The Financial Ombudsman Service is an organisation service set up by parliament through which consumers are able to use as and when they’re unhappy with the outcome of any complaint which they’ve made to a financial business.
More than a million people a year currently contact The Financial Ombudsman Service concerning such financial service problems experienced within the following areas:
- Banking
- Insurance
- Mortgages
- Credit and Store Cards
- Loans
- Credit and Debt Collection
- Pensions
- Savings and Investments
- Hire Purchase
- Money Transfers
- Financial Advice
- Stocks, Shares, Unit Trusts and Bonds
The role of the Financial Ombudsman is to step in on behalf of the consumer by taking account of all the facts of what’s happened and provide an independent and unbiased view. After which, if they think the financial business did deal with the complaint fairly, or perhaps there was a misunderstanding they’ll explain why. However, if it’s found by them the business has done something wrong then they have the power to tell them to put it right.
Before being able to refer the matter to The Financial Ombudsman Service in order for them to look into the complaint. The financial business needs to have had the opportunity to sort things out which is usually by a complaint being raised with them in the first instance. This, in turn, allows the financial business eight weeks to respond to the complaint raised and where possible reach a satisfactory outcome. If the consumer is not happy with the response to the complaint they raised or the business has failed to deal/respond to the matter within the eight week period then the matter can then be raised with The Financial Ombudsman.
If pursuing the matter, you’ll need to sort out raising the complaint with The Financial Ombudsman Service within six months of receiving the financial business’s final response to the complaint you raised, failure to do so would result in no further action being able to be pursued concerning the complaint in question.
In raising the complaint with The Financial Ombudsman, their involvement will be in asking you for your side of the story, asking the financial business for theirs. They’ll then weigh up all the facts of what they heard and evidence of what they’ve seen from both parties. Then, they’ll tell you and the business of how they see things / what they think.
Most issues raised are concluded at this point, but the timescales can differ greatly ranging from a few weeks to two years in some cases especially if it’s about payment protection insurance.
Should you not be happy with the Ombudsman outcome, you can request an appeal via The Financial Ombudsman Service. Once done and if still not happy then you can take the complaint to the court.