Case fees
Our service is free for consumers. We’re funded by a combination of levies and case fees which are paid by respondent financial businesses and professional representatives.
Each year we consult publicly on our proposed plans and funding arrangements for the financial year ahead.
The consultation includes the volume of complaints we expect to receive and resolve, and the amount we plan to raise through our levy and case fees. You can read more about this in our latest plans and budget.
About our case fees
Financial businesses (respondent businesses) don’t need to pay a case fee for the first three complaints we deal with in each financial year. From the fourth complaint onwards, we charge a maximum case fee of £650.
Most businesses have very few cases referred to us, meaning that most businesses don’t pay any case fees. For businesses that do pay case fees, the cost involved is likely to be much less than the legal costs of defending the case in court.
Professional representatives don’t need to pay a case fee for the first ten complaints they bring to us in each financial year. From the 11th complaint onwards, we charge a maximum case fee of £250.
Case fees only apply to cases referred to us by professional representatives, where the complaint falls within our compulsory jurisdiction and is referred to us on or after 1 April 2025.
Our free case provision for professional representatives means that the vast majority will not incur any fee at all. Only those that refer cases to our service at a larger scale will be liable for a fee.
We publish separate information about the case fees that apply when we look at complaints about a service provided by claims management companies (CMCs).
When we do and don’t charge
Respondent financial businesses are charged at the point when we confirm we will take a complaint on and investigate it.
Professional representatives referring a complaint will be charged when they first submit the complaint.
Transitional case fee arrangements – 7 February to 31 March 2025
We are implementing transitional arrangements for charging case fees to respondent financial businesses for complaints we receive between 7 February and 31 March 2025.
The arrangements cover the period between the announcement and the implementation of charging for professional representatives. They help to ensure that fees for cases referred to us in this period support the early resolution of complaints and they only apply in specific and exceptional circumstances.
Where a complaint relates to an issue that is subject to an ongoing and evolving regulatory activity during the period covered by these transition arrangements, and is outside of the usual time limits for firms to respond to a complaint, we are providing a short transitional period before we apply a case fee.
The arrangements are likely to only apply to a limited number of financial businesses. We are in direct contact with those businesses we have proactively identified as likely to have cases that meet the criteria. We will monitor the cases we receive and we will let respondent financial businesses know if we have received a complaint where the transitional arrangements apply.
The respondent business must make an offer that resolves the complaint, or provide evidence that a case is outside of our jurisdiction, no later than 30 June 2025 (or by 30 April 2025 in complaints that involve motor finance commission).
Otherwise, the complaint will become a chargeable case in the usual way.
How the case fee applies once we have resolved a complaint
The information in this section sets out, for respondent financial businesses and professional representatives, how the case fee applies once we have resolved a complaint.
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If there is a change in outcome
If we record that there is a change in outcome in favour of the consumer (the ‘complainant’) we charge respondent financial businesses a case fee of £650. Unless the case is within the free case provision for the financial year, the fee is payable regardless of whether or not a professional representative was involved.
If there is no change in outcome
Respondent financial businesses pay a case fee regardless of the outcome of a complaint. However, if the complaint about your business was referred to us by a professional representative on behalf of the complainant, your fee will be reduced by £175 (to £475) if we didn’t find in favour of the complainant.
If the complaint is proactively settled
Respondent financial businesses pay a case fee regardless of the outcome of a complaint.
If you offer to resolve the complaint through our proactive settlement initiative, you will have to pay a case fee regardless of whether a professional representative was involved or not.
But the complaint will not be published as a case with a change in outcome in the business-specific outcome data we publish. It will be included in the separate proactive settlement figures instead.
If the complaint is outside of our jurisdiction
Respondent financial businesses pay a case fee regardless of the outcome of a complaint.
However, if the complaint was referred to us by a professional representative on behalf of the complainant, your fee will be reduced by £175 (to £475) if the complaint is found to be outside of our jurisdiction.
If the complaint is dismissed, withdrawn or abandoned
Respondent financial businesses pay a case fee regardless of the outcome of a complaint.
However, if the complaint was referred to us by a professional representative on behalf of the complainant, your fee will be reduced by £175 (to £475) if the complaint is dismissed, withdrawn or abandoned.
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If there is a change in outcome
Professional representatives will be charged a case fee when you first submit the complaint. But when we close the case, the case fee of £250 will be reduced to £75 if either:
- we’ve reached an outcome that’s more favourable to your client than the answer the respondent business gave at the final response stage, or
- The respondent business makes an offer that wasn’t available before the complaint came to us – and your client accepts it.
The remaining £175 (the amount the case fee is reduced by if there is a change in outcome) will be credited to your account with us. If there is a surplus owed to you at the end of a financial year, it will be refunded by bank transfer.
If there is no change in outcome
Professional representatives will be charged a case fee when you first submit the complaint.
If there is no change in outcome – to an outcome that’s more favourable to your client than the answer the respondent business gave at the final response stage – the full fee will apply. It will not be reduced.
If the complaint is proactively settled
When we close the case, the fee charged to professional representatives will be reduced to £75 if the complaint is resolved following an offer from the financial business through our proactive settlement initiative.
There is more detail on this in our policy statement.
If the complaint is outside of our jurisdiction
The case fee is payable and won’t be reduced if the complaint is found to be outside our jurisdiction, regardless of the reason we can’t look at it.
If the complaint is dismissed, or withdrawn or abandoned
The case fee is payable and won’t be reduced if the complaint is dismissed by us or withdrawn or abandoned by the customer.
When you receive an invoice
Respondent financial businesses will be invoiced when we close the case. Our finance team will send the invoice in the month after we close the case.
Professional representatives referring a complaint will receive an invoice at the end of the month the complaint is referred to us. You must pay the fee within 30 calendar days of the date when the invoice is issued – as set out in the Fees Manual 5.5C.9 R and in our policy statement (PDF 1MB).
Group charging
Some financial business groups are charged through our group-fee mechanism. Case fees are paid quarterly in advance based on the expected number of complaints. This lowers administrative costs, increases efficiency and creates a steadier cash-flow.
If the number turns out to be significantly different, there may be some adjustment at the end of the year.
Questions about fees or the charging process
If we have said the case is chargeable, but you disagree, contact the investigator who is dealing with the case.
Let us know why you believe you’ve been charged the wrong amount and we will look into what has happened and explain whether or why a fee is due.
Other questions about the investigation or outcome of the case should be directed to the investigator who is handling the case.
When we review our case fees
We review our case fee arrangements each year – and consult our stakeholders about any changes we think might be necessary.
Each year we consult publicly on our proposed budget for the financial year ahead. This includes consultation on the amount we plan to raise through the levy, as well as on the proposed level of our case fee.
You can read more about the rules and legislation that govern our service, including how our funding is set up in the information we publish about our governance and funding.
