Verus Financial Services and FSCS: how former clients can check if they can claim

Verus Financial Services Limited, a failed independent financial adviser, is now under investigation by the FSCS, which opened to claims on 15 October 2026. If you took investment, pension, mortgage, equity release or insurance advice from the firm, you may be able to check whether you can claim compensation. It is free.

Key takeaways

• The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is open to claims against Verus. It says it is still investigating whether claims meet the conditions for compensation, and this may take some time.
• Verus advised on investments, pensions, mortgages, equity release and insurance. The FCA removed all of its permissions, so it can no longer give advice.
• For investment, pension and mortgage advice, the FSCS lists a limit of up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm for firms that failed after 1 April 2019.
• It is free to claim, and you keep 100% of any compensation if you claim directly. You do not need a claims company or solicitor.
• The FSCS and FCA warn about scams. End unexpected calls from anyone claiming to be Verus.

What happened to Verus Financial Services?

Verus Financial Services Limited was authorised by the FCA from March 2017. The FCA says it provided investment, pension, mortgage, equity release and insurance advice.

In 2025 the FCA removed all of its regulatory permissions and imposed a stricter asset restriction. The FCA gave three concerns in its First Supervisory Notice of 27 October 2025:

• The firm admitted that it repeatedly and deliberately breached an asset restriction it had agreed in September 2023.
• It did not comply with a Financial Ombudsman Service decision made in favour of a customer.
• It was not open and cooperative with the FCA.

The FCA also says there is no direct link between the restrictions on the firm and how the underlying investments it arranged have performed. A restriction on the firm does not, by itself, tell you whether your own investment lost value.

Can I claim with FSCS?

The FSCS protects customers of authorised firms that have failed and cannot pay what they owe. It may be able to pay compensation, subject to its own eligibility rules.

The FSCS has said two things you should know. It is open to claims, but claims will not be passed straight to its assessment teams, because it is first checking whether they meet the qualifying conditions. That work may take a while.

Use this table to see where you may fit.

How much could FSCS pay?

The FSCS publishes limits by type of claim. For firms that failed after 1 April 2019, its pages say:

• Investments: up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm.
• Pension advice: up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm where a firm gave bad pension advice.
• Mortgage advice: up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm.

Other conditions apply. The FSCS says, for example, that advice claims for investments must relate to advice given on or after 28 August 1988. For mortgage advice, the advice must have been given on or after 31 October 2004, and it generally covers a UK home that is your main residence.

Equity release and insurance advice have their own rules. Check the FSCS pages for those products, or ask the FSCS helpline. These limits are the published ones. The FSCS decides each claim on its facts.

What should I do if I already complained to the Ombudsman?

The FCA says that if you have already referred a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Ombudsman will contact you in due course about next steps.

You will still need to make a claim with FSCS. You do not need to provide evidence that the Ombudsman already holds, if it transfers your file to the FSCS. The Ombudsman may contact you to ask for your permission to transfer it.

What evidence helps

• The suitability report, recommendation letter or advice summary
• Fee agreements, invoices and statements showing charges you paid
• Valuation statements showing what you invested and what it was worth later
• Emails, meeting notes or call records about what the adviser told you
• Any complaint reference, final response letter or Ombudsman correspondence

How to structure your FSCS claim

1. Check first. Start with the FSCS online check for Verus (FRN 765214), and answer each question as accurately as you can.
2. Describe the advice. Say what Verus advised, when, and what risks it explained.
3. Set out the loss. Show what you put in, what you hold now, and how you worked out the difference.
4. Explain why you think the advice was unsuitable. Use your documents, not guesses.
5. Keep copies of everything you send, with dates.

When and how to escalate

Start with the FSCS (helpline 0800 678 1100). You can also subscribe to updates on its Verus page. If you are unhappy with how a claim is handled, ask the FSCS what options you have.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is free to use and may be able to look at complaints about regulated advisers, depending on the circumstances. For Verus, the Ombudsman will contact people who already have a complaint with it.

Beware of scams

Fraudsters sometimes pretend to be from a firm that failed, or offer to "recover" your money for a fee. The FCA says that if you get an unexpected call from someone claiming to be from Verus, you should end the call straight away. The FSCS says it will never ask you for money to make a claim.

The FCA has also warned about Verus Estates Ltd, a connected firm that is not authorised. Check any firm on the FCA Firm Checker before you share personal details.

Related guides

HeyRefund has covered similar adviser and investment firm failures, including Chandler King (City) Limited in liquidation, InterestMe Financial Planning in administration and the Prosper Capital and Crowd2Let FSCS claim. For the general process, see how to complain about a bank or insurer.

How HeyRefund can help

If you want help pulling your advice documents, dates and losses into one clear file before you answer the FSCS questions, HeyRefund can help you organise them.

Everything above you can do yourself for free, directly with the FSCS and the Financial Ombudsman Service. HeyRefund just makes the file easier to build.

Sources: FCA, FCA encourages former Verus Financial Services Limited customers to check if they can claim with FSCS (Last checked: 30.10.2026); FCA, FCA stops Verus Financial Services Limited from carrying out regulated activities (Last checked: 30.10.2026); FSCS, Verus Financial Services Ltd (Last checked: 30.10.2026); FSCS, Investments: what we cover (Last checked: 30.10.2026); FSCS, Pensions: what we cover (Last checked: 30.10.2026); FSCS, Mortgages: what we cover (Last checked: 30.10.2026); FCA, Verus Estates Ltd warning (Last checked: 30.10.2026); Financial Ombudsman Service, Investment complaints (Last checked: 30.10.2026).