Complaining to an Ombudsman: UK Guide to Every Scheme

At a glance

• Cost to you: free. Ombudsman schemes are funded by the businesses and organisations they cover, not by complainants — gov.uk/complain-financial-service.
• Before you can complain: you must normally give the organisation a chance to fix it first, and most schemes require you to wait until it has issued a final response or up to eight weeks has passed.
• Most common time limit: six months from the organisation's final response (Financial Ombudsman Service; the Legal Ombudsman applies this same six-month limit alongside its own one-year limit), though schemes vary — the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman generally expects a complaint within 12 months of you becoming aware of the problem.
• Statutory schemes with binding outcomes: the Financial Ombudsman Service (Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, Part XVI) can make decisions that become binding on both sides once accepted by the consumer, and the Housing Ombudsman (Localism Act 2011) requires its member landlords to comply with its orders as a condition of scheme membership.
• Recommendation-based schemes: the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman issue findings and recommendations that organisations are expected to follow, with public reporting where they don't.
• What an ombudsman cannot do: impose criminal penalties, award damages in the way a court can for every type of loss, or change an organisation's general policy beyond your individual case.
• After an ombudsman decision: whether you can still go to court depends on the scheme and whether you accepted the decision — check before you accept anything if you think you may want to litigate.

What is an ombudsman?

An ombudsman is an independent person or body set up to investigate complaints between the public and businesses, landlords, or public organisations. An ombudsman sits outside the organisation you are complaining about, so they can take a neutral view of what happened and whether you were treated fairly.

Ombudsman schemes in the UK fall into two broad types. Some are created and backed by statute — the Financial Ombudsman Service under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Housing Ombudsman under the Localism Act 2011, and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman under its own founding legislation. Others are industry-approved schemes that a regulator requires or permits businesses in a sector to join, such as the Energy Ombudsman and the Communications Ombudsman schemes approved by Ofgem and Ofcom respectively.

In every case the service is free for you to use, and in every case you are expected to have given the organisation a proper opportunity to resolve the problem first.

The main UK ombudsman schemes

• Financial Ombudsman Service — banks, insurers, lenders, and other financial firms. Set up under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. See gov.uk/complain-financial-service and our guide to complaining to the Financial Ombudsman.
• Energy Ombudsman — gas and electricity suppliers and some network operators, approved under Ofgem's consumer protection framework. See Ofgem: complain about your energy supplier and our guide to complaining to the Energy Ombudsman.
• Housing Ombudsman — social housing landlords (councils and housing associations), created under the Localism Act 2011, Part 7, Chapter 6. See our guide to complaining to the Housing Ombudsman.
• Legal Ombudsman — solicitors, barristers, and other regulated legal service providers in England and Wales, established under the Legal Services Act 2007. See gov.uk/government/organisations/the-legal-ombudsman and our guide to complaining to the Legal Ombudsman.
• Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) — UK government departments and the NHS in England, the final stage for unresolved complaints. See gov.uk/government/organisations/the-parliamentary-and-health-service-ombudsman and our guide to complaining to the PHSO.
• Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) — councils and adult social care providers, including care homes and home care agencies. See gov.uk/government/organisations/local-government-ombudsman and our guide to complaining to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman.

Other approved schemes cover specific sectors not listed above, including property agents (complaining to the Property Ombudsman) and communications providers (complaining to the Communications Ombudsman).

Key steps to complaining to an ombudsman

1. Complain to the organisation first. Before any ombudsman will look at your case, you need to give the organisation a proper chance to fix it. Put your complaint in writing, keep copies of everything, and ask for a final response. Most schemes expect you to wait up to eight weeks for a reply before you escalate — gov.uk/complain-financial-service confirms this eight-week expectation for financial complaints, and it is the general pattern across schemes.
2. Work out which ombudsman covers your issue. Using the wrong scheme wastes time, because each ombudsman only has jurisdiction over its own sector. Check the organisation's final response letter — it should name the relevant scheme — or use the list above to identify the right one.
3. Gather your evidence. Pull together everything that supports your version of events: emails, letters, contracts, bills, photographs, call notes with dates, and the organisation's final response (sometimes called a "deadlock letter"). A clear, dated timeline of what happened makes a real difference to how quickly your complaint can be assessed.
4. Submit your complaint within the time limit. Time limits vary by scheme — the Financial Ombudsman Service generally requires you to complain within six months of the final response; the Legal Ombudsman (under its scheme rules in force since 1 April 2023) applies two limits together, both of which must be met — one year from the act or omission, or one year from when you should reasonably have realised there was cause for complaint, and separately, within six months of the provider's final response; the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman generally will not look at complaints made more than 12 months after you became aware of the problem. Complete the relevant scheme's complaint form online, by post, or by phone, attach your evidence, and explain clearly what outcome you are seeking.
5. Engage with the investigation. Once the ombudsman accepts your case, an investigator will typically contact both sides, ask questions, and may propose an informal resolution. If you do not agree with a proposed outcome, most schemes let you ask for a formal, final decision. Respond to requests for information promptly to avoid delays.

What outcomes look like

What an ombudsman can order depends on the scheme, but the typical range includes an apology, correction of a mistake or record, completion of a service the organisation failed to deliver, and compensation for financial loss or for distress and inconvenience.

The Financial Ombudsman Service stands out because its outcomes can become legally binding. Under section 228 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the ombudsman determines a complaint by reference to what is fair and reasonable in the circumstances, and once a consumer notifies the ombudsman that they accept the final decision, it becomes binding on both the business and the consumer.

The Housing Ombudsman works differently again, but its orders are also binding. Its orders can include compensation — with no fixed upper limit — a repair, a survey, an apology, or a review of a landlord's policy, and its member social landlords are required to comply as a condition of scheme membership. The Localism Act 2011, Part 7, Chapter 6 also created a power for the Secretary of State to make regulations allowing a housing ombudsman scheme's determinations to be enforced through the courts, but that power has not been exercised — in practice, compliance is driven by the landlord's obligations as a member of the scheme and by the Housing Ombudsman's public reporting.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman work differently still: they issue findings and recommendations rather than court-enforceable determinations. Organisations are expected to comply, and non-compliance is typically reported publicly — for the PHSO, this can mean a special report to Parliament — which creates strong reputational pressure even without direct enforcement powers equivalent to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Housing Ombudsman.

No ombudsman scheme can impose a criminal penalty, prosecute anyone, or compel an organisation to change its general policies beyond the specific complaint in front of it.

Going to court instead of, or after, an ombudsman

Using an ombudsman does not always rule out court action, but the interaction between the two routes varies by scheme and by what you do with the decision.

For Financial Ombudsman Service complaints, accepting a final decision is generally treated as full and final settlement, which closes off a related court claim on the same matter. If you reject the decision, you are usually free to pursue the dispute in court instead — though court proceedings carry costs risk that an ombudsman complaint does not, and can take considerably longer.

For other schemes, whether court action remains open depends on the specific rules and on any limitation period running under the Limitation Act 1980 in the background. If you are weighing up an ombudsman complaint against a potential court claim, take that into account before you submit anything, since some limitation periods keep running while an ombudsman investigation is ongoing.

A note on the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

The PHSO is slightly different from most other schemes because of how you reach it. Complaints about UK government departments generally still need to be referred by a Member of Parliament — commonly called the "MP filter" — while complaints about the NHS in England can be made directly, without going through an MP. Details of the current route are set out at gov.uk/government/organisations/the-parliamentary-and-health-service-ombudsman. See our full guide to complaining to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman for the current process.

If there's no ombudsman for your problem

Not every sector has an ombudsman. Where none exists, you may still have options: an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme approved by the relevant regulator, a trade association's own complaints process, or the small claims track of the County Court for a money claim. Citizens Advice and the Money and Pensions Service can help identify the right route for a consumer problem that falls outside the main ombudsman schemes.

This guide provides general information about how ombudsman complaints work in England and Wales. It is a tool to help you understand your options — it is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. Scheme rules, time limits, and contact details change from time to time, so always check the relevant ombudsman's own website and GOV.UK for the current position before you submit a complaint.

Last reviewed: July 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: July 2027 or on scheme rule change.