In a six month exercise Lord Hunt of Wirral has carried out an extensive review into the UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service, and based on this review he has come up with a list of over seventy recommendations that he states are designed to make the service more accessible and more affordable for consumers. Lord Hunt is now hoping that some of these recommendations will not be taken on board, stating that they could really help to make the service more accessible to all.

Lord Hunt said that at the moment many people were wary about using the service, stating that it is often seen ‘like a middle-class service for middle-class people’. One of the recommendations that Lord Hunt has made is to change the name of the Financial Ombudsman Service to something that would be seen as friendlier and more approachable, such as the Financial Complaints Service. He also said that the service needed to focus more on helping those on low incomes to deal with serious debt problems.

Other recommendations included to name and shame companies that performed poorly but to rewards those that performed well. Hunt suggested that all consumer cases should be made open to the public, and a free phone number should be set up between certain hours to increase affordability for those wishing to contact the service. He added that the service should have a fast track service in place for cases that were urgent to consumers, and that a case advisor should be assigned to deal with more vulnerable consumers.

After releasing the report Lord Hunt said: ‘If my conclusions are accepted and my recommendations implemented, I believe the demographic profile of those using the FOS should, must and will broaden, as the organisation thinks not only in terms of its traditional areas of activity – dealing with matters such as mortgages, insurance and pensions products – but also in terms of the problems that typically afflict our less affluent citizens.’

He also stated: ‘Difficulties with debt management are only likely to increase in scale and numbers as the current economic difficulties mount. In many instances the sums of money involved will be on the low side by FOS standards, but the human misery attendant upon them can be devastating. Accessibility is no abstract concept.’

An official from the consumer campaign group Which? commented on the recommendations, stating: ‘It is great news that the review has agreed that FOS should remain free to consumers. Introducing charges would inevitably discourage some people from using the service, particularly those in financial hardship. We also agree that a time-consuming and expensive appeals process would only mimic the courts – it’s very important that the service remains a quick form of consumer redress. FOS is the unsung hero of UK financial services regulation and helps to maintain consumer confidence in the industry.’

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