Abby Thomas, CEO and Chief Ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service, has exited the organisation this week in a shock departure.

The exit comes amid reports of a disagreement over planned FOS fees to be charged to claims management companies.

Ms Thomas, an expert in customer service in the mobile phone sector, took up the role in October 2022 from Nausicaa Delfas who was seconded to the FOS from the FCA.

The FOS says that interim arrangements will apply with Deputy Chief Ombudsman James Dipple-Johnstone covering the Chief Ombudsman role and the chief finance and risk officer, Jenny Simmonds, covering the chief executive role.

Financial Planning Today has asked the FOS if there have been disagreements at board level on fees for CMCs and what arrangements will be put in place to find a new permanent CEO. The FOS has declined to comment beyond its statement confirming Ms Thomas has left. 

Sky News claimed that that Ms Thomas was embroiled in disputes with fellow directors over issues including the introduction of a fee for claims management companies (CMCs).

The government is also known to want reform of the regulatory sector, including the FOS.

Britain's banks and insurers have argued for a fee to be imposed on CMCs that would deter spurious ambulance-chasing, with the FOS proposing last May to establish a £250 charge. Industry executives said that Ms Thomas had argued for a much lower fee - said to be as low as £25, Sky News reported.

Senior staff were keeping tight lipped today about reports of disagreements.

In a brief statement, FOS board chair Baroness Manzoor said: “On behalf of the board and the executive, I would like to record our thanks and wish Abby every success in her future career."

Ms Thomas said: “It has been an absolute privilege to lead the Financial Ombudsman Service through this period of rapid transformation and innovation. I am immensely grateful to the entire Ombudsman team for everything that they do to support our customers and build confidence in the financial services industry."

The Financial Ombudsman Service hired mobile phone customer service executive Ms Thomas to be its CEO and Chief Ombudsman in 2022. She has substantial consumer experience in the mobile phone sector and worked for Virgin Media O2 and other firms. 

In December the Ombudsman predicted high demand for its services in the coming year, expecting around 240,000 cases in 2025/26, according to its proposals for the year.

The Financial Ombudsman Services said in December it would freeze case fees and levies for firms for the 2025/26 financial year. Charges were reduced for the current financial year, with case fees coming down to £650 for respondent businesses, as well as a reduction to the compulsory and voluntary jurisdiction levies.