The Financial
Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an independent official body that offers a complimentary
service for settling disputes between financial based companies and their
customers.
Only
“eligible complainants” can use the FOS and from 01 April 2019, the Financial Conduct
Authority confirmed plans to extend this access to include small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Under these new rules, an SME will be an
eligible complainant if:
- • It has an annual
turnover below £6.5 million; and
- • It employs fewer
than 50 persons or has a balance sheet total of less than £5 million, at
the time that it refers the complaint.
Charities
who have an annual income of less than £6.5 million and trustees with a net
asset value of less than £5 million are now also eligible too. This will result in an additional 210,000
SME’s who will be eligible to refer unresolved complaints to the FOS.
Increase in Award Limit
From
01 April 2019, the level of award that the FOS can make to successful complainants
has increased from £150,000 to £350,000 for complaints regarding the actions of
a firm on or after this date. For complaints regarding actions of a firm prior
to 01 April 2019, the limit will only slightly increase to £160,000. The FCA has also confirmed that from 01 April
2020 both award limits should be automatically adjusted annually on the 1st
April to ensure they keep pace with inflation.