From the 1 April 2019, the Financial Conduct Authority is applying new rules to allow Small and Medium-Sized businesses (SMEs) to access the Financial Ombudsman Service to make it easier for them to resolve disputes.
The intended effect of these changes is to make it easier for SMEs and personal guarantors to resolve disputes with firms to further the FCA’s consumer protection objective.
The FCA feel that at present, SMEs are likely to struggle to resolve disputes with firms as they do not have the necessary financial management and legal resources and may therefore be unable to pursue redress when firms have treated them poorly.
In addition to this change, FOS is also taking steps on 1 April 2019 to increase the maximum amount of compensation that the ombudsman can award.
More information and a factsheet can be found on the BVRLA website
