The FCA regulates financial firms and sets conduct rules; it does not act as the ombudsman deciding your individual compensation claim.
The Financial Conduct Authority authorises and supervises many banks, lenders, insurers, debt collectors and other financial-services firms. Its rules include the Consumer Duty and detailed conduct requirements such as CONC for consumer credit.
Consumers can report concerns to the FCA, but individual complaints about redress are usually made to the firm first and then, where eligible, the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Key points
- Use the FCA Register to check whether a firm is authorised and for what activities.
- FCA rules can be important evidence in your complaint.
- FCA reports help the regulator identify systemic misconduct but are not a substitute for FOS.
- Urgent fraud/scam issues may require other reporting routes as well.
What the FCA can do
The FCA makes rules, supervises firms, investigates breaches and can impose regulatory action. It also sets expectations for consumer outcomes through the Consumer Duty.
What the FCA usually will not do
It does not normally investigate your complaint in order to award you a personal refund or compensation. That is why a consumer seeking individual redress should not stop after sending a report to the FCA.
FCA rules in a complaint
Rules such as CONC can help show what a regulated lender should have done in arrears, collections, creditworthiness or communications. Cite the provision that actually fits the issue rather than using “FCA rules” as a general phrase.
In practice
- Check the firm’s regulatory status and exact legal entity.
- Use FCA material to support the complaint, then follow the firm/FOS route for redress.
- Report wider misconduct separately if it may affect other consumers.
What to do
A practical next-step plan
- Identify the firm on the FCA Register.
- Make a formal complaint to the firm.
- Preserve the final response.
- Take an eligible unresolved complaint to FOS within the applicable time limit.
- Report systemic/regulatory concerns to the FCA where useful.
Common traps
Things that often confuse the issue
- Do not confuse regulator and ombudsman functions.
- Do not assume an FCA report pauses a FOS deadline.
- Check the exact firm and permission, especially with trading names.
Evidence worth keeping
A regulator report and an ombudsman complaint can run in parallel.
The FCA may use intelligence about systemic conduct even where it cannot resolve your individual dispute. FOS, by contrast, can consider eligible complaints and award redress. Keep the two objectives separate so a regulatory report does not replace the complaint deadline.
Timing.
Most firms must issue a final response to a standard complaint within eight weeks under DISP; a consumer usually then has six months from the final response to refer the complaint to FOS.
Check the Financial Services Register when status matters.
If a business claims to be authorised or acting for an authorised firm, verify the firm and permissions on the FCA register. Fraudsters can clone legitimate firm details, so use contact information obtained independently rather than relying on a phone number in an unsolicited message.
Use the FCA Handbook to identify the rule that fits the conduct.
| Problem | Possible framework |
|---|---|
| Unaffordable lending | CONC creditworthiness / Consumer Duty. |
| Arrears treatment | CONC 7 forbearance and due consideration. |
| Debt dispute | CONC 7.14 disputed-debt rules. |
| Complaint handling | DISP complaint rules. |
| Poor consumer support/foreseeable harm | Consumer Duty / PRIN 2A where applicable. |
Citing a precise rule is more useful than writing “this breaches FCA regulations”. The handbook contains both binding rules and guidance; note which you are relying on.
The FCA regulates firms; it is not the ombudsman deciding your individual compensation claim.
The Financial Conduct Authority sets and enforces rules for regulated financial firms, supervises markets and can take regulatory action. It generally does not adjudicate an individual consumer complaint or order a personal refund in the way the Financial Ombudsman Service can. Report regulatory concerns to the FCA, but pursue individual redress through the firm’s complaint process and FOS where eligible.
Official sources
Check the rules behind this guide
These are official or primary sources for this topic. Rules, scheme terms and deadlines can change, so check the live source before relying on a formal time limit or procedure.