The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, Liam Sloyan, received a record 7,004 complaints in 2025. The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman is an independent government-provided service that helps resolve consumer complaints about financial service providers and pension providers, and it’s been in existence since 2017, formed by the merger of the former Financial Services Ombudsman Bureau and the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman.
Most cases were closed within 12 months, and there were payouts worth €6.2m, including a single payout of €0.5m. Banking complaints were 54% of the total, with 31% related to insurance, 7% dealing with investments and 4% with pensions. In particular, Mr. Sloyan noted, the number of tracker mortgage complaints the FSPO deals with each year continues to decline – there were only 11 in 2025. Overall, the majority of complaints are about customer service. Complaints about insurance have risen more than any other, doubling in the last three years.
“A key driver of the high level of complaints received is the 18% increase in insurance related complaints, in particular motor insurance, as well as a continuing upward trend in the number of complaints received related to disputed transactions in banking,” Mr. Sloyan said.
Cases of actual fraud are criminal matters, and are passed to the Gardaí to handle, but the FSPO examines other dealings around the time of the fraud occurring. Mr. Sloyan said “It is important to note that the FSPO cannot investigate instances of fraud, as that is a matter for An Garda Síochána, or the Courts. However, the FSPO can investigate a complaint which relates to service failings of the provider in dealing with a customer who suspects fraud on their account, and any complaint about unauthorised transactions.”
During 2025, the FSPO’s Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) closed 41% of all complaints, amounting to settlements totalling €4,568,025 to complainants. This is in comparison to €4,271,372 in 2024 and €2,943,493 in 2023). Adding in complaints closed in their Customer Operations and Information Management Department (COIM), they closed 91% of all complaints during 2025 in early-stage processes, without the requirement for a formal investigation or a legally binding decision.
