If something has gone wrong, you complain to the business first and then, if you are unhappy or hear nothing in time, to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Their service is free and you do not need to pay anybody to represent you. The deadline that catches people is six months from the date on the final response.
The Ombudsman is free and you do not need anybody to represent you. What matters most is the six-month clock that starts on the date of the final response.
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The Financial Ombudsman Service set out three steps. Complain to the financial business, wait while they investigate, and bring it to the Ombudsman if you are unhappy with the answer or do not get one in time. They note that the provider should have the chance to sort things out and that most complaints are resolved directly with the business.
Their position on cost is worth quoting rather than paraphrasing: their service is free and easy to use, and you do not need to pay anyone to represent you, for example a lawyer or a claims management company. You can ask a family member, friend or somebody else to help you if you want to.
The Ombudsman say to tell the business as soon as you can if you are in a vulnerable position, giving severe illness, financial difficulty and needing help urgently as examples. Depending on the circumstances they may be able to look at your complaint more quickly.
How to check who you are dealing with →A business has eight weeks to consider most complaints. It is fifteen days for complaints about fraud and scams, payment services such as bank transfers or direct debits, and electronic money.
You have six months from the date on the final response to bring the complaint to the Ombudsman. Complain later than that and they usually will not be able to help.
The Ombudsman ask to see it. It should give the outcome, say how to take things further, and mention your right to refer the complaint to them for the next six months.
The Ombudsman advise keeping a record of calls, emails and events. A complaint is much easier to make when the dates are already written down.
Documents worth finding →There is a limit on how late a complaint can be made, and the Ombudsman publish it as three alternatives. You usually need to complain to a business within whichever applies.
The Ombudsman explain that a final response also has to state whether the business agrees to them looking into the complaint if it is brought after the time limit has run out. And then they add the part that matters: if a business says they agree, they cannot change their mind later.
So a final response is not just a decision. It is a document that may contain a permanent concession, and it is worth reading properly rather than filing.
The Ombudsman say that if you complain after six months they usually will not be able to help, and give exceptional circumstances as the exception, with being seriously ill during the period as their example.
That is their judgement to make rather than ours. If you are close to or past the deadline, the sensible thing is to contact them and explain rather than to assume the door has closed.
Whether a complaint would succeed. That is a decision for the business and then for the Ombudsman, and nobody else can make it.
Whether you have grounds. That depends on what happened and what you were told, and this page describes the route rather than assessing your case.
Whether you have a complaint worth making, or what it would be worth. Those are judgements about your case for the business and then the Ombudsman, whose service is free. We are not advisers, we are not a claims service, and nothing here assesses your situation.
Equity release may involve a lifetime mortgage, secured against your property, or a home reversion plan. It will reduce the value of your estate and impact funding long-term care.
Most of it you already have. Gathering it first makes the complaint shorter and easier to answer.
Questions worth asking the business at the start.
Can you confirm this is being treated as a formal complaint?
It starts the clock. A conversation that nobody logged is not a complaint.
When should I expect your final response?
Usually eight weeks, or fifteen days for fraud, scams and payment matters. Ask which applies.
I am in a difficult position at the moment. Does that change anything?
The Ombudsman say to tell them, and that a business may be able to look at it more quickly.
Who else was involved in this case?
An adviser, a lender and a solicitor are separate businesses, and a complaint may belong with more than one.
What is your reference for this complaint?
It saves explaining the whole thing again to the next person who answers.
Short answers to the things that come up most. None of it is advice, and every figure on this page carries its source.
No. The Financial Ombudsman Service state that their service is free and easy to use and that you do not need to pay anyone to represent you, for example a lawyer or a claims management company. If you want help you can ask a family member, a friend or somebody else, and it costs you nothing to do it yourself.
For most complaints a business has eight weeks to consider it. The Ombudsman set a shorter period of fifteen days for complaints about fraud and scams, about payment services such as bank transfers or direct debits, and about electronic money. If no final response arrives within the time limit, you can refer the complaint to the Ombudsman.
Six months from the date on the final response you receive from the business. The Ombudsman say that if you complain after six months they usually will not be able to help, and that they can only do so where the delay is due to exceptional circumstances, giving being seriously ill during that period as their example.
The Ombudsman publish three alternatives: within six years of the problem happening, within three years of becoming aware you had cause to complain, or within three years of when it would be reasonable to expect you to have realised. They add that they may still be able to consider a complaint where exceptional circumstances account for the delay.
It may. The Ombudsman advise letting the business know as soon as you can if you are in a vulnerable position, giving severe illness, being in financial difficulty and needing help urgently as their examples, and say that depending on the circumstances the business may be able to look at your complaint more quickly.
Equity release may involve a lifetime mortgage, secured against your property, or a home reversion plan. It will reduce the value of your estate and impact funding long-term care.
One qualified equity release adviser. They will go through your figures and tell you if there is a better answer. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
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