Escalating to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

When your bank refuses your APP fraud refund, the Financial Ombudsman Service reviews the case independently — for free, with binding decisions. Here is how the FOS works, the deadline that matters most, and what to put in a strong referral.

How long do I have to escalate to the Financial Ombudsman?

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 (turnover under £2m and fewer than 10 employees), small charities and small trusts. The bank pays a case fee — currently £650 per case beyond a free annual allowance — which is one reason banks often settle just before the FOS issues a view.

What can the Ombudsman award me?

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 £430,000 for complaints referred on or after 1 April 2024. Final decisions are binding on the bank if you accept them.

How long does the FOS process take?

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 still escalate if I missed the bank’s eight-week response window?

Yes. Under FCA DISP rule 1.6.6R you can refer the case to the FOS as soon as the bank fails to give a final response within eight weeks. You do not have to wait for the bank to eventually respond — the failure itself is grounds to escalate.

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.

Scam Refund · Getting Started

Escalating to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

When your bank refuses your APP fraud refund, the Financial Ombudsman Service reviews the case independently — for free, with binding decisions. Here is how the FOS works, the deadline that matters most, and what to put in a strong referral.

What the FOS is, in one paragraph

The Financial Ombudsman Service is the UK’s statutory dispute resolution body for financial services complaints. It was created by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and runs under rules in the FCA’s Dispute Resolution: Complaints (DISP) sourcebook. It is independent of both the banks and the regulator. It is free to consumers. Its decisions, if you accept them, are binding on the bank as a matter of law.

When you can escalate

You can refer a case to the FOS in three situations. First, when the bank has issued a final response letter that refuses or only partially upholds your claim. Second, when the bank has failed to issue any final response within eight weeks of you raising the complaint — under DISP 1.6.6R, that failure alone gives you the right to escalate. Third, when the bank has indicated within the eight weeks that it will not be able to resolve the matter.

The six-month deadline

The single most important date in this process is the date on the bank’s final response letter. From that date you have six months to refer the case to the FOS. Miss that deadline and the FOS will almost always decline jurisdiction — the only exceptions are exceptional circumstances such as serious illness preventing you from filing in time. There is also a longstop of six years from the events themselves (or three years from when you reasonably ought to have known of the loss). For APP fraud the six-month rule almost always bites first.

The FOS covers complaints from consumers (any individual not acting in a business capacity), micro-enterprises (turnover under €2 million and fewer than 10 employees), small charities (annual income under £6.5 million), and small trusts. Most APP fraud victims are individual consumers and clearly in scope. Sole traders and small businesses are also typically in scope, which makes the FOS a useful route for invoice-redirection fraud against small companies. Complaints about a bank’s commercial decisions or about products you have not actually held are out of scope.

How the FOS reviews the case

The FOS does not apply a strict-law test. Under section 228 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 the Ombudsman decides cases on the basis of what is “fair and reasonable in all the circumstances”, having regard to the relevant law, regulator’s rules, codes of practice and good industry practice. For APP fraud that means the PSR Mandatory Reimbursement Scheme rules and the underlying Payment Services Regulations 2017 are the starting point, but the Ombudsman is free to award more (or less) than a strict reading of those rules would produce, on fairness grounds.

A case typically progresses in two phases. An investigator reviews the file and issues a non-binding view, normally within three to six months of the case being opened. If both sides accept the view, the case ends. If either side rejects it, the case goes to an Ombudsman, who issues a final decision — binding on the bank if you accept it. Final decisions are published in anonymised form on the FOS website.

What the FOS can award

A FOS award for an APP fraud claim usually consists of three components. The principal loss — the sums fraudulently paid out, less anything already recovered or refunded. Interest, calculated as 8% simple per year from the date of each fraudulent payment to the date of settlement (FOS reference rate). And compensation for distress and inconvenience — awards range from a few hundred pounds for moderate inconvenience to several thousand pounds for serious distress, with the highest awards typically reserved for cases involving vulnerable consumers or particularly poor bank conduct. The overall award limit is £430,000 for complaints referred on or after 1 April 2024.

What to put in a strong FOS referral

Three documents do most of the work. A clear chronological summary of the scam, the payments and the bank communications — one page if possible. A point-by-point response to the bank’s reasons for refusing — quoting each reason and explaining why it fails, with reference to the PSR scheme rules, FCA DISP, the Payment Services Regulations 2017, and (where relevant) the Confirmation of Payee scheme. And a tidy evidence bundle: bank statements, screenshots, communications, the original final response letter. The FOS investigator who picks up the case is usually triaging dozens of files; clarity and brevity are repaid.

Why banks often settle once the FOS is involved

Each FOS case costs the bank a case fee — currently £650 once the bank’s free annual allowance is used — payable whether the bank wins or loses. That fee is non-recoverable. For low-to-mid-value APP fraud cases the case fee alone can exceed the disputed sum, which gives banks a commercial incentive to settle even cases they think they could defend. It is not unusual for a bank to upgrade its position from refusal to full reimbursement within a few weeks of the FOS notifying it of a complaint.

Bank already said no?

We assemble a Financial Ombudsman escalation pack for a fixed £39 — covering letter, chronology, evidence index, and reasons the bank’s decision is wrong.