When to go to the Financial Ombudsman

You can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if the institution has issued a final response that you disagree with, or if 8 weeks have passed since you submitted your complaint without receiving a final response.

The FOS is free to use and its decisions are binding on the institution. The ombudsman can order marker removal and award compensation for distress, inconvenience, and financial loss.

What the FOS considers

• Whether the institution had sufficient evidence to file the marker
• Whether the filing was fair and reasonable in all the circumstances
• Whether the institution followed proper procedures
• Whether the marker is proportionate to the conduct
• Whether vulnerability factors were properly considered
• Whether the institution's complaint handling was adequate

Our FOS decision data

We have analysed 1,657 Financial Ombudsman decisions about CIFAS markers. The overall upheld rate is 28%. However, this varies significantly by institution — some have much higher upheld rates than others. Our complaints are informed by this data, targeting the arguments that have the highest success rate.