Financial Conduct Authority

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the conduct regulator for financial services in the UK, overseeing over 50,000 firms under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. It succeeded the FSA in 2013 alongside the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and has three statutory objectives: protect consumers, ensure market integrity, and promote competition. Firms carrying out regulated activities (including consumer credit, insurance, investment advice, mortgage lending, and payment services) must be authorised or registered by the FCA before operating. Consumers can check whether a firm is authorised using the FCA Financial Services Register at register.fca.org.uk. Using or dealing with an unauthorised firm voids your protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which protects deposits up to £85,000 and investments up to £85,000. The FCA writes detailed rules in the FCA Handbook (CONC for consumer credit, MCOB for mortgages, ICOBS for insurance, CASS for client assets), and the Consumer Duty (in force July 2023) raised the bar for treating customers fairly. Complaints about FCA-regulated firms that remain unresolved after 8 weeks (or on receipt of a final response letter) can be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) free of charge. The FCA can fine firms, ban individuals, and prosecute serious financial crime.

What it means in practice. For consumers, the FCA matters in three concrete ways. First, authorisation: checking the Financial Services Register before you hand money to anyone is the single most effective anti-fraud step available, because dealing with an unauthorised firm strips you of both ombudsman access and FSCS protection. Second, the rules: the FCA Handbook contains detailed obligations your provider must meet, and quoting the right rule transforms a complaint. Third, the Consumer Duty, which requires firms to deliver good outcomes and to support customers in vulnerable circumstances rather than simply following the small print.

A worked example. Denise falls behind on her mortgage after a bereavement. Her lender starts possession proceedings within three months. She checks MCOB 13, the FCA rules on dealing with customers in arrears, which require the lender to treat her fairly, consider a range of forbearance options, and use repossession only as a last resort. She complains in writing citing those rules and the Consumer Duty, the lender agrees a payment arrangement and pauses the proceedings, and the complaint she had already lodged is upheld with compensation for distress.

Common pitfalls. People complain to the FCA expecting money back. The FCA does not adjudicate individual disputes or award compensation — that is the ombudsman's job — although reporting a firm genuinely does feed its supervision work. Another trap is the "clone firm": fraudsters copy the details of a genuinely authorised firm, so always use the contact details on the Register rather than those in an email or advert. And authorisation is activity-specific: a firm registered only for one activity may be unregulated for what it is actually selling you.

How it relates to other terms. The FCA is a regulator, not an ombudsman. Individual redress comes from the Financial Ombudsman Service, which you can reach once you have a final response letter or eight weeks have passed. Prudential soundness of banks and insurers is supervised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, and mortgage arrears handling specifically is governed by MCOB 13.

What to do next. Check the firm on the Financial Services Register, then follow our financial complaints guide to put the complaint in writing and start the eight-week clock. For insurance disputes read insurance complaints, and for pensions read pension complaints.