Final Response Letter
A Final Response Letter is a written communication from a company setting out its final position on a customer complaint and informing the customer of their right to escalate the matter to an ombudsman or ADR scheme. In regulated sectors such as financial services, firms are required to issue a final response within eight weeks of receiving a complaint. The letter effectively opens the door to external dispute resolution.
Statutory deadlines for issuing a final response vary by regulator: FCA-regulated firms (banks, insurers, credit providers) must respond within 8 weeks; Ofgem-regulated energy suppliers within 8 weeks; Ofcom-regulated telecoms providers within 8 weeks. If the deadline passes without a final response, you can treat the complaint as deadlocked and go straight to the relevant ADR scheme or ombudsman. Once a final response is issued, you typically have six months to refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), or the timeframe set by the relevant scheme — check the letter carefully as it must name the ombudsman or ADR body you can use. If the company needs more time, it should send an interim response explaining why. Keep all correspondence and note the date you submitted the original complaint — this is day one for the deadline clock.