The treasury confirmed this week it will bring forward legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows to reform the framework governing the ombudsman. This will address concerns it sometimes acts as a ‘quasi-regulator’, creating uncertainty for consumers and businesses.
Treasury minister Lucy Rigby said the reforms would ‘make redress clearer, more consistent and easier to navigate’.
Specifically, the reforms aim to clarify the ‘fair and reasonable’ test is satisfied where firms have met their obligations under the relevant Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. They will set an absolute time limit of ten years on complaints, and introduce a referral mechanism between the Financial Ombudsman Service and the FCA, requiring the ombudsman to seek the FCA’s view where there is ambiguity about the rules or an issue may have wider implications for the financial services industry.
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