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Complaints we can help with

About 99% of UK small businesses are eligible to use our service, and we can consider complaints about most kinds of financial products and services provided in or from the UK. This page sets out in more detail the types of complaints we see and can look at. 

 

Last updated: 28 January 2022
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We can help with complaints about most kinds of financial products and services provided in or from the UK – from banking, debt collection and loans to insurance, mortgages and pensions.

When you get in touch, we’ll let you know if the business is one we cover, and if the complaint is about something we can look at.

You can search the FCA’s financial services register for information about firms and individuals regulated by the FCA. 

Products and services we cover

  • Banking and payments

    We can help with a range of complaints about banking and payments, including bank accounts and payment services. 

    Banking and payments

  • Borrowing money

    We can help you with complaints about credit and borrowing money, including secured loans and BBILs.

    Credit and borrowing money

  • Insurance

    We look at a wide range of insurance types, including vehicle, commercial property, business protection and legal expenses insurance.

    Insurance

  • Pensions

    We can look at most complaints about group personal pensions, small self-administered schemes and executive pension plans.

    Pensions

  • Complaints caused by or affected by Covid-19

    We have put together specific information for small businesses who may have complaints caused or affected by Covid-19 and the impact on financial businesses responding to complaints. 

     

    Covid-19

  • Other complaints

    We also look at a range of other financial complaints from small businesses.

    Other types of complaint

Who we can help

We can help micro-enterprises and small businesses (including self-employed people, partnerships and limited companies), charities, trusts and individuals who act as guarantors for loans to businesses they’re involved in. Read more detail on our “who we can help”page.

Other things that might affect whether we can help with your complaint:

Time limits 

If you’re a small business, we can only look at your complaint if it relates to events that occurred on or after 1 April 2019. But if you’re a micro-enterprise, we may be able to help with complaints about events before that date. 

You’ll usually need to have given the business a chance to sort out the problem before you come to us. You then need to contact us within 6 months of the date of their final response.

There might be other time limits that apply to your complaint – find out more about time limits.

Compensation limits

There are limits to how much we can tell a financial business to pay you. 

Find out about compensation – how we calculate it, and what the limits are. 

Cross-border complaints 

Generally, we can help with complaints about businesses that provide financial products and services in or from the UK.

For complaints about businesses based outside the UK, you may be able to get help from an equivalent complaints-handling body. If you want to make a complaint about a financial service provider in another EEA country, get in touch with us and we can direct your complaint to the right organisation. Alternatively, contact FIN-NET, the Europe-wide network of financial ombudsmen and organisations dealing with financial complaints.

Complaints we may not be able to help with

We can help most types of small business and micro-enterprise but as well as time limits, there may be other reasons why we may not be able to help with a complaint. For example, we won’t usually look into a problem that’s been decided by a court, or one that we’ve looked at already. To discuss your case, contact us – and if we can’t help, we'll try to let you know who can.

Getting in touch

If you’re not sure whether we can help with your complaint, or have any other questions, contact us.