The Financial Ombudsman is an organization set up by Parliament. It was created to help ‘sort out’ problems and disputes that might arise when using financial services in the UK.

If they decide that someone has been treated unfairly, then they have legal powers to ‘put things right’.

In 2017, more than two million people contacted the Financial Ombudsman with problems relating to everything from bank accounts, credit and debit and store cards right the way through to pensions, savings, investments and car loans! More recently, many PPI claims have been dealt with by the Financial Ombudsman.

The Financial Ombudsman can handle a wide variety of complaints relating to financial services but there are strict rules, especially time limits, relating to what they can and cannot deal with and adjudicate upon, so it is worth checking with them to make sure they can help you.

If they uphold a complaint, they can tell the business involved to compensate the consumer for losses of up to £150,000 (£100,000 for complaints we received before 1 January 2012). However, in most cases the amounts involved are much smaller.

The Financial Ombudsman’s service does not punish or fine financial services businesses or regulate such businesses to make sure they follow the rules. This is the job of the regulator, known as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

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The government has announced plans to make buying or selling a home cheaper and quicker with what is being called the “biggest shake-up to the homebuying system in this country’s history.”

Almost one in five equity release mortgages are now taken out to provide financial support to family.

According to industry data, the expected wait for those looking to buy a property has dropped from just over 11 months to less than six months.

It is common for your first mortgage payment to be higher than your subsequent monthly payments for two reasons.

Firstly, a big congratulations, you’ve now exchanged contracts! After weeks and months of waiting, you are about to move in. What should you do first?

The chancellor will deliver her second budget this autumn. Due to slow economic growth and high inflation, the government need to manage a £40 billion shortfall in public finances. There have already been reports about changes to taxes including income tax and capital gains tax.

The chancellor has advised that landlords could have another tax to pay this autumn as the Treasury decide whether to extend national insurance contributions to rental income. 

According to a report in the Guardian, senior ministers have asked Treasury officials to look into a “proportional” property tax to see how it would work as an alternative to the existing stamp duty land tax on owner-occupied homes.