The Ombudsman Association responds to the Financial Conduct Authority's Call for Input: Modernising the Redress System. We have focused our comments on the questions where we have something to add to the points raised in the report.
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Favourable conditions for financial firms to invest and innovate is one important aspect of the conditions required for economic growth; consumer confidence is just as crucial to the growth of the UK economy.
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We agree that the most effective way to mitigate the risk of a mass redress event is for firms to take prompt, proportionate and proactive action to identify and resolve harm.
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The Financial Ombudsman Service’s purpose, to resolve complaints on a fair and reasonable basis, as a quick and informal alternative to the courts, is a key element in underpinning consumer confidence by providing the reassurance that consumers will receive timely redress if something goes wrong.
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An ombudsman is the most effective model to identify systemic issues and help drive improvements in services and complaint handling. The benefit for both consumers and financial firms is therefore not only in resolving disputes, but also in the increased efficiency and effectiveness in services as a result of ‘getting it right first time’.
Download an accessible PDF of our response below.