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Check your claim

RT The routes

Complain. Escalate. Recover.

There is rarely one door. There are three routes and a scheme of last resort, each with its own cost, its own test, its own money limit and its own deadline. This page puts them side by side, and the order below is the order that works.

Prices, limits and deadlines as published by the FCA, the Financial Ombudsman Service, FSCS and the Limitation Act 1980.
Firm complaintFinancial OmbudsmanFSCSCourt
Cost to youNothingNothing — free to consumersNothing — free to claimSolicitor’s fees and disbursements, often on a conditional basis
When it appliesAlways the first stepAfter the firm’s final response, or 8 weeks without oneWhere an authorised firm has failed and cannot meet claimsWhere the loss exceeds other limits, or the defendant is out of reach
Who decidesThe firm’s complaints teamAn investigator, then an ombudsmanFSCS assessorsA judge
The test appliedThe rules in force at the time of the saleWhat is fair and reasonable in the circumstancesFSCS’s own eligibility rulesBreach of duty or of an FCA rule, causation and loss
The money limitNo limit — but a refusal is only the firm’s view£455,000 for complaints referred on or after 1 April 2026 about acts or omissions on or after 1 April 2019; £205,000 for earlier acts or omissions. The firm need not accept a recommendation above the limit£85,000 per eligible person, per firm for firms that failed after 1 April 2019No fixed limit; costs risk instead
DeadlineNormally 6 years from the problem, or 3 years from awareness6 months from the firm’s final responseDepends on when the firm failed; check FSCS guidance6 years from the cause of action, or 3 years from knowledge, with a 15-year longstop
Lawyer needed?NoNoNoYes, in practice

01 In order

The order that works.

Four steps. The first two are free, and each one produces something you will need if you go further: a dated complaint, a final response, and a record of what the firm says happened.

  1. Complain to the firm, in writing

    Name the product and the date, set out what you were told, explain why it did not suit you, and ask for the advice file. The firm must normally give you a final response in writing within 8 weeks.

    Free · Final response normally within 8 weeks

  2. Escalate to the Financial Ombudsman

    Free to consumers, and it decides what is fair and reasonable — not only whether a rule was broken. You need to contact it within 6 months of the final response.

    Free · £455,000 limit for acts or omissions on or after 1 April 2019

  3. Check FSCS if the firm has failed

    If the firm is authorised and has failed, FSCS may pay instead. Check the FCA Register and FSCS’s list of failed firms. FSCS cannot accept claims that are only about performance.

    Free to claim · £85,000 per eligible person, per firm for firms that failed after 1 April 2019

  4. Take advice if court may be needed

    Court is for losses above what the Ombudsman can award, or where the defendant is beyond its reach. Ask about limitation at the first meeting, and ask for any fee terms in writing.

    Costs risk · Limitation: 6 years, or 3 from knowledge, with a 15-year longstop

ORDOorder

  • The firm complaint is the gateway: nothing else opens without it
  • The Ombudsman is free, so there is no reason to skip it for a fee-paying service
  • FSCS is a scheme of last resort, not a general insurance policy
  • Court is the only route where losing costs you money

02 Decision tree

Which one fits your facts.

Route: firm complaint

The firm still exists and you have not complained

Complain in writing. Ask for the advice file in the same letter.

Route: Ombudsman

You have a final response you disagree with

Refer to the Ombudsman within 6 months of the date on it.

Route: FSCS

The firm has failed or been declared in default

Check FSCS eligibility before anything else. It is free to claim.

Route: civil claim

Nobody involved was ever authorised

FSCS is not available. Take advice on whether a civil claim is realistic.

Route: court

The loss exceeds what the Ombudsman can award

Keep the Ombudsman in play, but take advice on limitation in parallel.

Route: disclosure complaint

You were told the risk was guaranteed or safe

Keep the material that says so. A promotion complaint stands on its own.

03 Evidence

What each route actually asks for.

01 Firm and Ombudsman

  • The written recommendation and the fact find
  • The attitude-to-risk record, and the product’s own risk rating
  • Statements showing what you paid in and when
  • The charges disclosure and any exit penalty terms
  • Whatever was said to you: brochures, emails, notes

02 FSCS and court

  • Proof of the firm’s authorisation, from the FCA Register
  • The firm’s failure, or FSCS’s declaration of default
  • A chronology of what you were told, and by whom
  • The valuation history showing the loss
  • Evidence of what suitable advice would have produced

// The rules, verbatim

The facts these routes rest on, as published.

The Ombudsman’s award limit
£455,000 for complaints referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service on or after 1 April 2026 about acts or omissions that occurred on or after 1 April 2019. For acts or omissions before 1 April 2019, the limit is £205,000 for cases referred on or after 1 April 2026.
What the Ombudsman cannot bind the firm to
The Ombudsman can recommend a firm pays more than the limit, but the firm does not have to accept that recommendation.
The Ombudsman’s deadline
You need to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of receiving the firm’s final response, or it may not be able to help.
The firm’s response time
Firms must normally give you their final response in writing within 8 weeks of your complaint.
The FSCS investment limit
For an investment firm that failed after 1 April 2019, FSCS can pay up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm.
What FSCS cannot cover
FSCS cannot accept claims that are only about poor investment performance — the value of investments can go down as well as up.
Court limitation
For negligence claims where the facts were not known at the outset, the limitation period is six years from the date the cause of action accrued, or three years from the date of knowledge — whichever expires later.
The longstop
There is an overriding fifteen-year longstop running from the act or omission alleged to constitute the negligence, which bars the claim even if the three-year knowledge period has not yet started to run.

04 Questions

About choosing a route.

Do I have to complain to the firm before the Ombudsman?

Yes, normally. The Ombudsman needs the firm’s final response, or eight weeks to have passed without one. Complaining first also creates a dated record that everything later depends on.

Which route gets the most money back?

That is the wrong question, because the routes are not alternatives you can shop between. The Ombudsman is free and reaches most investment complaints; FSCS only applies where the firm has failed; court is for what the others cannot reach, and it carries a costs risk.

Can I run two routes at once?

You can, but the interaction matters: time limits for court keep running while a complaint sits with a firm or the Ombudsman, and accepting an Ombudsman’s final decision generally closes off going to court for more on the same complaint. Take advice on the dates before accepting anything.

What if the firm says I chose the investment without advice?

Ask it, in writing, what it recorded and why. Whether a sale was advised or execution-only is a fact the Ombudsman can examine, and firms are expected to be able to show the basis on which they acted.

Is it worth going to court for a small loss?

Usually not, because the costs risk can exceed the sum in dispute. Court generally becomes relevant where the loss is above the Ombudsman’s award limit, or where a claim must be brought against someone outside its jurisdiction.

What does FSCS actually cover?

It covers defined products and activities carried on by authorised firms that have failed. It cannot accept claims that are only about poor investment performance — the value of investments can go down as well as up.

Sources

Every rule, limit and deadline on this page comes from the official sources below. Each was read on the date shown. Where we could not verify a rule against the official text, we have left a visible instruction to confirm it rather than describing it from memory.

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