Festival refunds are not guaranteed so know your rights, warns the Financial Ombudsman Service
4 June 2026
As festival season gets going, many consumers may not understand their rights to getting their money back if things go wrong.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed the increase to our award limits for the coming financial year.
Our award limit is the maximum amount we can require a financial business to pay when we uphold complaints. This limit is adjusted each year in line with inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).
The FCA has confirmed that, from 1 April 2024, our award limits will go up to:
- £430,000 for complaints referred to us on or after 1 April 2024 about acts or omissions by firms on or after 1 April 2019
- £195,000 for complaints referred to us on or after 1 April 2024 about acts or omissions by firms before 1 April 2019
Different limits apply depending on when the complaint was brought to us. You can read about current and previous limits on our understanding compensation page.
We will be updating the guidance on our website to reflect these changes from 1 April 2024.
The FCA’s policy statement PS19/8 sets out the full background to increasing our award limits. You can see this change in the FCA Handbook.
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