The Financial Ombudsman Service resolves eligible complaints between consumers and financial businesses by deciding what is fair and reasonable in the circumstances.
FOS is independent of the FCA and the financial business. It can look at many complaints involving banking, credit, insurance, payments and other regulated financial services.
You normally complain to the business first. After a valid final response, you generally have six months to refer the complaint to FOS, subject to the scheme’s rules and exceptions.
Key points
- FOS considers facts, relevant law, regulation, regulatory guidance and good industry practice.
- A final response should explain the outcome and FOS referral rights.
- Six months from the final response is a crucial referral deadline in ordinary cases.
- Evidence of loss, distress/inconvenience and practical corrective action matters to remedy.
What “fair and reasonable” means
FOS is not confined to asking whether a court would find a technical breach. It takes account of relevant law and rules, but also guidance, codes and good industry practice. The analysis should still be reasoned and tied to the individual facts.
Investigator and ombudsman stages
Many cases are first considered by an investigator. If the parties do not agree with the investigator’s view, an ombudsman can make a final decision. Use the opportunity to identify factual or evidential errors precisely rather than simply rejecting the view.
Acceptance of a final decision
Before accepting a final decision, read the FOS explanation of its legal effect. Acceptance generally makes the decision binding on the business and can affect your ability to pursue the same complaint elsewhere.
In practice
- Submit the final response and refer promptly.
- Frame the complaint by issue, with key documents and a short chronology.
- Explain both what went wrong and what would put it right.
- If an investigator’s view is wrong, identify the exact evidence or framework issue before requesting an ombudsman decision.
What to do
A practical next-step plan
- Complain to the financial business.
- Obtain the final response or wait until the scheme permits referral.
- Refer within the FOS time limit.
- Provide issue list, chronology and evidence.
- Respond specifically to any investigator view.
- Read the effect of accepting a final decision before accepting.
Common traps
Things that often confuse the issue
- Waiting for an FCA response until the FOS deadline expires.
- Treating every regulatory breach as automatically worth a fixed compensation amount.
- Sending every account document without identifying the disputed facts.
Evidence worth keeping
Where to go next
Once the merits process is exhausted, use FOS service-complaint arrangements for service issues; obtain independent advice before considering any court/public-law route.
Understand what the outcome can and cannot do
An investigator may give an initial assessment; unresolved cases can proceed to an ombudsman’s final decision. If the consumer accepts a final FOS decision within the stated period, it becomes binding on the business. Rejecting it normally ends the FOS case and may leave legal action available. Because acceptance can affect later litigation, consider independent advice where substantial additional court damages are contemplated.
Keep the routes separate.
Regulator, ombudsman/ADR, statutory appeal and court proceedings can have different purposes, powers and deadlines. Using one route does not automatically preserve another.
Build the complaint for an independent reader
Present the complaint as a sequence of disputed decisions rather than a folder of correspondence. Identify what the firm did, what rule/contract/fairness issue arises, the evidence that resolves the factual dispute, the financial impact and the practical remedy. FOS decides complaints on what it considers fair and reasonable in all the circumstances, taking account of relevant law, rules, codes and good industry practice.
| If they say… | What to check or say back |
|---|---|
| “We have already given our final response.” | That normally opens the route to FOS; it does not make the firm’s view conclusive. |
| “The complaint is out of time.” | Check the event date, awareness date, final-response date, exceptional circumstances and whether the final response was valid. |
| “Our system shows the transaction was correct.” | Ask what underlying records support the system entry and point FOS to contradictory primary evidence. |
| “We offered goodwill.” | Separate voluntary goodwill from refunding a loss, correcting an error or providing redress for an upheld complaint. |
Check jurisdiction and timing before writing the full case
Do the gateway checks first. A perfectly argued complaint can still fail if it is sent to the wrong body, too early, too late or against a respondent outside the scheme.
- Complain to the financial business first and keep its final response.
- For most complaints the business normally has up to eight weeks; complaints about fraud/scams, payment services and electronic money can have a 15-day response period.
- A referral is normally required within six months of the date of a valid final response. Separate event/knowledge time limits also apply, commonly six years from the event or three years from when you knew or ought reasonably to have known you had cause to complain.
- Check that you are an eligible complainant and that the product, activity and business fall within FOS jurisdiction.
Is Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) actually the right body?
Use FOS for eligible complaints about regulated financial businesses and certain other businesses within its compulsory or voluntary jurisdiction. Typical subjects include banking, cards, payments, insurance, consumer credit, mortgages, investments and some claims-management complaints. It is an individual dispute-resolution body; it is not the FCA and does not prosecute a firm simply because you have reported poor conduct.
If your real aim is regulatory enforcement against a firm, the FCA is the regulator. If you want damages beyond what the FOS process can provide, or need a court order, consider the legal route before accepting a final ombudsman decision.
Official sources
Check the rules behind this guide
- Financial Ombudsman Service - Time limits
- Financial Ombudsman Service - Consumer Duty / fair and reasonable
- FOS: How we resolve complaints ↗
These are official or primary sources for this topic. Rules, scheme terms and deadlines can change, so check the live source before relying on a formal time limit or procedure.