Before you complain
Can anyone lodge a complaint against the FSA?
Anyone directly affected by the FSA's action or inactions – or anyone acting on this person's behalf – may lodge a complaint against the FSA under the FSA Complaints Scheme. This includes:
- firms;
- issuers of listed securities;
- any customer or prospective customer, whether an individual or a company; and
- trade associations and groups, who may bring a complaint on behalf of named members that have been directly affected by the FSA's actions or inactions. However, trade associations and groups may not complain on behalf of their members generally if it is not apparent that all of the trade association or group's members have been directly affected.
Is your complaint against the FSA?
Before complaining, please ensure that your complaint is against the FSA.
A complaint against the FSA is defined as "any expression of dissatisfaction about the manner in which the FSA has carried out, or failed to carry out, its functions under FSMA other than its legislative functions".
This means that your complaint must be:
- an "expression of dissatisfaction";
- directed against the FSA, not any other organisation;
- If you have a complaint about a firm that we regulate, you can find information on complaining about the firm (and the relevant procedures) on Consumer information - Making a complaint;
- The FSA does handle complaints about some predecessor regulatory bodies (including the Personal Investment Authority ('PIA'), Investment Managers Regulatory Organisation ('IMRO') and The Securities and Futures Authority ('SFA');
- Complaints about the Financial Services Compensation Scheme ('FSCS'), Office of Fair Trading ('OFT') and the Department of Trade and Industry ('DTI') or H M Treasury ('HMT') should be directed to that specific organisation;
- If you have a complaint about the Financial Ombudsman Service ('FOS'), you should lodge it with the FOS' Independent Assessor. See the FOS website for details. Operationally, the FSA and the FOS are independent of each other.
- "seeking a remedy" (which for this purpose may include an apology), in respect of some inconvenience, distress or loss which you have suffered as a result of being directly affected by the FSA's action or inaction; and
- from an individual who is "directly affected" by the way the FSA has exercised, or failed to exercise, its functions (other than its legislative functions) under FSMA, or anyone acting on this person's behalf.
If you want to comment on the FSA or make an enquiry, please contact the FSA Consumer Contact Centre (for consumers), the Firm Contact Centre (for category D regulated firms) or your own supervisory department (for non category D regulated firms).
Can I be sure that the FSA will investigate my complaint?
As explained in the Complaints against the FSA (COAF) section of the FSA Handbook, the FSA cannot investigate certain complaints, and will not investigate certain others.
The following types of complaint are excluded from the FSA Complaints Scheme.
- Complaints about the FSA's relationship with its employees;
- Complaints connected with contractual or commercial disputes involving the FSA and not connected to its functions under FSMA;
- Complaints in relation to the FSA's performance of its legislative functions under FSMA (including make rules and issuing codes and general guidance) without any allegation of misconduct; and
- Complaints about the actions or inactions of the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
There are also certain types of complaint that the FSA will not investigate under the Complaints Scheme ie:
- A complaint that could be, more appropriately dealt with in another way (for example by referring the matter to the Tribunal or by the institution of legal proceedings);
- A complaint that amounts to no more than dissatisfaction with the FSA's general policies or with the exercise of discretion where no unreasonable, unprofessional or other misconduct is alleged;
- A complaint made 12 months after the date on which the complainant first became aware of the circumstances giving rise to the complaint unless the complainant can show reasonable grounds for the delay;
- A complaint from a regulated firm that is not made in writing; or
- A complaint which is connected with, or which arises from, any form of continuing action by the FSA, will not normally be investigated until the complainant has exhausted the procedures and remedies under FSMA which are relevant to that action.
All other complaints will be assessed against the criteria of the scheme, and if they are within scope then we aim to investigate them quickly, thoroughly and with courtesy and sensitivity.
What can I do if the FSA either excludes my complaint or informs me that it will not investigate it?
If the FSA either excludes or otherwise cannot investigate your complaint under the scheme, you can refer the matter to the Complaints Commissioner directly. He had discretion to decide whether the complaint falls within the scope of the FSA Complaints Scheme, and, if so whether he proposes to conduct an investigation himself or require the FSA to first conduct its own investigation.
What should I do next?
If you wish to lodge a complaint against the FSA, please contact the Complaints Team. We will consider whether we are able to look into your complaint under the FSA's Complaint Scheme.
How will my complaint be investigated
The FSA Complaints Scheme provides two distinct stages for each complaint:
First, the FSA will independently investigate any complaint that meets the requirements of the FSA Complaints Scheme (Stage 1 ).
Complaint investigations are carried out as desk based reviews. This means that all relevant evidence to support the allegations made should be provided to the Complaints Team; complainants will not be asked to attend a formal interview.
Timescales
The Complaints Team will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days, and must inform the complainants within 4 weeks if the complaint is inside or outside the scope of the Complaints Scheme. Following that, complainants will be contacted at 4 weekly intervals to be kept up to date with the progress of the investigation.
Complaints are investigated independently, by the Complaints Team, which is situated in the Corporate Services Dept. We aim to complete 60% of cases within 8 weeks, but some cases can take up to 16 weeks to complete.
If the complainant remains dissatisfied with the FSA's findings at Stage 1, the progress of the complaint or the way in which the FSA dealt with it, the matter may be referred to the Complaints Commissioner, who will decide whether to carry out his own investigation (Stage 2). Any referral to the Complaints Commissioner should usually be made within three months of the date of the FSA's final decision at Stage 1. Any referral outside the three months time limit may, where there are adequate reasons for the delay, still be considered by the Complaints Commissioner.