The ombudsman's decisions are public. The pattern is hard to see.
We analysed the Financial Ombudsman's published decisions from 2013-04-02 to 2026-04-30. That means hundreds of thousands of real complaints about banks, insurers and lenders.
Hundreds of thousands of real cases, updated 06.07.2026
Who wins against the banks?
The Financial Ombudsman is the UK's free, official complaints service for banks, insurers and lenders — most people have never heard of it. We analysed its published decisions. The short version: about 1 in 3 people who refuse to give up end up winning. But your type of complaint matters a lot.
The ombudsman
The ombudsman's decisions are public. The pattern is hard to see.
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Real casespublished by the ombudsman
2013-April 2026. The bars show how many cases appear by year in the checked data.
About 1 in 3 people who kept going won.
In the data, 33.5% of cases with a clear result ended with the customer winning fully or partly. The average hides big differences by problem type.
Loans and credit complaints are one of the strongest groups.
People won nearly half (43.8%) of those cases in our data. Banking complaints are lower. Insurance, mortgages, pensions and investments each have their own pattern.
Complaints about scams have exploded in the last five years.
The ombudsman sides with customers in about 1 in 3 (32.7%) of scam cases in this broad group. The details matter: warnings, timing and what your bank did after you reported it.
Pick the situation that sounds most like yours.
This is a rough guide based on similar cases. It is not a prediction about your case.
Even when you win, the payout is not one-size-fits-all.
It is usually worked out case by case, like a refund plus interest. Some cases include a set amount for stress or hassle. No amount is promised here.
The data helps. Your facts decide the strategy.
The useful question is what happened, what your bank, insurer or lender said, and what proof you have.
Start with your factsMethodology
Read the numbers with the plain-English caveats.
Source
Published Financial Ombudsman Service decisions from 2013-April 2026. This page analyses 399161 published decisions in the checked-in aggregate, with dates from 2013-04-02 to 2026-04-30.
What win means
A win means the Financial Ombudsman agreed with the customer fully or partly. Cases where the result is unclear are shown in the data but left out of the percentage.
Rough-guide caveat
The picker groups similar complaint categories. It is a rough guide based on similar cases, not a prediction about your case.
Not advice
Past results can't predict your case - every case is different. This isn't legal advice. No firm names, case references or payout promises are used on this page.