New cases coming to the Financial Ombudsman Service have dropped by more than a third, as professional representatives bring fewer cases following the introduction of a new charging model. Those cases that are referred are however more likely to be investigated and upheld; suggesting representatives are undertaking better due diligence on referrals to the service.
Quarterly data published today shows that the independent dispute resolution service, which is free for consumers, received 46,300 complaints from July to September 2025. This is substantially lower than the 73,700 cases it reported it received in the same period in 2024/25, and the 68,000 complaints it received in the first three months of this financial year (April to June).
The Financial Ombudsman became the first UK ombudsman to introduce charges for professional representatives to refer cases to its service to ensure complaints are better evidenced, and their merits are more carefully considered. Prior to this, the Ombudsman saw professional representatives withdraw or abandon a large number of cases, and for some case types low uphold rates.
The latest data set shows that professional representatives accounted for 4,300 cases in the second quarter of this financial year, and a higher proportion of complaints are now coming directly from consumers. In the same period in 2024/25, professional representatives lodged around 37,100 cases.
The rise in mass claims coming to the Financial Ombudsman in recent years is one of the reasons it has been working with the Treasury and the FCA to modernise the dispute resolution system – ensuring consumers can continue to access a quick and high-quality alternative to the courts.
The changes, which complement government proposals, will help firms identify and resolve issues before complaints escalate and aim to give greater predictability, bringing confidence to financial services.
James Dipple-Johnstone, Interim Chief Ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service, said:
“We are undertaking an ambitious series of improvements to foster confidence in financial services now and in the future.
“Following a period of extraordinary demand, our case volumes are now starting to decrease as the measures we have implemented ensure the complaints which come to us are better-evidenced and ready to be investigated.
“The changes we have already introduced – and those we plan to make in the future – will allow us to focus on getting back to our core purpose for customers as a quick, informal and impartial alternative to the courts for resolving disputes.”
Motor finance commission and perceived irresponsible and unaffordable lending were the two areas where complaints from professional representatives previously made up a significant proportion of cases.
In the second quarter of this financial year, the Financial Ombudsman received 4,500 complaints about irresponsible and unaffordable lending compared to 24,900 cases in July to September 2024.
It has also seen a fall in motor finance commission cases, with the Financial Ombudsman receiving around 2,200 complaints compared to 9,500 in the same period in 2024/25. The decrease is largely due to the FCA’s complaints handling pause as well as its plans for a redress scheme.
Current accounts are now back to being the most complained about product. Consumers lodged 7,900 complaints, with fraud and scams and administration/customer service being the most complained about issues. In the same period in 2024/25 consumers submitted 9,200 complaints, as previously reported.
Across all financial products, the uphold rate has been broadly consistent with around a third of complaints upheld by the service.
A breakdown of the figures shows which products were the most complained about between July and September 2025. As a comparison, the table below also provides previously published data for the first quarter of 2025/26 and the same period in the last financial year.
| As reported in Q2 2024/25 | As reported in Q1 2025/26 | Q2 2025/26 | |
| Current accounts | 9,200 | 7,800 | 7,900 |
| Hire purchase (motor) | 11,800 | 24,300 | 4,900 |
| Credit cards | 22,400 | 6,600 | 4,700 |
| Car or motorcycle insurance | 3,400 | 2,800 | 3,200 |
| Electronic money (e-money) | 2,200 | 1,700 | 2,200 |
The Financial Ombudsman Service has also published today its half yearly complaints data on individual firms. The data covers complaints received by the service about individual firms from 1 January to 30 June 2025. You can access that here.
