important:
- Structure when things feel overwhelming
- Tools to organise your truth
- Language that stands up under scrutiny
- A way to reclaim agency without escalating harm
One Final Truth to Hold Onto
Rules can be followed.
Boxes can be ticked.
Processes can be clean.
And injustice can still occur.
That is why citizen investigators matter.
Because fairness is not found in rulebooks — it is proven through context, pattern, vulnerability, and disciplined evidence.
You are not imagining what happened to you.
And you are not powerless.
Get SAFE takeaway
Get SAFE exists to help people survive long enough for truth to matter.
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