How we work with stakeholders

We work with HM Treasury, sharing insights about:

• the complaints we see
• the customers and businesses we help.

We also attend sessions of the Treasury Select Committee as part of our public accountability.

If you’re an MP or elected representative, our dedicated team can help you. You'll find general information about our role and approach to resolving complaints on this website, including:

• the types of complaint we can help with
• how we resolve complaints
• examples of cases we have helped resolve
• how to raise a complaint about our service.

If you have a specific question about our work or a constituent’s complaint, please contact us: 

• by email at [email protected]
• by phone on 020 3487 2022, between 10am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.

Your constituents can contact us directly about their complaint.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the regulator for most financial services in the UK. It's responsible for:

• regulating the conduct of businesses 
• setting rules for businesses to follow, including rules on complaint handling.

Although we’re independent in the way we investigate and decide cases, we work with the FCA in three areas:

1. Governance – as the industry regulator, the FCA publishes our official rules and appoints our Chairman and Board of non-executive directors.
2. Responding to regulation – by understanding any changes the FCA makes to regulations, we make sure we’re ready for any changes in the type and number of complaints we receive.
3. Information sharing – we share information with the FCA so that both organisations can work effectively. We also share any trends and common problems we see that could inform future regulation.

Our joint memorandum of understanding (pdf) provides a framework for how we work together.

Wider Implications Framework

The Wider Implications Framework provides a structure for members of the regulatory family to work with each other – and other parties as appropriate – on issues that could have a wider impact across the financial services industry.

There are five members including us.

Core members:

• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• Financial Ombudsman Service 
• Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)

Other members: 

• The Pensions Regulator (TPR) 
• The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS)

You can find out about the role of the Wider Implications Framework in guiding cooperation between members of the regulatory family on the FCA’s website.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK's compensation 'safety net' for customers of regulated financial businesses. The FSCS pays compensation if a firm is unable, or likely to be unable, to pay claims against it. This is usually because it has stopped trading or has been declared in default.

‘Declared in default’ means a creditor or legal authority has formally concluded that a borrower or party has breached a contract.

In cases like these, we might not look into a complaint. Consumers might be able to make a claim using the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

Read more about the FSCS and its role on the FSCS website.

The Pensions Ombudsman deals with complaints about:

• the administration – not advice – of personal pensions
• workplace pensions, except those concerning advice
• state pensions.

Sometimes there is overlap between the Pensions Ombudsman's jurisdiction to consider complaints and ours, for example, the administration of a personal pension.

Our memorandum of understanding (PDF 225KB) deals with the handling of complaints and disputes where there is a potential overlap of jursidiction, recognising the different remits of our organisations.