The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has increased the number of complaints it is predicting to receive in the 2024/25 financial year to 210,000.

This is a rise from the 181,300 cases that the FOS had estimated last December.

Several factors have led the FOS to increase the figure, including everyday financial concerns such as unaffordable lending, credit card complaints, as well as fraud and scams. It is also a result of the FOS receiving the motor finance commission cases which are not affected by the regulatory review of historical practices by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The FOS has committed to resolve 17% more cases in the year ahead than in 2023/24, up from 192,500 to 225,000. The ombudsman has suggested this increased workload will be tackled by recruiting more case handlers.

Chief executive and chief ombudsman of the FOS, Abby Thomas, said: “We will be even more ambitious next year, with plans to resolve complaints faster, while also reducing the cost of our service to businesses.

“In the year ahead it’s likely that our service will see increasing levels of complaints, with many of those disputes expected to focus on the critical issues that impact people’s everyday lives. This includes perceived unaffordable lending, concerns about car loan agreements, and disputes around fraud and scams.”

Within the latest plans, the FOS also confirmed it plans to reduce the cost of its services to the financial services industry in 2024/25.

The case fee will drop by £100 per case to £650, while the compulsory and voluntary jurisdiction levy costs to businesses will also be reduced. This could result in over an effective £60m reduction in case fee and levy costs to businesses, after inflation and increases in the number of cases are accounted for.

“With uncertainty around casework levels in the year ahead, we’re building a service which is flexible and agile, allowing us to respond to increased demand across any area of our business,” Thomas added.

“Our plans will help ensure that the customer is at the heart of everything we do. We want every person who engages with our service to clearly understand the outcome of their case.”

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