The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) provides a free service to UK consumers to address disputes about financial services products with participating organisations. It provides advice and can oversee the process of resolving complaints. The FOS offers a resolution service for customers of banks, building societies, credit card companies, financial advisers and insurance companies.
If you have an issue with your financial service product or provider and cannot resolve it directly with the provider, then you can use the FOS to try to resolve the issue.
The FOS will assess the circumstances of the complaint and decide whether it is eligible for a resolution. Generally, the complaint must relate to something that occurred within the past six years and you must have registered your complaint with the provider within a set time period, often six months.
The FOS will then investigate the complaint and make a decision regarding how to resolve it. This could be a recommendation of compensation to you, or a suggestion that your provider changes something they have done or said. If the provider declines to accept this decision, then the FOS can take further recommendations which may involve involving a mediator or an ombudsman.
If you are unhappy with the outcome of the FOS decision, you can appeal depending on the circumstances. Your provider might also appeal against the decision if it disagrees with the outcome.
Using the FOS can be a fast and effective way to resolve a complaint if you are unable to get a satisfactory outcome from your provider. It is free to use and the process is designed to be as straightforward as possible.
The FOS is a key part of the UK consumer protection system and can often resolve disputes between customers and their providers quickly and effectively. It is worth noting their service if you experience difficulties with a financial consumer product.