Anyone directly affected by the way in which the FSA has exercised, or failed to exercise, its functions (other than its legislative functions) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) may complain about the FSA using the FSA Complaints Scheme.

FSA Complaints Scheme

The FSA Complaints Scheme is not an alternative to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for a complaint against a firm or former firm.

If you are looking for information about how best to make a complaint against a Regulated Firm, you will need to redirect your search to Complaints against Firms.

The Financial Services and Markets 2000 (FSMA) requires the FSA to have arrangements for investigating complaints made against it. The FSA's Complaints Scheme is one of our key accountability mechanisms established under FSMA.

Complaints are investigated independently and impartially by the Complaints Team located within the Company Secretariat, in accordance with the rules of the FSA Complaints Scheme. All valid complaints are investigated thoroughly and within service standards, with lessons learnt from the investigations passed back to senior management and to the business to ensure that the FSA continually improves its performance. This helps create an environment of continuous performance improvement within the FSA, and provides accessibility and transparency in our activities, making us easier to do business with.

The Complaints Team takes the matters raised by complainants seriously – focusing its efforts on handling and resolving complaints quickly and impartially, while treating complainants with courtesy and sensitivity, respecting confidentiality at all times. The Complaints Scheme operates within the requirements of the Data Protection Act, and complies with the Freedom of Information Act and ISO10002/2004.

Senior management regularly monitor and review the effectiveness of the system and ensure that all staff are aware and trained appropriately.

For a summary of the matters covered in this section, see the FSA's leaflet Bringing a complaint against the FSA.

The FSA Complaints Scheme (Scheme) was set up in September 2001 in accordance with the Financial Services Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), which requires the FSA to have arrangements in place to investigate independently complaints made against its actions/inactions under FSMA. The Scheme has two stages:

  • Stage 1, where complaints are investigated by the FSA; and
  • Stage 2, where – if the complainant remains dissatisfied – complaints are investigated by the Independent Complaints Commissioner