Information Density: Financial Ombudsman Service – Signal Evidence & AI Readability

[H1] Financial dispute resolution that’s fair and impartial

The Financial Ombudsman Service is a free and easy-to-use service that settles complaints between consumers and businesses that provide financial services. We resolve disputes fairly and impartially, and have the power to put things right.

How to complain

Complaints we can help with

[H2] If you have a complaint

[H3] I want to know if you can look at my complaint
Check if I can make a complaint
[H3] I want to find out more about your process
Find out what to expect
More for consumers

[H2] Cost of living complaints

We can investigate complaints related to the financial impact of the rising cost of living. If a lender or financial business hasn’t treated you fairly, find out how we can help.
If you are looking for debt advice or guidance, or if you’re worried about money and finding it difficult to know where to start, the government-backed MoneyHelper  service can help you find a way forward.

[H2] If you are a business dealing with complaints

[H3] I want to know how you handle cases
How we handle complaints
[H3] I need support with a consumer’s enquiry
Contact our Business Support Hub
More for businesses

[IMG: Financial Ombudsman Service for small businesses]

[H3] Are you a small business?

If you’re a small business (SME) and want to make a complaint to us, go to our dedicated small business website for more information about how we can help.

Our small business website

[IMG: Claims Management Ombudsman - a Financial Ombudsman Service]

[H3] Need help with a claims management dispute?

We can also help with complaints about claims management companies (CMCs). If you have a complaint, or you’re a CMC dealing with a complaint, go to the Claims Management Ombudsman website for more information.

Claims Management Ombudsman

[H2] Decisions and case studies

We share our practical experience in resolving financial disputes in a range of situations. Read our Ombudsman decisions and case studies to find examples of cases we resolved.

See our Ombudsman decisions  See our case studies

[H2] Helping prevent complaints

Our data and insight take a closer look into the cases we handle. They highlight complaint themes and trends and the impact we’ve had.
We also share some key points for consumers and businesses on what to look out for and how we can help.

See our latest insight

[H2] Latest news

[H3]
Financial Ombudsman Service sets out its plans for service delivery and reforms for the year ahead

31 March 2026

Today we have published our Plans and Budget for the 2026/27 financial year where we have set out our priorities for the next 12 months.

Press release
Plans and budget

Read more

[H3]
New measures to modernise and transform the UK redress system 

16 March 2026

The Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are strengthening the redress system so consumers get fair and quick compensation when things go wrong, and businesses have more certainty to invest, grow and compete. 

Press release
Redress
Consultations and responses

Read more

[H3]
Financial Ombudsman Service sees lowest complaint levels in two years

5 February 2026

New cases coming to us have returned to complaint volumes last seen in 2023/24.

Press release
Q3 complaints data
Data and Insight

Read more

See all news

[H2] Find out more

Our values

Join us – careers at the Financial Ombudsman

Sign up to our newsletter

[H1] Join us – careers at the Financial Ombudsman

[H2] Current opportunities

Go direct to our recruitment portal to view a list of current vacancies and apply for a role. Or find out more about our roles and what we offer in the sections below.
Search all vacancies and apply

[H2] What we do

We resolve complaints that financial businesses and their customers haven’t been able to sort out themselves. Most of our staff – our investigators and our ombudsmen – investigate these complaints. They help to resolve a wide range of problems – whether someone’s having trouble with their bank account, struggling with payday loans, thinks an insurance payout isn’t fair, or is worried about their mortgage.Meanwhile, our support teams – from finance, legal and communications to HR, facilities and IT – help us make sure we’re working effectively and sustainably. And every year we recruit apprentices into roles across the organisation.
Sign up to our newsletter to see some of the things that we’ve been working on.

[H2] Choosing a career with us

[H2]
Join as an Apprentice

Start your career with us. We are committed to attracting, developing, building and sharing expertise throughout the organisation, at every level. So we support and invest in training and continuing professional development.

Read more about the apprenticeships we offer

[H2]
Join us as an Investigator

Investigators are the level-headed, confident people who sort out a wide range of financial services problems for our customers. They are the first people our customers speak to when they contact us. They are responsible, accountable, thoughtful and balanced, knowing their work and decisions make a difference and have a big impact on many consumers’ lives.

Read more about our Investigator role

[H2]
Join us as an Ombudsman Manager

Ombudsman Managers are vital to our service. They have a dual role, they make sure everyone in a customer-facing team has the skills and abilities to investigate and respond to the complaints we receive. And they make the legally binding decisions on some of our most challenging and sensitive cases.

Read more about our Ombudsman Manager role

[H2] What we offer

We offer comprehensive training, career development and flexible benefits to suit your lifestyle:

[H3] Training and career development

Everyone who joins us is well-supported from the outset.
Find out more about the training and development we offer.

[H3] Lifestyle and well-being

Benefits include:
25 days paid holiday, with the option to buy extra or sell days
private medical Insurance and virtual GP
on-site gym in our London office
non-contributory pension
life assurance
critical Illness Cover
income protection
employee assistance programme
menopause and men's health support
care concierge

[H3] Flexible benefits to suit you

Choose from a range of benefits:
private medical cover and virtual GP for partners and/or children
partner life assurance and critical illness cover
access to nationwide gym membership and retail discounts
well-being resources included on-site therapists
dental cover
travel insurance
technology scheme
health assessments
cycle to work
will writing and lasting power of attorney
payroll charity giving
rental deposit loan
season ticket loan
dining and lifestyle memberships

[H2] Life at the Financial Ombudsman

We treat people fairly and equally in everything we do – and that goes for the people who work for us too.
We want you to develop your career with us, so we work hard to help you to balance life inside and outside work. Find out more about our culture, including diversity, inclusion and wellbeing at the service, and our approach to social responsibility and sustainability.

Find out what it’s like working here

Home
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Decisions and case studies
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[H1] Case studies

Browse our case studies to find out more about who we've helped, and what we've done.

[H4] Filter

[H2] Melanie’s current account switch didn't go as smoothly as she expected

Melanie moved her bank account after seeing a current account switch offer with an attractive financial reward – and a set of conditions.

Banking and payments

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[H2] Evan’s bank blocked payments on his current account

The bank made sure Evan could withdraw cash and pay bills but was concerned large sums may be leaving his account due to coercion or fraud.

Banking and payments

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[H2] Blocks on payments mean that Tesh and Iona lost out on an investment

Unusual activity on their joint current account meant the bank wouldn't lift payment restrictions without proof of identification in branch.

Banking and payments

Read more

[H2] Exchange rates disappoint Sue and Stanley when sending money home

International money transfer specialist's exchange rate was less than the couple had hoped for – and so was the compensation it offered.

Read more

[H2] Felix loses thousands in international money transfer confusion

Felix's bank didn’t clearly explain how exchange rates work and he didn't understand the transfer he'd set up, leaving him short of cash.

Banking and payments

Read more

[H2] Bank’s IT outage embarrasses Amelia and ruins her weekend

When Amelia's bank experienced an IT failure on its systems, she couldn't use her banking app and thought her bank card wasn't working.

Banking and payments

Read more

[H2] Barry lost money after he was advised to keep money in a UCIS

Barry was advised to move £150,000 to a new fund and stick with it. Then his adviser said it was winding down and he'd probably lose money.

Investments
Pensions

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[H2] Lilah's buy-to-let lender offered portfolio mortgage interest rates

Lilah asked her lender for a new interest rate on her buy-to-let mortgage and was unhappy not to get the same deal as a new customer.

Mortgages
Buy-to-let

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[H2] The lender sold Helen's property to clear her buy-to-let mortgage debt

But after two auctions and several buyers dropping out, the property was sold for less than Helen thought it was worth.

Buy-to-let
Mortgages

Read more

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Decisions and case studies
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[H1] Ombudsman decisions

We make decisions based on what we think is fair and reasonable, accounting for the unique circumstances of each case we receive. We anonymise our decisions and write them in a way that prevents the person or small business complaining from being identified.
This database holds all the final decisions we’ve published since 1 April 2013 under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended by the Financial Services Act 2012.