Ombudsman
An ombudsman is an independent, impartial official who investigates complaints about public bodies or organisations and makes recommendations to resolve them. In the UK there are several sector-specific ombudsmen including those for financial services, energy, housing, local government, and the NHS. Most ombudsmen are free to complainants and can order financial remedies.
UK ombudsmen are free, independent bodies that resolve disputes between consumers and organisations after the complainant has exhausted the organisation's own complaints process. Key ombudsmen include the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for banking, insurance, and credit; the Energy Ombudsman for gas and electricity suppliers; the Housing Ombudsman for social housing providers; the Legal Ombudsman for solicitors; and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) for NHS and central government complaints. Most schemes require you to wait 8 weeks after your initial complaint (or receive a deadlock letter) before referring the case. Ombudsman decisions are binding on the organisation if you accept them, but you are free to reject the ruling and pursue other action. Regulators differ from ombudsmen — they oversee the sector but do not award individual compensation.
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