The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017 (the
"Act") was enacted on 26 July 2017.
The purpose of the Act is to amalgamate the offices of the
Financial Services Ombudsman and Pensions Ombudsman and to
consolidate and update existing legislation. This was decided in
the context of public sector reform. Regulated financial service
providers and pension providers fall within the Ombudsman’s
remit.
The merging of the two offices had been planned for some time
and formally provides a "one-stop shop" for complaints in
relation to financial service providers and pension providers. The
merger establishes the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
("FSPO") as an independent officer to
resolve complaints about the conduct of regulated financial service
and pension providers through mediation and where necessary by
investigation and adjudication. The Act also establishes the Office
of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (the
"Office") to support the
