Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman of Ireland

I have a complaint

What should I do first?

1.You need to make a complaint to your provider before making a complaint to us.

2. If you are not happy with the response from your provider let us know

How to complain to us

3. Once you have completed this step you can submit your complaint to us

Online Complaint Form

How to make a complaint about a financial service provider in another EEA country

FIN-NET is the Europe-wide network of financial ombudsmen and consumer-complaints organizations - covering the 30 countries in the European Economic Area. It is responsible for settling consumers' complaints in the area of financial services out of court.

Find out more https://ec.europa.eu/

Looking for information on your consumer rights or personal finance?

The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman is an independent, impartial, fair and free service that helps resolve complaints with pensions providers and regulated financial services providers.

3 steps to making a complaint to the FSPO
How we deal with your complaint
Need advice about making your complaint? Call our helpline on 01 567 7000.

Important Information Concerning Scam - August 2020

The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) has been informed that phone calls have been made from an individual who claims to be an FSPO staff member, claiming that he is arranging refunds of €3,000 for consumers from their bank.

This is a scam and the individual has no connection whatsoever with the FSPO.

The FSPO has reported this scam activity to An Garda Síochána. Anyone who receives a call of this nature should not engage with the call and report this activity to their local Garda Station.

Any directions made by the Ombudsman that result in compensation to a consumer are implemented by the provider in question and money is not paid over by the FSPO.

Information for Complainants
COVID-19

The FSPO is aware of complaints arising against financial service providers, owing to the impact of Covid-19, including the cancellation of events and the ongoing interruption of normal business activities as a result of Government restrictions and the ongoing requirement to maintain social distancing.

To enable the FSPO to progress such complaints as quickly and efficiently as possible, please follow the guidance outlined in our guide "3 Steps to Making a Complaint to the FSPO".

Once those steps have been taken, the complaint will be moved to our Dispute Resolution Service, which is the quickest way to resolve complaints informally by way of mediated agreement. We aim to complete the Dispute Resolution Service process within a period of 12 weeks.

If a complaint is not resolved within the Dispute Resolution Service, the complaint will then progress to a formal investigation, ultimately leading to a Legally Binding Decision. This process, of necessity, takes considerably longer as it involves the gathering of documentary and audio evidence and the parties' respective comments and observations, all of which are shared between the parties prior to the adjudication of the complaint upon its own individual merits.

To avoid delay, if you are making a complaint on behalf of a business, please ensure that the appropriate supporting documentation is made available as soon as possible to validate turnover. The FSPO accepts complaints from any business with an annual turnover not exceeding €3 million in the year prior to which the complaint is made.