In its proposed plan and budget, published today, the service said it will set an operating income budget of around £221m for 2015/16, and plans to end 2014/15 with total operating income of around £254m.
Despite the cuts, the service will require an overall levy of £23.3m, which is the same as it collected over 2014/15.
“This means that most businesses are likely to pay a similar levy in 2015/2016. However, the exact amount a business will pay will depend on the fee block they are in because of the tariff rates the FCA sets for each fee block,” it added.
In the 2015/16 period, the FOS will introduce a digital platform to provide multi-channel access to its services, as well as recruiting 200 more case handlers.
The service has projected a collective total of 3000 cases each week, adding an annual total of 150,000 new cases to the 280,000 unresolved cases it will take forward into the new financial year.
It said it has seen an increase in complaints about unregulated collective investment schemes (UCITS) over 2014/15, with many consumers complaining that what they bought did not match the description they were given.
“[Investment] cases may be complex, so they can take more time to assess and resolve than other cases,” it said. “[UCITS] complaints are particularly challenging – often involving numerous parties and overseas investments.”
Based on current trends, the FOS expects its cases about things other than mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) to reach 125,000 by the end of March this year, an increase on the 120,000 it predicted at the beginning of the 2014/15 period.
It says that much of the unexpected increase has been caused by complaints about packaged bank accounts.
Following an unexpected spike in PPI complaints over 2014/15, the service aims to resolve 100,000 more PPI cases than it receives over 2015/16, with the hope of having around 180,000 cases remaining by March 2016.
“Significant challenge”
Caroline Wayman, chief ombudsman, said: “Over the last few years the Ombudsman’s workload has increased substantially, and the volatility of complaint levels remains a significant challenge when planning for the future.
“But we’re finally seeing evidence that the number of complaints referred to us by consumers is starting to stabilise. No two financial complaints are alike. So from payday loans to pension drawdowns, our principal focus this year continues to be on placing fairness at the heart of what we do.”
The FOS was set up by law to resolve individual disputes between consumers and financial businesses, and is funded by the financial services industry.
Its principles have been used to underpin a new EU Directive on alternative dispute resolution, which will come into force in July 2015.
The service is currently welcoming responses to its consultation, with the final budget being published in March. Responses must be made by 16 February.
In September, the service revealed that Sesame received more complaints than any other advisory firm over the first half of 2014.
