Payment protection insurance: complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service

The Financial Ombudsman Service, established by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 as the statutory successor to a number of voluntary ombudsmen schemes in the financial services sector, is charged by the legislation with the duty to hear consumer complaints and award remedies where appropriate.

FOS operates under the Financial Conduct Authority’s Handbook, which is divided into a number of sections including DISP (disputes). R (on the Application of Laura Critchley v Financial Ombudsman Service Ltd [2019] EWHC 3036 (Admin), a decision of Lang J, is an important decision on the correct approach to the resolution of disputes by the FOS.