The Financial Ombudsman Service said today it expects to receive 188,000 cases in 2026/27, while resolving 245,000 cases.
The FOS is consulting on its Plans and Budget for the next financial year.
It said 60,000 of the cases it plans to resolve in the next financial year will be motor finance commission (MFC) cases.
The remaining cases will be non-motor finance complaints, such as insurance, investments, pensions and banking, it added.
For the current 2025/26 year, the Financial Ombudsman’s latest forecast shows that it expects to receive around 205,000 cases. By comparison, in 2024/25 the Ombudsman received more than 305,000 cases.
The reduction in case volumes compared to recent years is due to new measures introduced, including introducing a case fee for professional representatives, FOS said.
It said it has improved its timeliness over the last two years and plans to build on this with a target to resolve over 80% of cases within six months.
It also said it expects complaints about Buy Now Pay Later (Deferred Payment Credit) products to come into its jurisdiction in July 2026, meaning it is likely to start receiving complaints in the second half of 2026/27. It reckons it will receive around 2,000 cases on BNPL issues including general administration, problems with credit files and perceived irresponsible lending.
As previously announced, the FOS has changed the interest it applies to some of the awards it directs financial businesses to make. That came into force on 1 January. It has also made an interest calculator available to businesses to provide further support in helping them adapt to the new interest rate.
Jenny Simmonds, interim chief executive at the Financial Ombudsman Service, said: “The continuous delivery of changes and improvements to our service and the framework in which we operate will be a key focus next year.
“We are continuing to drive operational efficiencies while maintaining the quality of our service, ensuring that we have the resources in place to enable us to resolve complaints in a timely manner.”
He said the next year will be a crucial one for the service and it welcomes views from stakeholders on our proposals. “We want to lay the foundations for an agile, responsive and modern Financial Ombudsman which is fit for the future and has the confidence of consumers and financial businesses alike.”
The FOS is also consulting on proposals to increase its case fee from £650 to £680 and compulsory levy to £86m.
It said the proposed costs for businesses represent a significant saving on 2023/24 levels, as the FOS continues to focus on efficiency savings. Charges for professional representatives would increase from £250 to £260, with the credit if the case is found in favour of the complainant increasing from £175 to £180.
The consultation on the Financial Ombudsman Service’s Plans and Budget 2026/27 is open until 21 January. The consultation paper is here.