As I promised a little while ago, this is my promised: ‘What do we do much better than before’ article. Instead of a very long list (which it would be), I want to focus on four connected and fundamental things.

The Financial Ombudsman Service has proposed to change the interest applied to any awards it directs financial firms to make.

The number of complaints received by the Financial Ombudsman Service climbed by 49% in the second half of 2024.

Financial Planning network Rosemount Financial Solutions has accused the Financial Ombudsman Service of damaging advice firms by acting as a “quasi-regulator.”

The number of complaints received by the Financial Ombudsman Service climbed by more than 40% in the last three months of 2024.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is normally seen as a bastion of stability but this view has been rocked in the past week with the sudden and unexpected departure of CEO and Chief Ombudsman Abby Thomas.

MPs on the influential Treasury Committee have today called on the FCA to explain its role in the shock departures of the Financial Ombudsman CEO and chair over the past few days.

Financial Ombudsman Service chair Baroness Manzoor today announced she would be stepping down in August - just days after FOS CEO Abby Thomas quit the organisation.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is to begin charging claims management companies (CMCs) and professional representatives for submitting claims from April, it confirmed today.

Abby Thomas, CEO and Chief Ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service, has exited the organisation this week in a shock departure.

Wealth management trade body PIMFA has urged the FCA to reconsider the role of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and to explore consolidating the regulatory regime for claims management companies (CMCs).

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is expecting to deal with 4,000 more fraud and scam cases in the banking and loan sector over the next 12 months - a rise of over 12%.

Change management specialist Marc Harris has joined the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) as its new chief operating officer.

The Financial Ombudsman Services will freeze case fees and levies for firms for the 2025/26 financial year.

The number of complaints received by the Financial Ombudsman Service climbed by more than 50% in the last three months.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) received 485 new complaints about wealth manager St James’s Place in the first half of 2024 - almost double the previous half year - despite total complaints for the pensions and investments sectors falling.

The percentage of professional complaints about pensions and annuities to the Financial Ombudsman Service - including from claims management companies -  showed a surprise fall in the latest quarterly period, in marked contrast to a surge in professional complaints overall.