Context
The FOS has published its 2025/26 plans and budget, setting itself ambitious targets to address significant demand and to improve the efficiency of its case resolution processes, according to plans for the year ahead published today.
Key points to note and next actions
In its plans for 2025/26, the FOS highlights its commitment to resolve 270,000 cases, which is 20% more than 2024/25. The commitment is made despite recent surges in complaints, most notably the influx of cases related to motor finance commission. Motor finance commission cases, which cannot currently be resolved due to ongoing legal and regulatory action, account for almost half of FOS current 190,000 cases.
On top of the existing 190,00 cases, the FOS anticipates receiving a further 209,000 complaints throughout the year, which is a slight increase compared to complaint levels seen in 2022/23 and 2023/24, but a significant drop on the 330,000 cases estimated to have been received during 2024/25 which is elevated due to the impact of motor finance commission complaints.
As well as the commitment to resolve a higher volume of cases, the FOS has also frozen case fees for businesses, to ensure fairness and value for money, and has introduced a new charging model for professional representatives..
It also has plans to modernise the redress system. Exceptional demand strains resources and underlines the need for reform around mass redress events. Collaborating closely with HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), FOS is embarking on a transformative journey to modernise both its service and the wider redress system. The aim is to ensure it can continue to resolve cases impartially and with minimal formality, and to prevent financial issues from escalating into widespread disputes, reducing uncertainty for firms and enhancing outcomes for consumers.
The improvements being made by the FOS are made with the aims of:
- Modernising its processes to ensure businesses and consumers benefit from a faster, more effective dispute resolution service.
- Committing to providing firms with better insight into complaint trends, helping to address the root causes of disputes and reducing the likelihood of cases escalating.
Full data for FOS case handling and volumes during 2024/25 will be published in the Summer