Mark Hollands, Ombudsman from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has been confirmed as a speaker at the Compliance Forum next week.
Mark will be having a fireside chat with the BVRLA’s Shashi Maharaj. They will speak about the best practice in complaint handling following the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s Motor Finance Redress Scheme Consultation and the most recent quarterly complaints update from FOS, as well as:
- Volumes of complaints
- Insights into work with Claims Management Companies and Professional Representatives
- Irresponsible/unaffordable lending cases
- Insight into the use of AI in complaint handling by those handling complaints and consumers alike.
Hosted by S&W at The Platform, Sixty London Wall on Wednesday 12 November from 12.30pm, the forum’s agenda has been carefully designed around the topics members most want to explore. The insightful afternoon will also cover:
- Non-Financial Misconduct Unpacked: What the New Rules Mean for Members and their Clients. Keynote speaker: Andrew Jacobs, Partner and Head of Regulatory Consulting, S&W
- Motor Finance Redress Scheme – What Next for Those Out-of-Scope? Keynote speaker: Luis Hernandez, Associate Director, S&W.
Emma Mitchelle, Managing Director, Conduct Regulation at Konexo (Part of Evershed Sutherland LLP) will be speaking to members about the Consumer Duty - what are the FCA planning for 2025 into 2026 and how will its action plan (published September 2025) impact members?
Subscribers to the Compliance Forum programme can send two colleagues as part of their package. To confirm attendees or discuss additional places, email [email protected]
Not yet subscribed? It may still be possible to attend this final event of 2025 – contact the compliance team to discuss.
From 1 January 2026, the Financial Ombudsman Service will change how it calculates interest on compensation awards for claims involving deprivation of money, moving from a flat 8% per year to a variable rate based on the time-weighted average Bank of England base rate plus 1% (simple interest).
This change reflects the fact that the old 8% rate no longer mirrors market conditions and could overcompensate; the new approach aims to reflect actual consumer losses more fairly. For most cases, this will result in lower interest rates than the current 8%, reducing the financial liability for firms, although late payments will still attract the 8% rate. Complaints referred before 1 January 2026 will continue to use the old flat rate.
Full guidance: Financial Ombudsman Service Consultations: Guidance on interest awards.
