The FCA regulates financial-services firms and markets; individual consumer complaints usually start with the firm and may then go to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
The Financial Conduct Authority sets and enforces rules for regulated financial firms. It can supervise firms, investigate regulatory concerns, restrict permissions and take enforcement action, but it generally does not act as the adjudicator for your individual compensation complaint.
For most individual disputes, complain to the financial business first. FCA complaint rules generally require a written final response within eight weeks, with different shorter regimes for some payment/e-money complaints.
Key points
- Check the Financial Services Register to confirm the firm and permissions.
- Use the firm’s formal complaint procedure for individual redress.
- The Financial Ombudsman Service is usually the external dispute route for eligible individual complaints.
- You can separately report wider misconduct or scams to the FCA where appropriate.
FCA vs FOS
The FCA writes/supervises regulatory rules; the FOS resolves eligible individual disputes using a fair-and-reasonable test that takes account of law, regulation, guidance and good practice. A complaint can engage both, but for different purposes.
Complaint timing
Current DISP rules generally require a firm to send a final response or specified holding response by eight weeks. Payment services and e-money complaints can have 15-business-day and, exceptionally, 35-business-day timing. Always check the category.
Regulatory concerns
Patterns such as misleading promotions, systemic unfair treatment, unauthorised activity or serious rule breaches can be reported to the FCA. A report may inform supervision even where it does not produce a personalised case outcome.
In practice
- Address individual loss and remedy to the firm/FOS route.
- Use FCA rules/guidance as part of your complaint where they apply.
- Do not wait for FCA enforcement before protecting an ombudsman referral deadline.
What to do
A practical next-step plan
- Verify the firm on the FCA Register.
- Make a formal complaint to the firm.
- Record the eight-week or applicable specialist deadline.
- Refer to FOS within its referral time limit if unresolved.
- Report separate regulatory concerns to the FCA where appropriate.
Common traps
Things that often confuse the issue
- Assuming FCA authorisation means the firm acted correctly in your case.
- Sending the FCA a compensation demand instead of using the firm/FOS route.
- Missing the six-month FOS final-response referral period.
Evidence worth keeping
Where to go next
Use FOS for eligible individual redress; consider court or specialist advice where the dispute falls outside FOS or a legal remedy is needed.
Understand what the outcome can and cannot do
The FCA may use information for supervision or enforcement without giving you a detailed case-by-case outcome. Treat any regulatory report as one strand of the dispute and continue the personal-redress route that actually has power to decide your complaint.
Keep the routes separate.
Regulator, ombudsman/ADR, statutory appeal and court proceedings can have different purposes, powers and deadlines. Using one route does not automatically preserve another.
Build the complaint for an independent reader
A useful FCA report is concise and pattern-focused: identify the firm, product/activity, dates, alleged conduct and why it may matter beyond a private disagreement. Provide documentary support where the FCA asks for it. Avoid presenting a compensation calculation as though the FCA were an ombudsman.
| If they say… | What to check or say back |
|---|---|
| “I reported it to the FCA, so my complaint is being investigated.” | Not necessarily. Regulatory intelligence and an individual redress complaint are different processes. |
| “The FCA register shows the firm is authorised, so the conduct must be lawful.” | Authorisation does not determine whether a particular sale, charge or complaint was handled correctly. |
| “The FCA will order my refund.” | For ordinary individual disputes, FOS/court or another redress mechanism is usually the relevant route. |
| “I can wait for the FCA before going to FOS.” | Do not assume an FCA report pauses a FOS referral deadline. |
Check jurisdiction and timing before writing the full case
Do the gateway checks first. A perfectly argued complaint can still fail if it is sent to the wrong body, too early, too late or against a respondent outside the scheme.
- Check whether the firm is authorised, registered, exempt or potentially unauthorised.
- Use the firm’s formal complaint process if you seek personal redress.
- Preserve the FCA Firm Reference Number, product documents and any communications showing the conduct you are reporting.
- Do not let a regulatory report distract from FOS or court time limits.
Is Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) actually the right body?
The FCA regulates financial services firms, markets and conduct. Reporting a concern can help it identify patterns, unauthorised activity or rule breaches, but an FCA report is not the same thing as asking FOS to resolve your individual complaint.
If you want your own money refunded, compensation awarded or a disputed financial complaint decided, the usual route is complaint to the firm and then FOS if eligible. If the issue is fraud, a scam or criminal conduct, other reporting routes may also be relevant.
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.