FINANCIAL COMPLAINT GUIDE
Preparing a complaint for the Financial Ombudsman Service
How to prepare a clear financial complaint: the business’s final response, chronology, evidence, impact and the free Financial Ombudsman route.
Reviewed 9 September 2026 · UK guidance
QUICK ANSWER
What should you do next?
Complain to the financial business first and keep its final response. If you remain unhappy—or the applicable response period expires—check eligibility directly with the Financial Ombudsman Service. Prepare your own concise account of what happened, the impact, the outcome requested and the documents that support it.
Give the business the first opportunity to resolve it
Identify the product or service, explain the problem and say how you want it put right. Keep records of calls, emails and events. The Financial Ombudsman says the final response should explain the outcome and how to take the complaint further.
- Formal complaint to the regulated business
- Complaint reference
- Relevant statements or agreements
- Business correspondence
- Final response
Check the current time limits
The Financial Ombudsman states that most businesses have up to eight weeks to consider a complaint, with shorter periods for certain payment-service, electronic-money, fraud and scam complaints. It also states that a consumer generally needs to complain to it within six months of the final response. Exceptions and other limits can apply, so confirm the current rule on its official website for your case.
Prepare the material the reviewer needs
Explain the issue in your own words. Provide a short chronology, identify the disputed decision or transaction, describe financial and practical impact, and state the outcome you seek. Attach relevant documents in a labelled order rather than sending an unexplained archive.
- One-page case summary
- Dated chronology
- Final response
- Statements, agreements or transaction records
- Loss calculation
- Numbered evidence index
Keep ProofPackAI’s role clear
ProofPackAI is not the Financial Ombudsman Service and is not affiliated with it. The Ombudsman’s own service is free and consumers do not need to pay a representative. ProofPackAI’s £9.99 charge is only for organising and drafting the customer’s documents.
BEFORE YOU ESCALATE
Complaint pack checklist
- ✓Business complained to first
- ✓Final response or elapsed response period checked
- ✓Ombudsman eligibility checked
- ✓Submission deadline checked
- ✓Case written in your own words
- ✓Evidence relevant and indexed
Common questions
Does the Financial Ombudsman charge consumers?
Its official guidance says its service is free and consumers do not need to pay anyone to represent them.
Do I need legal arguments?
The Financial Ombudsman asks consumers to explain what happened in their own words. Relevant facts and evidence are more important than unnecessary legal-sounding language.
Is ProofPackAI connected to the Financial Ombudsman?
No. ProofPackAI is an independent document-organisation service.
Official information to check
Processes and time limits can change. Confirm the position for your complaint using the relevant official service: