Who can a Consumer Complain to?
If an adviser is used who is not approved by the FCA they will be prosecuted and the consumer won’t have any right to compensation if they lose money because of any bad advice they received.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an independent public body, set up by law. If a complaint is not dealt with to the consumer’s satisfaction then the consumer can ask the FOS to look at it. The role of FOS is to settle individual disputes between consumers and firms providing financial services fairly, reasonably and quickly. Their decisions are binding on firms.
For Pension Scheme Members
Step 1
If a member has a complaint about their pension scheme then they should check the scheme booklet which contains the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP) and gives details of who to write to.
Step 2
The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) is an independent non-profit organization who provide free information, advice and guidance. TPAS is available at any time to assist members in connection with issues they have been unable to resolve with the trustees or administrators of the pension scheme.
Step 3
The Pensions Ombudsman (PO) deals with complaints about occupational and personal pension schemes and cannot normally investigate a complaint against pension scheme trustees or managers until it has been through the IDRP.Unless there are special circumstances the PO can only deal with problems the member became aware of within the last three years. The PO’s decision is final and binding on all parties (the only exception to this is that any party can make an appeal to the court on a point of law if they think the PO has made an error of law in reaching a decision).
