The Financial Ombudsman Service is expecting more than 181,000 consumer complaints in the next financial year.
In a consultation paper on its plans and budget, the Fos said it expects everyday financial concerns to be the driving force behind complaints made to the service.
These include a rise in disputed transactions driven by an increase in financial fraud and scams, as well as cost-of-living pressures causing unaffordable lending.
Abby Thomas, chief executive of the Fos, said: “We are planning to be more ambitious next year, resolving complaints more quickly and improving the service we offer.
“At a time when all businesses are facing financial pressures we are also reducing the cost of our service to industry.”
The service has set itself a target of resolving 90 per cent of cases within five months while reducing the case fee by £100 to £650.
It will also reduce compulsory and voluntary jurisdiction levies on businesses resulting in a total £60mn reduction in case fees and levy costs.
The Fos is also seeking feedback on proposed new charges for professional representatives for bringing cases to the service.
It would like to hear views on how a charging regime might be implemented, the impact on complaint volumes, the potential impact on complainants and the lead time businesses and professional representatives would need to be ready.
In December 2023, HM Treasury published a statutory instrument which gave the Fos powers to set the scope of who it can charge fees to.
As part of this the Fos has been given the power to charge case fees to CMCs, which it expects to start doing from September 2024.
Up until this point the Fos was only able to charge case fees to respondents to a case, meaning the firms which are subject to a complaint.
alina.khan@ft.com
