Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the powers of the Financial Ombudsman Service to require companies to pay compensation to customers.

Parliament set up the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to decide complaints quickly as an alternative to the courts – not to act as a law enforcer. However, firms that are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are required under the FCA’s rules to co-operate with the ombudsman.

Following a consumer’s acceptance of the ombudsman’s final decision, this becomes binding on the firm. Firms are required to comply promptly with any decision that ombudsmen may make, including decisions on compensation.
If a firm fails to comply with the Ombudsman's decision, under the legislative framework, a complainant can enforce the decision through the courts. A money award can be recovered by execution of a county court order, while compliance with a direction is enforceable by way of an injunction. This does not require the merits of the case to be considered again by the court.