Guide · Credit & Finance

Financial Ombudsman Service

The complaint route for many regulated financial products and services, including final-response and referral time limits.

Reviewed 9 September 2026General information

FOS independently decides eligible complaints about financial businesses on what is fair and reasonable in the circumstances.

The Financial Ombudsman Service covers a wide range of complaints involving regulated financial services. It is not a court, but it considers law, FCA rules, codes and good industry practice when deciding what is fair and reasonable.

You normally complain to the financial business first. If you are unhappy with its final response, or it has not responded within the applicable complaint period, you can refer an eligible complaint to FOS.

Key points

  • Read the final response carefully because it usually explains the referral deadline.
  • Give FOS a clear complaint scope, chronology and key evidence rather than sending an unexplained document dump.
  • An investigator/view and a final ombudsman decision are different stages.
  • If a final decision is accepted, it can become binding on the business.

What FOS looks at

FOS can consider the underlying facts, relevant law, regulatory rules, industry practice and how the business handled the complaint. It can require financial and non-financial redress within its powers.

Evidence still matters

“Fair and reasonable” does not mean evidence is optional. If documents conflict, identify the contradiction and why it affects the outcome. A dated chronology helps the investigator see the sequence.

Keep the complaint scope controlled

State each issue separately, for example irresponsible lending, inaccurate credit reporting and poor complaint handling. This makes it easier to see whether each point has actually been determined.

In practice

  • Lead with the disputed outcome and the evidence that matters most.
  • If the business changes its explanation between final response and FOS submissions, identify both documents and dates.
  • Read any investigator view against your original issues before deciding whether to accept it.

What to do

A practical next-step plan

  1. Complete the firm’s complaint process.
  2. Check FOS jurisdiction and referral time limits.
  3. Prepare a concise issue list and chronology.
  4. Attach the strongest evidence with descriptive filenames.
  5. Respond specifically to any investigator findings you dispute.
  6. If necessary, request an ombudsman decision under the service’s process.

Common traps

Things that often confuse the issue

  • Do not assume every commercial dispute with a financial company falls within FOS.
  • Do not miss the referral deadline while continuing to argue with the firm.
  • Do not treat complaint-handling frustration as a substitute for proving the underlying financial issue.

Evidence worth keeping

Complaint to the financial business
Final response or evidence the waiting period expired
Key account/transaction records
Short chronology
Documents supporting the outcome you want
FOS investigator/ombudsman correspondence once referred

If you disagree with an investigator, engage with the reasoning.

Identify factual errors, evidence not addressed, the rule or principle you say has been misapplied and the remedy issue. A general statement that the outcome is “unfair” is less effective than a point-by-point challenge. If the case proceeds to an ombudsman decision, read the acceptance/rejection consequences carefully.

Keep the complete final response.

Its wording determines what the firm says it investigated and normally starts the six-month FOS referral period.

Present the complaint as issues, evidence and requested redress.

  • What the firm did or failed to do.
  • Why that was unfair/unreasonable or contrary to law/rules/good practice.
  • The key documents and timeline.
  • Financial loss with calculation.
  • Credit-file or practical consequences.
  • Distress/inconvenience or other non-financial impact, described factually.

FOS decides what is fair and reasonable in the circumstances, taking account of relevant law, regulation, codes and good industry practice. It is not limited to reproducing a court cause of action.

The six-month final-response deadline is easy to miss.

FOS says a consumer normally has six calendar months from the date of the final response to refer the complaint. Exceptional-circumstances and validity exceptions exist, but do not plan to rely on them. Calendar the date when the final response arrives and submit in good time.

There are also longer-stop rules about when the underlying event happened or when the consumer knew or ought reasonably to have known there was cause to complain. If an old dispute is involved, check the current FOS rules rather than assuming only the six-month rule matters.

FOS looks at individual disputes after the financial business has had a chance to resolve them.

For most complaints, first make a formal complaint to the regulated business. FCA DISP normally requires a final response within eight weeks. If the business does not respond in time or the final response is unsatisfactory, the consumer can normally refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service, subject to jurisdiction and time limits.

Related ConsumerWise guidance

Continue from here.

FCA in credit and financeWhat the Financial Conduct Authority regulates, what it does not resolve for individuals and where FOS fits.Financial Ombudsman Service profileIndependent dispute resolution for eligible complaints about regulated financial businesses.Complaining about a solicitorDistinguish poor service from regulatory conduct concerns and route them to the firm, Legal Ombudsman or SRA as appropriOfficial sourcesA curated starting directory of primary and authoritative sources used throughout ConsumerWise.

Official sources

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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.