The Office of Fair Trading is asking for your views on the The Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme.

The FSOS provides services for individuals which include complaints handling, conciliation, and mediation with financial firms such as a banks, insurance companies or financial advisers.

The OFT is working alongside the FSC to bring in changes to the scheme, to cover new categories of financial services and allow companies to use the service.

Under the new scheme, the ombudsman could turn down complaints if no financial loss had been suffered, and adjudicators would be appointed by the Appointments Commission instead of the OFT.

Existing and potential users of the FSOS service may not be aware that the consultation process also applies to the legislation that underpins the Scheme and the OFT would like to encourage any persons who wish to comment on the Scheme to do so.

For more details, the government’s website has the full documentation, and you have until February 12 to submit your views.

You can send those to Jane Bates, Head of Policy and Legal Unit at the Financial Supervision Commission.

(Images, left to right: Crests of the Office of Fair Trading and the Manx Government, and the logo of the Financial Supervision Commission).