The Financial Ombudsman has received more than 600 complaints since a new code of conduct aimed at ensuring that hard-pressed mortgage holders are handled "sympathetically and positively" by lenders was introduced six months ago.

However, the office of the Financial Regulator has not yet undertaken any formal inspection to examine how the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears has operated since it came into effect last February.

Similarly, a spokesman for Financial Ombudsman Joe Meade?could not say how many of the complaints he has received are down to specific breaches of the code, prompting concerns that it is not being adequately policed.

The revelation comes as the government unveiled its plans for the National Asset Management Agency, which has attracted criticism for failing to do enough to "bail out" mortgage holders who are struggling financially due to the economic downturn.

In a Dáil statement about the code last March, finance minister Brian Cowen said it would require all genuine arrears cases to be handled sympathetically and positively by lenders, with the objective "at all times of assisting the borrower to meet his/her obligations."

He noted that under the code, lenders must also not commence legal action for repossession until six months after the first arrears have arisen. "Where an arrears situation continues, the lender must examine each case on its individual merits and explore with the borrower alternative repayment measures," he said.

A spokesman for the Financial Ombudsman told the Sunday Tribune it has received around 620 complaints in relation to mortgages since February, when the code took effect.

However, he noted these figures would also include mortgage-related complaints made under rules which were already in place prior to the implementation of the new code, most notably the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2004.

As a result, it was not possible to say how many of the mortgage-related complaints refer to specific breaches of the new code.

"I cannot give you the names of lenders, subprime or otherwise, as the legislation does not provide for same," he added.

A spokeswoman for the Financial Regulator said it does not deal directly with individual consumer complaints, or release information on the number of complaints.

She said that it uses a number of methods to monitor compliance with consumer protection requirements, including inspections, general reviews, and "mystery shopping" exercises.

Noeleen Blackwell, director of the Free Legal Advice Centres legal rights group, described the code as "deeply disappointing."

She said was due to its "vague and ambiguous", and the lack of specific sanctions where breaches of the code are upheld, rendered it "essentially an advisory code" for lenders.