The consumer body Choice has urged the remaining financial dispute resolution schemes that have yet to join the new Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to “get on board”.
A statement from Choice said that while the Government’s recent agreement to introduce a national law for consumer credit would lead to even more accessible dispute resolution for consumers, the “one downside” is that some smaller dispute resolution schemes are yet to indicate their support for the FOS.
It’s expected that the new national consumer credit law will require all credit providers to belong to an external dispute resolution scheme, such as the FOS.
“At present, many non-bank credit providers do not submit themselves to external dispute resolution,” the statement said.
Choice has welcomed the launch of the FOS — the merging of the three main ombudsman schemes for financial products and services, which opened its doors on July 1.
The consumer body said it had campaigned for a number of years for a “one-stop shop for consumers” in dispute with their bank, insurance company or other financial services provider.
