The Financial Ombudsman Service was set up by law to provide customers with a free, independent service for resolving disputes with financial firms.

Our aim is to resolve cases promptly, fairly and with minimum formality. This leaflet tells you about the service standards we aim to meet. Naturally, we hope you’ll be happy with the service we provide. However, we know that – as in any organisation – things can sometimes go wrong. So this page tells you what to do if you have a complaint about our service.

In all our contact with customers, we aim to be polite and professional. For security and training purposes, we may monitor or record telephone calls.

Many of our cases involve complex financial and legal issues but we always try to set out our views clearly, without using jargon.

We resolve most cases within six months from when they are referred to us, after the firm has set out its final decision. But some cases can take longer, particularly if we need to make wide-ranging enquiries. We will ask you and the firm to respond to our enquiries as quickly as possible.

We will keep in touch with you regularly while we are looking into your case. We will tell you how things are progressing and what you need to do next. You will always know the name of the person handling your case and you can contact them direct with any questions.

We will always take account of what you tell us about the case. But we have to take account of what the firm says as well. If you disagree with a view we set out about your case, you can ask us to reconsider the matter. We will explain how to do that in our letters to you.

We will base our final decision on what we consider fair and reasonable in the circumstances of the case. And we will set out clearly the reasons for our decision.

An ombudsman’s decision is final. There is no further appeal, so it is the end of our process. However, it is up to you whether you accept an ombudsman’s decision. If you do, it is binding on you and the firm. If you do not accept the decision, it is not binding on the firm and you keep any rights to take the firm to court.

We aim to be accessible to everyone. We can provide information about our service in different formats (for example, Braille, large print, audiotape), and we can receive calls via typetalk.

We can also provide information about our service in languages other than English. And if you want to call us but prefer to use a language other than English – we can get an interpreter on the line right away.

If you have other special needs, please let us know. We will try to help.

If you’re unhappy with the conclusions we are reaching on your dispute with the firm, tell the person handling your case. It will be for the ombudsman to decide the outcome to your case. The ombudsman’s decision is final.

If you are unhappy with the service we have provided – for example, if you think we have:

• treated you rudely or unfairly;
• failed to explain things properly; or
• caused delays;

then let us know. We take complaints about our service very seriously.

If we get things wrong – it’s important that you tell us so we can try to put matters right. This also helps us to improve our service in future.

In the first instance, please tell the member of staff you are dealing with that you want to complain. You can do this by telephone – or in writing, if you prefer.

This member of staff and their manager will try to put right any mistake as quickly as possible. Usually, things can be sorted out at this stage. If you remain dissatisfied, please write to our service quality manager setting out your concerns.

Our special procedure for handling complaints about the service we provide is open to consumers and firms

We aim to send you a full response within 20 working days.

If we cannot do this because of exceptional circumstances, we will let you know what is happening and when you can expect a full response.

If our investigation shows that your complaint about our service is justified, we will tell you how we will sort out the problem. If applicable, we will also tell you how we plan to make sure the mistake does not happen again.