The Government has stated that it does not agree with Conservative plans for the Financial Ombudsman Service to start charging complainants an up-front £360 case fee.
The Conservatives recently called for complainants to the FOS to pay an initial refundable fee as a way of discouraging unreasonable claims. The Treasury have stated that an initial deposit would deter consumers who have legitimate complaints, but are worried that the case would not be upheld, and so lose the fee paid.
At present, Independent Financial Advisers have to pay the £360 fee, whether a complaint is upheld or not.
Our view
There are many who have genuine complaints and many who do not. Having a fee will discourage some claims that are untruthful or exaggerated.