Complaint handling at the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)  

YOUR COMPLIANCE MATTERS:   Complaint handling at the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)

Relevance:                   All firms.

Action required:           Awareness only.

The FOS has recently published its consultation on its plan, budget and future strategy for 2020/21.

As an example, they expect to receive 245,000 complaints in that period but resolve 290,000, thereby suggesting that they intend making inroads into the backlog of complaints that appears to exist. Furthermore, they see that their revenue will be moved from a 50:50 basis of case fees and levy to a 60:40 position.

They also intend increasing the individual case fee from £550 to £650 and at the same time wish to reduce the number of “free” cases to 10 per individual firm.

The complete publication can be found at: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/262053/Plans-and-budget-consultation-2020-21.pdf

Running alongside this is a report made by a FOS “Whistleblower”, who wishes to remain anonymous and has been widely reported in ordinary as well as financial press.

The whistleblower, a senior staff member at the FOS, alleges that:

·          Consumers sending complex complaints to FOS can wait 10 months before a file is even picked up and examined.

·          The waiting time for pension disputes is seven months.

·          Wronged consumers can wait up to two years until their claims are finally adjudicated.

·          The number of unresolved general claims (non-PPI) that remain unresolved a year after being received now stands at 15,551.

·          Managers expected case handlers to resolve 4.5 complaints a week, but the real figure is 1.7.

The suggestion is “that a “disastrous” management reorganisation has left the service in disarray, with the public waiting as long as two years to get justice.”

Obviously, the FOS dispute what is being said and have made claims of their own in support of their service and administration.

Again, the full report of the “Whistleblower” can be found by searching the internet.

It is not our intention to take any side in this issue, but just to point out to firms that there appear to be delays with complaint handling at the FOS, for whatever reason and changes to budgeting and strategy are being consulted upon.

As ever, you are entitled to respond to the consultation and can do so by accessing the link shown above. The deadline for responses is 31.01.20.