The Financial Ombudsman Service received 47,300 new complaints between October and December, broadly stable with the previous quarter (46,300).
This was a considerable drop from the 68,400 complaints in Q3 2025/26, which the Ombudsman attributed to a drop in motor finance commission complaints following the establishment of a planned redress scheme from the FCA.
The most complained about products were current accounts (8,500), credit cards (5,200) and hire purchase (motor, 3,500).
There were 43 new complaints received by the Ombudsman from consumers about the investment advice they had received between October and December. The uphold rate was 36%.
One area which saw high uphold rates was DB to SIPP transfers. During the period the Ombudsman saw 36 new complaints about pension transfers from defined benefit to SIPP and an uphold rate of 75%.
Despite recent crackdowns from the FCA, just 6% of the 67 complaints submitted to the Ombudsman related to CFDs (contracts for difference) were upheld.
There were also 10 new complaints submitted related to UCIS (unregulated collective investments), of which 30% were upheld.
James Dipple-Johnstone, interim chief ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service, said the drop in case load can also be attributed to the charges it has introduced for professional representatives.
He said: “Following a period of extraordinary demand, our case volumes are returning to a steady state as measures we have implemented ensure the complaints that come to us are better evidenced and ready to be investigated.
“The changes we have already introduced – and those we plan to make in the future – will allow us to focus on getting back to our core purpose for customers as a quick, informal and high-quality dispute resolution system.”
Last month the FOS said it expects to receive 188,000 cases in 2026/27, while resolving 245,000 cases.
For the current 2025/26 year, the Financial Ombudsman’s latest forecast shows that it expects to receive around 205,000 cases. By comparison, in 2024/25 the Ombudsman received more than 305,000 cases.
In the 2026/27 year the FOS plans to increase its case fee by 4.6% to £680 (2024/25: £650) and compulsory levy to rise 10% to £86m (2024/35: £70m). The levy will be the same level as seen in 2020/21.
The Ombudsman argued that the increase to the levy is needed in order to cover the impact of inflation and improve its reserves.
The FOS is currently working with the FCA and Treasury to deliver a series of reforms to the redress system.
The Ombudsman has said it expects the majority of these changes to take place over the next two financial years.