Trends
How the Ombudsman’s caseload and uphold rate have moved over time.
About these dates. FOS decisions do not print a decision date. They print the deadline for the consumer to accept, which is set about a month ahead. Years here are derived from that deadline, so a decision made in late December may appear in the following year. It is reliable for year-scale trends, not for month-scale ones.
Decisions and uphold rate by year
| Year | Decisions | Upheld | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 115 | 43 | 37.4% |
| 2013 | 3,251 | 625 | 19.2% |
| 2014 | 2,747 | 539 | 19.6% |
| 2015 | 13,503 | 3,395 | 25.1% |
| 2016 | 12,079 | 3,479 | 28.8% |
| 2017 | 11,939 | 3,590 | 30.1% |
| 2018 | 10,306 | 3,055 | 29.6% |
| 2019 | 10,645 | 3,644 | 34.2% |
| 2020 | 13,689 | 5,312 | 38.8% |
| 2021 | 13,561 | 5,078 | 37.4% |
| 2022 | 15,841 | 5,778 | 36.5% |
| 2023 | 14,283 | 5,012 | 35.1% |
| 2024 | 16,819 | 5,935 | 35.3% |
| 2025 | 20,259 | 5,702 | 28.1% |
| 2026 | 16,797 | 3,262 | 19.4% |
Most-decided issue each year
| Year | Leading issue | Decisions |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Irresponsible lending | 27 |
| 2008 | Product mis-sold | 27 |
| 2012 | Charges and fees | 31 |
| 2013 | Charges and fees | 617 |
| 2014 | Charges and fees | 440 |
| 2015 | Product mis-sold | 3,332 |
| 2016 | Product mis-sold | 2,908 |
| 2017 | Irresponsible lending | 2,216 |
| 2018 | Irresponsible lending | 1,919 |
| 2019 | Irresponsible lending | 2,062 |
| 2020 | Irresponsible lending | 3,236 |
| 2021 | Irresponsible lending | 2,430 |
| 2022 | Irresponsible lending | 3,087 |
| 2023 | Irresponsible lending | 2,479 |
| 2024 | APP scam refund refused | 3,198 |
| 2025 | APP scam refund refused | 5,811 |
| 2026 | Irresponsible lending | 4,130 |