The Financial Ombudsman Service’s Discussion Paper on Creating a Funding Model for the Future - Which? response

Which? welcomes the Financial Ombudsman Service’s discussion paper.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) plays a vital role in the financial services industry, providing redress for consumers when things go wrong and working with industry and regulators to prevent consumer detriment from arising. The fact that the FOS expects to receive approximately 177,000 new complaints and resolve 210,500 cases in 2022/23 underlines the pivotal part it plays in providing redress. Hence, it is crucial that any funding model is designed to cope with the demands of the service, and is sustainable in the longer term. Ensuring a robust service would help to instil confidence in the FOS overall. 

Which? continues to support a funding system that provides a free, high quality service that delivers fair and consistent outcomes for consumers. These core objectives should remain paramount in the course of considering any changes to the funding model. We believe this model should continue to include a combination of case fee as well as industry levies.