No. Our service is free to consumers, whatever the outcome. There is generally a cost for firms, but they are not entitled to pass on any of this directly to any customer who brings a complaint to the ombudsman service.

A complaint cannot be described as 'frivolous and vexatious' simply because we do not uphold it. In the vast majority of the cases that we decide not to uphold, it is clear that the customer had reasonable grounds for making their complaint. If we had thought your client’s case was one of the few that we consider 'frivolous and vexatious' (and therefore not worth looking into), we would have explained this clearly both to her and to the firm. And in such instances, we do not charge firms a case fee. The contract your consumer signed at the outset of her dealings with the adviser said that he could recover his costs if she referred a complaint to the ombudsman service and we said it was 'frivolous and vexatious' – but we didn't say this about her case.

We did not uphold your client's case because we did not consider that she suffered any financial loss as a result of inappropriate advice. However, we did say that the adviser should pay her a sum to compensate her for the distress and inconvenience that his poor complaint-handling caused. This is because he had attempted to persuade her that she'd have to pay his costs if she came to the ombudsman service and we didn't find in her favour.

Unfortunately, you've just missed one – but there will be another conference on this topic in Manchester on 29 September, specifically aimed at small firms. If the timing or venue are not convenient, why not contact our external liaison team on 020 7964 1400? If they can’t answer all your questions over the phone, they may be able to visit your firm when they are next in your area.