On Tuesday 14th July, Rachel Reeves will deliver her first Mansion House speech as Chancellor, with both pensions and ISAs expected to be on the agenda. In her speech, PIMFA expects that proposals to reform the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will also be announced.
Ahead of the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech on Tuesday, Simon Harrington, Head of Public Affairs at PIMFA comments:
“The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) plays a vital role in maintaining consumer confidence, but it is clear that the way complaints are currently assessed can occasionally create uncertainty for firms, especially where decisions depart from existing and established FCA rules and guidance.
“PIMFA has consistently argued that maintaining the FOS as a free and accessible route to complaint is essential which relies on the preservation of the fair and reasonable principle. But making judgements based on what is fair and reasonable should not be in direct conflict with the principles of predictability and proportionality. We therefore welcome any proposals to bring greater alignment between the FCA’s regulatory framework and the Ombudsman’s decision-making process.
“To deliver this, we would like to see changes to the DISP rules to ensure that regulatory rules and guidance are not just taken into account by the Ombudsman, but actively applied when making decisions. This would go a long way to providing firms with greater clarity and confidence.
“As firms increasingly navigate outcomes-based regulation under the Consumer Duty, there is a growing case for introducing a clearer, fairer appeals mechanism for firms – one that is subject to defined criteria and provides a proportionate route to challenge decisions. A system that enables better alignment between the FCA and the Ombudsman, while offering appropriate safeguards for firms, would mark a significant and welcome evolution of the current model.”
