Financial Ombudsman levy to increase by 10%

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s (FOS) expected cost base for 2022/23 will be £293.8million, an increase of 18% on the £249.4m levied for the current year.

The FOS said it expects to fund this through a levy increase of £10 million to £106 million, as well as cuts to its cost base.

A consultation on its strategic plans and budget for 2022/23 also details that the voluntary jurisdiction levy will remain £950,000 and the individual case fee will remain at £750. Overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority, the levy will be payable by regulated businesses and will apply to regulated adviser firms.

The FOS said it will aim to raise £11million by reducing free cases to pre‑PPI levels from 25 to 3 and reducing free cases for group firms from 50 to 15. It said around 850 more firms are expected to pay a case fee in comparison to 2020/21. The FOS expects to receive approximately 177,000 complaints including 17,600 about investments and pensions, and resolve approximately 210,500 complaints.

The figure indicates that 124,200 will be from the banking sector, 32,500 in insurance, 17,600 in investments and pensions and 1,300 from SMEs. Additionally, it expects to resolve approximately 210,000 in the next financial year, with the majority of these – 141,400 – coming from the banking sector.