Escalating to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

If your bank refuses your scam refund, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for free. You have six months from the date of the bank’s final response letter to do it. The Ombudsman reviews APP (authorised push payment) fraud cases independently, and a final decision you accept is binding on the bank. Here is how it works, the one deadline that matters most, and what to include in a referral that cites the right rules and evidence.

What is the Financial Ombudsman time limit for complaints?

Six months from the date of the bank's final response letter. After that date your right to refer the case is lost in almost every case. There is also a six-year longstop from the events themselves, or three years from when you reasonably ought to have known of the loss.

Does the Ombudsman cost anything?

Not for you. The Financial Ombudsman Service is free for consumers, micro-enterprises (fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet of no more than €2 million), small charities and small trusts. The bank pays a case fee — currently up to £680 per case once its £2,000 annual allowance is used up — which is one reason banks often settle just before the FOS issues a view.

What compensation can the Financial Ombudsman award?

Reimbursement of the principal loss, simple interest at 8% per year from the date of loss to the date of settlement, and compensation for distress and inconvenience. The award limit is £455,000. Final decisions are binding on the bank if you accept them.

How long does the Financial Ombudsman take to make a decision?

An initial acknowledgement comes within a few weeks. The case is then queued for an investigator who issues a view, typically within three to six months. If either side rejects the view, an Ombudsman issues a final decision — that adds another two to four months. Complex or large-loss cases take longer.

Can I escalate if the bank has not replied to my scam complaint?

Yes. For complaints about fraud, scams and payment services, the bank has 15 business days to send a final response, or 35 business days if it sends a holding letter explaining the delay. Under FCA rule DISP 2.8.1R you can refer the case to the FOS once that time has passed without a final response. You do not have to wait for the bank to eventually respond.

Will the bank find out who I am?

Yes. The FOS shares the complaint with the bank because the bank needs to respond. Your name, address, account details and complaint particulars are all visible to the bank. The FOS keeps the case confidential outside that — published final decisions are anonymised.

Is the Financial Ombudsman's decision final?

Only if you accept it. If you accept an ombudsman's final decision, it is binding on you and the bank. If you reject it, or do not reply by the date given, it does not bind you and you keep your right to go to court instead.

How do I complain to the Financial Ombudsman?

Complain to your bank first. Once you have its final response, or the time for one has passed, use the online complaint form on the Financial Ombudsman's website. It is free, and you do not need a solicitor or a claims company.

Should I complain to the FSCS or the Financial Ombudsman?

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) steps in when a financial firm has gone out of business and cannot pay what it owes. If your bank is still trading, a complaint about how it handled your scam goes to the Financial Ombudsman.

When the bank refuses your APP fraud refund, the Financial Ombudsman Service reviews the case independently and for free.

How to escalate an APP fraud refund refusal to the Financial Ombudsman Service

Get the bank's final response letter

You need the bank's formal final response before escalating. For a scam complaint, if the bank has not responded within 15 business days (35 if it sent a holding letter), that silence itself is grounds to refer the case.

Submit to the FOS within six months

Go to financial-ombudsman.org.uk and submit your complaint online. The six-month deadline runs from the date on the final response letter — do not miss it.

FOS investigator review

An investigator reviews the file and issues a non-binding view, typically within three to six months. If both sides accept it, the case closes.

Ombudsman final decision

If either side rejects the investigator's view, an Ombudsman issues a final decision. This is binding on the bank if you choose to accept it.

Scam Refund · Getting Started

Escalating to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

What the FOS actually is

The Financial Ombudsman Service is the UK’s statutory dispute resolver for financial services complaints. Created by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, it is independent of both the banks and the FCA. It is free for consumers. If you accept its final decision, that decision is binding on the bank as a matter of law.

When you can escalate

Three routes open the door. The bank has issued a final response letter that refuses or only partly upholds your claim. The bank has failed to send a final response in time — for fraud and scam complaints that is 15 business days, or 35 if it sent a holding letter explaining the delay — and under DISP 2.8.1R that silence alone gives you the right to escalate. You do not have to wait for a refusal if the bank is simply not responding.

The six-month deadline

The date on the bank’s final response letter is the only date that truly matters here. From that date you have six months to refer the case to the FOS. Miss it and the FOS will almost always decline to look at your case — the exceptions are narrow (serious illness, for instance). There is also a six-year longstop from the underlying events, but in APP fraud cases the six-month clock almost always bites first. Write the date down. Set a reminder.

Consumers (any individual not acting in a business capacity), micro-enterprises (fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet of no more than €2 million), small charities (annual income under £6.5 million), and small trusts. Most APP fraud victims are consumers and clearly in scope. Sole traders and small businesses are also typically covered — which makes the FOS a real route for invoice-redirection fraud against small companies.

How the FOS reviews your case

The Ombudsman does not apply a strict-law test. Under section 228 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 it decides on the basis of what is “fair and reasonable in all the circumstances” — which means it can award more than a strict reading of the PSR scheme rules would produce, on fairness grounds. The PSR rules are the starting point, not the ceiling.

Cases typically run in two phases. An investigator reviews the file and issues a non-binding view, usually within three to six months. If both sides accept that view, the case ends. If either side rejects it, an Ombudsman issues a final decision — binding on the bank if you accept it. Published decisions are anonymised.

What the FOS can award

A successful FOS award has three parts. Your principal loss — what you lost, minus anything already refunded. Interest at 8% simple per year from the date of each payment to the date of settlement. And compensation for distress and inconvenience — from a few hundred pounds for moderate cases to several thousand where the bank behaved badly or the victim was vulnerable. The overall award limit is £455,000.

What makes a strong FOS referral

Three things do most of the work. A clear one-page chronology of the scam, the payments, and the bank’s response. A point-by-point rebuttal of the bank’s reasons for refusing — quoting each reason and explaining why it fails, with references to the PSR rules, FCA DISP, the Payment Services Regulations 2017, and Confirmation of Payee where relevant. And a tidy evidence bundle: bank statements, screenshots, communications, the final response letter. FOS investigators triage dozens of files. Clarity is repaid.

Why banks often settle once you refer to the FOS

Every FOS case that reaches investigation can cost the bank a case fee — currently up to £680 per case once the bank’s £2,000 annual allowance is used up — win or lose. For low-to-mid-value APP fraud claims, that fee alone can exceed the disputed sum. So banks have a commercial incentive to settle even cases they think they could defend. It is not unusual for a bank to go from refusal to full reimbursement within a few weeks of the FOS notifying it.

See also: scam refund help compared, getting a refund when you authorised the payment and romance scam refunds.

Bank already said no?

For a fixed £99 we guide you through the Financial Ombudsman submission — covering letter, chronology, evidence index, and a point-by-point case — with the AI Companion drafting alongside you.

Not legal advice. This guide is for general information only. For advice specific to your circumstances, consult a regulated legal professional or contact Citizens Advice.