Important information: The service provided by the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman is free of charge. We will never seek payment from you to progress a complaint.

‘What happens when we receive your complaint’ video transcript

When we receive your complaint, it is reviewed and assessed by our Registry and Assessment team.

The team checks that you have provided all the information we need to progress your complaint and whether you have given your provider the opportunity to resolve your complaint first.

If we need more information to progress your complaint, a member of the team will contact you.

Some complaints require a more detailed assessment. For example,

  • to understand whether the conduct you are complaining about falls within the statutory time-limits
  • to check that consent has been provided by all of the relevant parties
  • Or, we may need to check if your provider is a regulated provider.

In some circumstances, the team may need to refer a complaint to our Legal Services team for a detailed legal review.

Once the team has completed its process, the complaint is either referred to Dispute Resolution for mediation, or, where the complaint cannot progress any further, it will be closed.