The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) expects to freeze individual case fees and its compulsory jurisdiction levy in the coming financial year.
The regulator also intends to cut its voluntary jurisdiction levy for the next 12 months and is planning to overhaul its funding model for 2024/25.
The Ombudsman plans and budget for the coming period revealed it expects total income of £244.5m – a slight increase from the previously forecasted £240.3m – and to receive 184,000 complaints and resolve 204,000 complaints in 2023/24.
It plans to freeze its individual case fee of £750 and its compulsory jurisdiction levy at £106m and cut its voluntary jurisdiction levy from £700,000 to £500,000.
While individual businesses will continue to get three free cases, group-account fee arrangement businesses will not receive any free cases.
Providing an update on bringing down backlog and waiting times, FOS argued that over the last year it had made “good progress”.
But it added there was more for it to do and consequently, it has identified five areas of focus for the upcoming financial year.
These include:
- To enable customers to self-serve, where appropriate, through its digital transformation programme
- Ensure quality and timely outcomes, underpinned by operational efficiency
- Build a workforce for the future – making sure it has the right skills and capabilities, and the ability to meet future demand
- Design and build an updated funding model for 2024/25
- Develop a data-driven prevention strategy and using data and insight to improve our performance.
Earlier this month at Health & Protection’s Health Summit FOS revealed its top tips for PMI advisers to guard against complaints being brought in sector.