Ombudsman Rights for Small Businesses
Published / Last Updated on 23/10/2018
As from the 16/10/18 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the financial services industry regulator, has confirmed that small to medium sized businesses, charities and trusts with:
- Less than 50 employees or,
- Have below £6.5m annual turnover or,
- An annual balance sheet below £5m
will have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service, the independent financial services complaints arbitration service.
The FCA has amended the criteria so that small and medium sized enterprises need only meet one of the above tests to access the service and not all 3.
The FCA will be recruiting additional staff and intend to publish final rules later this year and come into force 1st April 2019.
In addition, the FCA is also considering raising the maximum amount of compensation from £150,000 to £350,000 the ombudsman service can require a financial services firm to pay out to both private individuals and small businesses.