How to complain to a financial firm

If a bank, insurer, lender or investment firm has treated you badly, the first step is always the same: complain to the firm itself, formally, before anything else. The Financial Ombudsman Service, the free body that settles disputes between consumers and financial businesses, is explicit that you need to do this first, or it cannot get involved¹. The firm then has a deadline to investigate and send you a final response: eight weeks for most complaints, but only 15 days for complaints about payment services, electronic money, fraud and scams².

If the firm misses the deadline, or sends a final response you are unhappy with, you can take the complaint to the ombudsman, free of charge, within six months of the date on the final response¹. The ombudsman is a free, informal alternative to the courts, with a duty to resolve financial complaints based on what it thinks is fair and reasonable³. Its final decisions are legally binding on the business if you accept them⁴.

Complain to the firm first

The ombudsman cannot look at a complaint until the firm itself has had the chance to deal with it. Its guidance is consistent across every type of complaint: before bringing a complaint to the ombudsman, a formal complaint must first be made to the company involved¹. The same rule appears in the ombudsman's easy-read leaflet, which puts it plainly: the financial business must deal with the complaint fairly and give its final response within 8 weeks, and the complaint must be made to it first, or the ombudsman cannot get involved².

A formal complaint is not the same as a phone call to customer services. MoneyHelper's guidance on banking problems sets out the sequence: contact customer services first, and if that does not resolve things, make a formal complaint, which starts the clock on the firm's deadlines¹⁰. Putting the complaint in writing, whether by letter, email or the firm's own complaints form, creates a record of what you complained about and when.

What to include is straightforward. State who you are, which account or policy is affected, what went wrong and when, what you want the firm to do about it, and how the problem has affected you. Attach copies of the evidence you have gathered, and keep a copy of everything you send, plus a note of any phone calls, including dates and the names of who you spoke to. If the complaint is about a data problem, for example a firm holding incorrect information about you, the Information Commissioner's Office advises the same first step: complain to the organisation itself before going further¹¹.

Some firms have their own routes. Help to Buy: Equity Loan complaints, for example, can be made by email, telephone or in writing¹². Whatever the channel, the important point is the same: the complaint has to be made to the firm, and made formally, before the ombudsman can become involved.

The firm has eight weeks to send a final response

Once a firm receives a formal complaint, it has a maximum of eight weeks to investigate and send you a final response. This deadline appears throughout the ombudsman's guidance and in MoneyHelper's, and it has been the rule since the complaints-handling regime was introduced: a firm has a maximum of eight weeks to try and resolve a complaint before the consumer can refer it to the ombudsman¹³. The ombudsman's own history records the requirement for businesses to send a final response letter within eight weeks of receiving a complaint¹⁴.

The eight weeks is a ceiling, not a target. Many complaints are resolved faster, and a firm may send its final response earlier. What matters is what happens at the end: the final response letter must include the details of the outcome of your complaint and how to take your complaint further if you remain unhappy¹. That last part is not optional. The letter is your gateway to the ombudsman, and it should tell you the service exists and how to contact it.

If the eight weeks pass without a final response, you do not have to wait longer. The ombudsman's guidance is that if the firm does not send you a final response letter within eight weeks, or you are unhappy with its response, you can bring the complaint to the ombudsman¹⁵. The eight-week rule is covered in more detail in the eight-week rule: when you can go to the ombudsman.

Payment services complaints: 15 days, or 35 at most

Complaints about payment services run on a much shorter clock. The ombudsman's guidance states that a business has only 15 days to consider complaints about fraud and scams, payment services such as bank transfers or direct debits, and electronic money, for example online money transfers, Apple Pay or travel money cards⁷. MoneyHelper gives the same figure for payment-related complaints: the firm has 15 days to investigate and give a final response¹⁶.

The 15 days is not always the end of the story. The ombudsman's guidance on regular payments sets out the full structure: the firm must look into things and get back to you within 15 days, either with a response to your complaint or to explain why it cannot yet give you a response, and it then has to send you a response within 35 days¹⁷. So the deadline can be extended, but only once, and only to a maximum of 35 days from the complaint.

The shorter deadline matters because payment problems are often urgent: money has left your account, a direct debit has taken the wrong amount, or a scam is in progress. The rules recognise that a firm should not take eight weeks over these. If the firm misses the 15-day deadline, or its response is unsatisfactory, the same escalation applies as with any other complaint: the ombudsman can look at it. The ombudsman can consider your complaint no matter where you are in the UK¹⁸. For more on what your bank must do when a payment goes wrong, see when a payment goes wrong: your bank's duties.

What evidence to gather before you complain

Evidence is what turns a complaint into a case. Before you complain to the firm, gather everything that shows what happened: statements, letters and emails from the firm, screenshots of apps or online banking, records of phone calls with dates and names, and any documents such as policy schedules, mortgage offers or loan agreements.

The ombudsman's own guidance shows what it looks for. For complaints about money sent abroad, for example, it asks for evidence that the money was sent, such as a screenshot showing when the money left your account, or details of any other banks involved¹⁹. The same principle applies generally: contemporaneous records carry far more weight than recollection.

A practical checklist before you write the complaint:

• Copies of your contract, policy or account terms, and any renewal or variation letters
• Statements or transaction records covering the dates in question
• Screenshots or printouts of the app, website or messages, with dates visible
• A written timeline of what happened, in date order
• Notes of every call with the firm: date, name of the person, what was said
• What you are asking for: a refund, compensation, an apology, or a correction

When you eventually complete the ombudsman's complaint form, it will ask a few questions about you, your complaint, and the financial business you want to complain about, so having this material to hand shortens the process²⁰. If you are considering using AI to help complete the form, the ombudsman asks you to read its guidelines on using AI before you start⁵. Its guidance is to avoid entering personal information you would not want shared, such as health or banking information, to use AI only to help organise information or put it clearly, and to check the resulting text carefully¹.

Taking your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service

Once the firm has sent a final response you are unhappy with, or eight weeks have passed without one, you can refer the complaint to the ombudsman. The service is free and easy to use⁸, and well over one million people contact it every year²¹. You bring the complaint by filling in its complaint form, online or on paper, and you will need to make the complaint within 6 months from the date on your final response¹.

The process after that follows a set pattern. Your complaint is first checked to confirm it is one the service can look at²⁰. It is then assigned to a case handler, an investigator, who may ask for more information from you and the firm²². The investigator gives an assessment of the case, and you must accept or reject that view by the deadline given⁶. If either side rejects the investigator's view, an ombudsman makes a final decision.

You do not need anyone to act for you. The ombudsman states it plainly: you don't need to pay anyone to represent you, for example a lawyer or claims management company¹. If you do choose to use one, its fees come out of any compensation, and complaints about how a claims company has behaved go to the FCA²³. Independent guidance on finding a financial adviser notes that you still have access to the ombudsman if you cannot resolve a dispute with a company²⁴. The step-by-step process is covered in taking a complaint to the ombudsman.

What the ombudsman can look at, and what it cannot

The ombudsman covers complaints across the whole of financial services. On banking and payments, it helps resolve complaints about current accounts, savings accounts, direct debits, money transfers, electronic payment platforms, cheques and banker's drafts, and about issues such as account closures, disputed transactions, IT failures and problems with switching services²⁵. On credit and borrowing, it covers payday loans, the affordability of lending, the quality of goods bought or hired on credit, and other types of lending including mortgages²⁶. It also looks at complaints about insurance, investments and ISAs, including cases where you lost money because an adviser or investment company made an admin error or delayed a transfer or payment into your ISA account²⁷.

How it decides is set out in its guidance. It follows the Financial Conduct Authority's Dispute Resolution Rules (DISP)²⁸, and it bases decisions on the relevant law and regulations, the regulator's rules, guidance and standards, industry codes of practice and, where appropriate, good industry practice²⁹. For older events, it uses the regulatory and legal standards that applied at the time of the event you are complaining about³⁰. Its general approach to redress is that the customer should be put back in the position they would have been in if the problem hadn't happened²⁸.

There are limits. The ombudsman would not generally consider it unreasonable for a bank to make a commercial decision to close a branch, though it does consider whether the firm acted fairly, provided appropriate support and communication, and took account of the customer's needs³¹. It does not act as a general regulator of prices or commercial choices. Its decisions database holds all the final decisions it has published since 1 April 2013, so you can see how similar cases have been decided³⁰. The service also considers complaints from microenterprises and small businesses, not only consumers³².

Compensation limit: up to £455,000

The ombudsman can tell a firm to pay compensation, and there is a cap on the amount it can award. The current limit is £455,000 for complaints referred to the ombudsman on or after 1 April 2026 about acts or omissions that occurred on or after 1 April 2019⁹. Earlier referral dates carry lower limits, and the table shows how they stack up.

Two things soften the edge of the cap. First, the ombudsman can recommend the firm pay you more if it thinks it's fair, but the business doesn't have to accept that recommendation⁹. Second, if you were awarded interest for being deprived of money because the business delayed payment, that interest payment can be awarded on top of the limit⁹. Most awards are far below the cap: the ombudsman's typical remedy is to tell the firm to put you back where you would have been if it had not made a mistake, and possibly to pay an award for distress and inconvenience²⁵. The detail is covered in how much compensation the ombudsman can award.

Accepting or rejecting a final decision

When the ombudsman reaches a final decision, you have a choice, and it is a real one. The decision is legally binding if you accept it⁴. If you accept an award made in a final decision, it's unlikely you'll be able to take the business to court for more compensation later⁹. Acceptance therefore closes the matter off, in exchange for certainty and a payment the firm must make.

If you reject the final decision, it is not binding on you, but you cannot simply ask another ombudsman to look again. The ombudsman's own statement is that if either side is unhappy with the decision, they can't appeal an ombudsman's final decision to another ombudsman, and you can't take the matter to court just because you disagree with it³. What remains is whatever court action was open to you before, and there are time limits on taking a case to court, which continue to run while the ombudsman handles your case⁹. That last point matters: referring a complaint to the ombudsman does not pause the court clock.

The deadline for accepting or rejecting is set out in the decision itself, and the ombudsman's guidance for advisers stresses that the consumer must accept or reject its view by the deadline⁶. If you miss it, the decision stops being available. Before deciding, it is worth weighing the award against the cost, delay and risk of court action; the trade-offs are set out in ombudsman or small claims court, and what to do next in what to do if you disagree with an ombudsman decision.

Interest and tax on compensation you receive

Compensation from the ombudsman can carry interest, and the rules changed on 1 January 2026. Historically, the ombudsman applied a standard 8% simple interest rate to compensation awards²¹. For complaints referred from 1 January 2026, it typically asks financial businesses to calculate interest using a time-weighted average of the Bank of England base rate plus one percentage point, applied on a simple basis, generally covering the period from when you were unreasonably deprived of the money to the payment deadline set by the ombudsman⁹. The time-weighted average takes into account the Bank of England base rate at the end of each day²¹. For complaints referred before 1 January 2026, the old 8% simple a year rate typically applies⁹.

Once a final decision is accepted, the firm has a payment deadline, usually 28 calendar days from the date the ombudsman informs the business you have accepted the final decision⁹. If the firm fails to pay by the deadline, interest for late payment applies, usually at 8% simple a year⁹.

Tax treatment depends on what the compensation is for:

• Interest on an award: the firm should deduct income tax from it at the basic rate before paying it to you, pay that tax directly to HMRC, and give you a tax deduction certificate⁹.
• Compensation where the law requires it: in some cases the law requires the business to deduct income tax at the basic rate from any compensation it pays you, whether or not you're a taxpayer⁹.
• Investment or pension loss: the business won't deduct capital gains tax for you, so if you are liable you need to tell HMRC or declare it on a self-assessment tax return⁹.
• Higher-rate taxpayers: you need to tell HMRC about your compensation so it can be taxed correctly, by declaring it or including it on a self-assessment return³³.

One caution from the ombudsman itself: although it tells businesses how to calculate compensation, it won't usually check the calculations that the business makes⁹. It is worth checking the figures on any payment against the decision.

Scams and fraud complaints

Complaints about scams have their own route and their own deadline. The ombudsman covers complaints about the way a financial business has dealt with a scam involving unauthorised payments, stolen details or identity theft⁷. Banks and payment providers should investigate what has happened and respond within 15 days⁷, on the shorter payment services clock described above.

If the ombudsman finds the firm treated you unfairly, the remedies can include telling it to refund any payments you didn't authorise, refund charges and interest the bank has applied, compensate you for any money you lost, and pay compensation for distress or inconvenience¹⁷. The ombudsman may also tell a firm to pay compensation for distress and inconvenience in scam cases generally⁷.

Two practical points. First, act quickly: contact the bank as soon as you know money has gone, both to try to stop or recall the payment and to start the complaint. Second, check who you are dealing with before you invest or pay: the ombudsman advises using the Financial Conduct Authority's Firm Checker to confirm a firm is authorised and to help avoid scams²⁵. If you have been caught out, its insight on staying safe after a scam sets out what to do next³⁴. The wider picture, including reimbursement rules, is in scams and fraud: a complete guide.

For context on how common these complaints are, the ombudsman received 8,900 new complaints about current accounts between April and June 2026, and car and motorcycle insurance complaints rose to 4,100 in the same period, up from 2,800 a year earlier³⁵. Complaints are not unusual, and using the process is what it is for.