Financial Ombudsman - Your financial rights
Complain, get help & compensation

If you have a problem with a financial company that the firm won't resolve, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS can order firms to pay compensation – and the service costs nothing to use.
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What is the Financial Ombudsman?
It has legal power to adjudicate on individuals' complaints or complaints from small businesses and charities with turnover under €2 million (about £1.65 million) and fewer than 10 employees.
If you've ever had a financial product or service, you need to know about the powerful rights all consumers have when dealing with financial companies. Regulations state these companies must "treat customers fairly". If they don't, the FOS is there to provide a free way to fight back. And while the ombudsman can say you've no case, it won't order you to pay extra costs. So, at worst, you'll be in the same position you were before the complaint.
The service is also not just for new complaints. In many circumstances, you can complain about something that happened up to six years ago. And if you think an old complaint’s been badly dealt with, see the Can I re-open my complaint? section.
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How does the ombudsman work?
While the ombudsman has the power to investigate cases, its primary role is actually in settling disputes between customers and companies. These may sound like the same thing, but it can often solve the problem without an investigation.
The ombudsman won't take sides. Its job is to ensure that complaints are dealt with and fair play happens. In a nutshell, the process works like this (there's more info on how you complain below):
Using the ombudsman is a very powerful technique. It's cheaper and safer than trying to get a resolution via the courts. More importantly, unlike the courts, which have to rely on whether the company has broken any law, the FOS also follows the regulators' "treating customers fairly" rules. So the ombudsman will make sure you've been dealt with appropriately, not just legally.
You won't get an instant judgment from the ombudsman. Disputes that go all the way can take three to nine months, and longer for PPI complaints. While there's no guarantee you'll win, tens of thousands of people every year do. It means companies must take you seriously.
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What can the ombudsman do?
Its range is huge. It doesn't just cover regulated financial activity, but how companies operate in general, to ensure you're being treated fairly.
If you're not sure your complaint is covered, or you just want to find out how to get started with your complaint, it's worth a call to the ombudsman to ask. Call 0800 0234 567 (or 0300 123 9 123 from a mobile). The worst thing that can happen is that the ombudsman tells you it can't adjudicate.
Here are some typical areas the ombudsman deals with:
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What does it take into account?
Companies must treat customers fairly and reasonably. But of course, that definition's open to question. Unlike a court, the ombudsman can rule against companies even if they’re acting within the law, as this isn't the only source it takes into consideration. The three sources it uses are:
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How do I complain to the Financial Ombudsman?
There's a protocol to follow - but it's very simple.
The form's simple to fill in, but take care doing it. We've written a guide to help, which takes you through filling it in, step by step. It's written in Microsoft Word, so you can easily cut and paste sections of it, and/or print it out, and have it next to you as you're filling in the form.
The ombudsman resolves around half of non PPI cases within three months but PPI cases can take a lot longer.
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How far back can I complain?
The good news is you’ve a right to go back quite a few years, so if you think you’ve been hard done by in the past, dig out your paperwork and put a complaint in.
The ombudsman can only help with complaints about companies regulated by the FCA, however. While this doesn't affect most banks and building societies, some insurance providers, for example, were not regulated until 2005 or 2008. If in doubt, check with the ombudsman.
If the firm is subject to the FOS, the key rule is you’ve EITHER three years from when you knew you could make a complaint, OR six years from the event you're complaining about taking place.
You also need to contact the ombudsman within six months of your last contact with the firm (remember, you need to have complained to the firm first). Outside this timeframe, you'll need to start your complaint from scratch, which means it's back to the offending company.
But, in this latter case, there's a chance the ombudsman may not be able to help if you need to refer your case to it later on, so try not to miss the deadline.
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Can I re-open my complaint?
Each time you complain, a financial company needs to give you a final response. This response must mention the ombudsman's free service, and it can get in trouble if it doesn't. In 2011, RBS and NatWest were fined for not doing this (see MSE News).
If you don't get a final response, or it doesn't mention your right to use the ombudsman within six months of its letter, your timeframes are extended.
In this case, you’ve three years from when you knew you could make a complaint OR six years from the event you're complaining about taking place.
If you're still within these timeframes and would like to pick up a complaint where you left off, simply contact the ombudsman and ask it to take on your case. The Complain to the Financial Ombudsman section above includes links to the forms and a free guide to filling them in.
If you're re-opening your complaint, we suggest you include any original letters you still have, and mention that fact in the ‘any other details’ section on page three of the form. Here’s some suggested text to help:
I am re-opening this complaint due to not receiving full and correct details of my right to use the ombudsman service following my original complaint in ENTER DATE.
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Can I charge for the hassle it's caused?
The ombudsman awards compensation for material distress and inconvenience in about a quarter of the cases it looks at.
You can charge for your time. Hidden in its compensation guidelines, it states it will award compensation for the time you've spent resolving your complaint. However it won't usually award this as an hourly or daily rate. Instead it will take into account the overall impact the time spent has had on you.
This is great news if you've unfairly experienced problems due to your bank or finance company, as the ombudsman officially recognises the time you spend rectifying the issue is worth something.
So when you do complain to the ombudsman, if you've spent significant time and hassle going through the process, be sure to include an estimate (or if you've got it, proof) of the hours you've spent chasing the issue, and ask for compensation according to its guidelines. You won't always get it - but you're much more likely to if you ask for it.
You could go one step further and use this as a stick to hit an unhelpful company straight away. The compensation guidelines only officially apply for complaints resolved by the ombudsman. But when you complain to the company, indicate you'll be asking the ombudsman for compensation. It may help make it settle.
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What can I do if I think the ombudsman is wrong?
The Financial Ombudsman Service's decision is usually made by an assigned case worker. If you disagree with the result you can ask for a formal decision to be made by one of the actual ombudsmen at the service. This usually takes several months as it involves a detailed investigation into your case.
Fewer than one in 10 cases end up with an ombudsman, and some of those are there because the finance company has requested it. After the ombudsman's decision, there is no further appeal process.
After that, while the finance company must accept the ombudsman's decision, you still have the right to take the company to court.
Think carefully about this. While the ombudsman can decide purely on fairness, a court will only rule based on legal wrongdoing. For information on how to make a small claim for up to £10,000, see our Small Claims Court guide.If you feel the ombudsman hasn’t handled your case correctly - perhaps there were unnecessary delays - you can go to its Service Review Team. If that doesn’t resolve it, you’ve a right to go to the Independent Assessor. But this can only be about be quality of service you've had, not about the ombudsman's actual decision.
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