Complaining on behalf of a relative or friend

You can complain to a bank, insurer, lender or pension firm on behalf of a relative or friend, and you do not need to be a lawyer or pay anyone to do it. The Financial Ombudsman Service says a friend, family member or support worker can help with a complaint or speak on someone's behalf¹. The service is free for consumers, and bringing a complaint to it will not cost anything².

The process is the same whether the complaint is yours or someone else's. You complain to the business first, and for most complaints it has up to eight weeks to consider it¹. If it does not send a final response within eight weeks, or the person is unhappy with the response, the complaint can go to the ombudsman³. The ombudsman can award up to £455,000 for complaints referred on or after 1 April 2026 about acts or omissions on or after 1 April 2019⁴, and up to £445,000 against a still-operating adviser or company⁵.

What you cannot do is act as if the money were yours. A third-party mandate lets you operate someone's bank account, but it cannot be transferred to another account or bank⁶. For decisions beyond day-to-day banking, a power of attorney is the usual route, and the ombudsman has specific rules for complaints brought by attorneys⁷.

Complain to the business first: eight weeks for a final response

Every complaint starts with the firm. The Financial Ombudsman Service states that before bringing a complaint to it, a person complains to the company involved, and that a complaint can be brought to it after eight weeks without a final response or if the response is unsatisfactory⁹. For most complaints, a business has up to 8 weeks to consider a complaint¹. Which? puts the same deadline plainly: after a complaint is made, the firm has eight weeks to respond¹⁰. Citizens Advice says the company must give a final response within 8 weeks³.

That eight-week clock applies across the financial world. A lease or hire agreement complaint must be answered within eight weeks¹¹. Where a firm referred you to a lender, the complaint goes to the firm that referred you, which must give a final response within eight weeks¹². A claims management company has to give its final response within eight weeks¹³. A credit union has eight weeks to investigate and give a final response¹⁴.

The final response letter matters because it sets out what happens next. It will include details of the outcome of the complaint and how to take the complaint further if the person remains unhappy¹. Keep that letter: it carries the deadline for the next step.

If the firm does not reply within eight weeks, or the person disagrees with the response, the complaint can go to the ombudsman³. The same rule applies to complaints about a business asking for repayment of a debt, where the ombudsman looks at each case individually to find a fair outcome, taking account of the relevant rules and guidance produced by the regulator, any relevant law and industry good practice, and the overall facts and circumstances of the complaint¹⁵.

Taking the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service

The ombudsman can look at complaints from consumers, and also from microenterprises and small and medium-sized businesses¹⁶. For debt collecting complaints, the person who has been asked to make payment is the one who can complain¹⁵. For an ISA, the account holder can bring a complaint about the ISA⁹. The same principle runs through savings endowments, personal pensions, mortgages, unaffordable lending, goods and services bought on credit, car finance commission, power of attorney cases and complaints involving gambling-related harm¹⁷.

You do not have to be the account holder to help. The ombudsman says you can ask someone else to help with the complaint or speak on the person's behalf, and this might be a friend, family member or support worker¹. Where attorneys have been appointed jointly and severally, the ombudsman can accept a complaint brought by one or more of the attorneys, which means it is up to the attorneys to decide whether to act together or as individuals⁷.

The complaint itself goes through the ombudsman's complaint form. If you are considering using AI to help complete the form, the ombudsman asks you to read its guidelines on using AI before you start²⁴. Those guidelines say 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.

You don't need to pay a claims company or lawyer

The ombudsman states plainly that you don't need to pay anyone to represent you, for example, a lawyer or claims management company¹. Unlike a court, you generally don't need anyone to represent you, and if you would prefer, the ombudsman can talk to a member of your family, a friend or someone else²⁵. You don't need a lawyer or anyone else to represent you²⁶.

This matters because a paid representative takes a cut. Where a personal representative acts instead of a professional representative such as a solicitor or claims management company, there is no fee, and the claimant gets all the compensation due²⁷. The same principle applies to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which sets out how a personal representative can act without a fee²⁷.

The ombudsman's own funding model explains why the service is free at the point of use. It is free for consumers²⁸. Bringing a complaint is straightforward and won't cost you anything²⁰. The service is free and easy to use¹⁷.

How the ombudsman decides and what it can award: up to £455,000

The ombudsman looks at each case on its facts. For debt collection complaints, it looks at each case individually to find a fair outcome, taking account of the relevant rules and guidance produced by the regulator, any relevant law and industry good practice, and the overall facts and circumstances of the complaint¹⁵. That approach runs across the complaints it handles.

The award limits are set out in the rules. The ombudsman can award up to £455,000 for complaints referred on or after 1 April 2026 about acts or omissions on or after 1 April 2019⁴. Where an adviser or company is still operating and gave poor advice, compensation can reach a maximum of £445,000, plus interest⁵. The UK's Financial Ombudsman Service can award £455,000⁴.

Separately from the main award, the ombudsman can order compensation for distress and inconvenience of up to £1,500⁸. In one case study, the ombudsman awarded £8,000 overall because of the extreme level of impact caused to both policy holders over many years²⁹.

The ombudsman's decisions are not a lottery. It publishes how it makes decisions, and its final decisions are legally binding if accepted by the complainant³⁰. If the complainant accepts the final decision, it becomes legally binding for both parties³¹. Final determinations, once accepted by the complainant, are binding on both the complainant and the respondent firm³².

Accepting a final decision and what happens to the money

The decision only binds the firm if the person accepts it. The ombudsman's final decisions are legally binding if accepted by the complainant³⁰. If the complainant accepts the final decision, it becomes legally binding for both parties³¹. Final determinations, once accepted by the complainant, are binding on both the complainant and the respondent firm³².

If the person does not accept the decision, they are not bound by it, and neither is the firm. That leaves the dispute where it was, and the person can consider other routes. What they cannot do is appeal an ombudsman's final decision to another ombudsman or to court just because they disagree with it²⁵. The ombudsman's process is meant to be the end of the road for the complaint itself.

On the money, the tax position depends on what the payment is. Where a student loan overpayment is refunded, interest is paid at the same rate as it is charged to the account and is tax free³³. In a payday loan refund complaint, the compensation can include the interest the payday loan company added to the loan amount, charges added if the loan could not be repaid on time, and an extra 8% interest if the complaint goes to the Financial Ombudsman Service³⁴. Where HMRC processes a repayment claim, it may check the claim in detail later, and if it thinks relief was not justified, the relief must be returned and interest may be charged³⁵.

How long the person has to refer a complaint

The final response letter carries the deadline. The usual window is six months from that letter, and the letter itself tells the person how to take the complaint further¹. If the deadline passes, the ombudsman can still look at the complaint, but it will ask the company whether it agrees the complaint can be investigated further³. That is not a guarantee, so it is worth checking the letter rather than assuming the chance has gone.

Other ombudsman schemes run to different clocks. For a council complaint, you normally need to contact the ombudsman within 12 months of realising that the council has done something wrong³⁶. Ombudsman schemes generally have conditions including time limits for making a complaint and limits on the amount of compensation that can be awarded³⁷.

How long an investigation takes

Timings vary by scheme and by the work the case needs. Guidance on ombudsman complaints says a complaint can take a few months³⁸. The Pensions Ombudsman says complaints needing a formal investigation are likely to take more than 18 months³⁹. The Financial Ombudsman Service handles a high volume of cases and aims to resolve many sooner, but a case that needs a full investigation takes longer.

Where to get free help

Several organisations help people complain without charge. The Financial Ombudsman Service itself is free for consumers². MoneyHelper offers guidance on banking and joint accounts². Citizens Advice sets out how to check whether a financial service has followed the rules³. Which? publishes step-by-step guidance on complaining about an insurance company and on taking a complaint to an ombudsman⁴⁰. The Financial Ombudsman Service also publishes what consumers can expect from it²⁶.

For someone managing money for another person, Scope has guidance on managing money for someone else⁶. The Government's page on nominating someone to collect State Pension explains how a third party can be given access to an account, for example with a second card⁴¹. Mental Health and Money Advice covers managing money during a hospital stay⁴². The Financial Services Compensation Scheme explains how a personal representative can act without a fee²⁷.

If the complaint is about a scam, the Payment Systems Regulator says that if you are unhappy with the response from the firm, you can take the matter further by referring it to the Financial Ombudsman Service⁴³. If the complaint is about how an organisation has handled personal data, the Information Commissioner's Office has its own complaint route, and organisations can also complain to it if they disagree with the outcome of a complaint⁴⁴.