FOS targets resolving 80% of cases within six months in 2026/27

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) plans to close 245,000 cases in 2026/27 as it works through its existing stock levels.

The service said that 60,000 of these cases will be motor finance commission (MFC), while the remaining cases will be non-motor finance complaints, such as insurance, investments, pensions and banking.

The pledge comes as the FOS said that it expects to receive 188,000 cases in 2026/27 across a range of financial products including bank accounts, credit cards and insurance.

While having improved its timeliness over the last two years, the regulator plans to build on this with a target to resolve over 80% of cases within six months.

A ‘crucial’ year

The service also said it expects complaints about deferred payment credit products to come into its jurisdiction in July 2026.

From market research, the service also said it expects to receive around 2,000 cases on issues including general administration, problems with credit files and perceived irresponsible lending.

Jenny Simmonds, interim chief executive at the FOS, said: “The continuous delivery of changes and improvements to our service and the framework in which we operate will be a key focus next year.

“We are continuing to drive operational efficiencies while maintaining the quality of our service, ensuring that we have the resources in place to enable us to resolve complaints in a timely manner. We want to lay the foundations for an agile, responsive and modern FOS, which is fit for the future and has the confidence of consumers and financial businesses alike.

”The next year will be a crucial one for our service and we welcome views from stakeholders on our proposals.”