Hundreds of people falling victim to romance scams, the Financial Ombudsman Service warns
25 March 2026
Between January 2025 and March 2026, we received over 500 complaints about romance scams.
Earlier this year our non-executive board commissioned an independent review of our service to look at where we might be able to do things better.
A respected consumer rights champion, Richard Lloyd, was asked to carry out the review. In the months since his appointment, he has spent time talking to our people, our customers and our stakeholders, and he has shared his findings and recommendations with our service in a report (PDF 559KB).
Chief ombudsman and chief executive Caroline Wayman has welcomed the report, saying:
We’re grateful to Richard Lloyd for conducting such a thorough review. We’ll be considering carefully what it means for our service, keen to learn from the past so we can do things even better in the future. We will publish an update on our progress by the end of the year.
Latest news
New measures to modernise and transform the UK redress system
16 March 2026
The Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are strengthening the redress system so consumers get fair and quick compensation when things go wrong, and businesses have more certainty to invest, grow and compete.
The Financial Ombudsman Service urges young drivers to make informed decisions with car insurance
10 March 2026
We are urging young drivers across the UK to make well-informed decisions when taking out car insurance.