Accessibility statement for the Financial Ombudsman Service website

This accessibility statement applies to the following sites and sub-domains:

• https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk 
• https://sme.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
• https://cmc.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
• https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/
• https://financialombudsman.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/
  FinancialOmbudsmanServiceLink
• https://interest-calculator.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/
• https://complaintsubmission.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

This website is run by the Financial Ombudsman Service and is designed to be compatible with a range of assistive software, including screen readers like JAWS and NVDA, and speech recognition software. We want our website to be accessible to as many people as possible. For example, that means you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
• use ReciteMe accessibility tool bar to customise our site in a way that works for you

We aim to make our website text as straightforward and simple as possible. To help support our commitment to clear communications, we’re a member of the Plain Language Commission and our website has been accredited the Clear English Standard.

Get help changing your computer settings 

There are lots of things you can do on your computer to make web pages more accessible. For example, you can:

• magnify your screen
• change text size and colours
• make your mouse easier to use
• use screen readers and talking browsers

If you need help doing these things, you’ll find clear and helpful guidance on AbilityNet.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of these websites are not fully accessible:

Our website

• Includes non-descriptive images
• Some elements can be difficult to navigate for keyboard only users
• Some headings do not follow a logical hierarchy
• Some elements can be difficult to navigate for screen readers
• Some elements do not include appropriately accessible labels
• Some link text is non descriptive
• Some colours are below minimum contrast ratios
• Search results error are not announced to screen readers
• Search sort feature does not include a visible focus indicator
• Keyboard and voice activation users are unable to determine where the focus is when tabbing through a chart

Our online complaint forms

We have two different versions of our online complaint forms – a newer dynamic complaint form that was launched in April 2026 and an older form that is intended to be used for a smaller number of complaints. The issues on the https://complaintsubmission.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/ version are:

• Labels for form fields are not accurate 
• Fieldset is used without a legend when it is required 
• Heading structure is missing for some headings 
• Expanding controls do not have a name, role and value

The issues on the other version of our online complaint forms are:

• The state of an expanded accordion is not announced to screen reader users
• Error messages are not sufficiently descriptive to help users
• The focus of a button is only shown with the change in the colour
• Some colours are below the minimum contrast ratios

Our job application portal

• Some accessible links are not descriptive
• Filter buttons do not communicate opened state to screen reader users

PDFs in our online decisions database

The PDF documents published within our decisions database are not fully accessible.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, such as an audio recording, large print or braille, please email our accessibility team or call our helpline on 0800 023 4567 – we’ll do our best to meet your needs.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, please contact our Communications team.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

The Financial Ombudsman Service is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

These websites have been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 AA Standard.

These websites are partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below. 

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

We’re working with our website supplier to fix the following issue on our website by July 2026:

• Our login menu icon uses non-descriptive alt text. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A).
• Keyboard focus is not contained within the search dialog. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A) and 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) (Level AA).
• Some headings do not follow a logical hierarchy. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).
• Our newsletter sign up form does not include a language attribute. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 3.1.1 Language of Page (Level A).
• Our feedback and decision filter search buttons include unneeded aria labels. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
• Our tab menu feature doesn’t include an accessible name. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
• Some of our links are not descriptive of the destination. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A).
• Some of our links are not clear that they open in new windows. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A) and 2.5.3 Label in Name (Level A).
• Some links use different link text and aria labels. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 2.5.3 Label in Name (Level A).
• The tabbing order of our menu is different that how it appears visually. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.3 Focus order (Level A).
• Our share button does not alert screen readers when it has been expanded. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
• Our newsletter sign up form does not show all required fields. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A).
• Our decision search filters have not been correctly marked up for screen readers. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
• Our case study search button accessible name does not match our main site search buttons accessible name. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 3.2.4 Consistent Identification (Level AA).
• The colour contrast of our search text and some hyperlinks are below the required ratio. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA).
• The no results message for our case studies search is not announced to screen readers. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 4.1.3 Status Messages (Level AA).
• Our table sortable functionality does not display a focus indicator. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA).
• Keyboard and voice activation users are unable to determine where focus is on our charts. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA).

The third-party supplier of our data charts, Visme, can’t fix the issues identified in our testing. Because of this, we’re looking to move to a new supplier by July 2026.

Our online complaint forms

Our online complaint forms provide a key way for people to submit complaints to us in a structured format. The forms are structured in a way which ensures we receive the information we need to be able to decide if it’s a complaint we can help with.

We currently have two versions of our complaint forms. The identified issues listed below apply to this URL: https://complaintsubmission.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/. We’re working to fix these issues by July 2026. The identified issues are:

• Decorative images have an empty alt attribute. This fails success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A). 
• Heading markup is missing for headings. This fails success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA). 
• Non-tabular data has been given table markup. This fails success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A). 
• Fieldset and Legend are being used inappropriately. This fails success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A) and 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A). 
• An input has an incorrect programmatic purpose. This fails success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose (Level AA). 
• Labels for form fields are not accurate. This fails success criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA). 
• Fieldset is used without a legend where it is required. This fails success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).  
• Errors that apply to groups of controls are not programmatically associated with that group. This fails success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 3.3.1 Error Identification (Level A) and 3.3.3 Error Suggestion (Level AA). 
• When a user submits a form and an error is detected, non-sighted users aren't aware of the error notification. This fails success criterion 3.3.1 Error Identification (Level A), 3.3.3 Error Suggestion (Level AA) and 4.1.3 Status Messages (Level AA). 
• Excessive status updates are provided. This fails success criterion 4.1.3 Status Messages (Level AA). 
• The page title does not accurately describe the page content. This fails success criterion 2.4.2 Page Titled (Level A). 
• Expanding controls do not have an appropriate name, role and value. This fails success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A). 
• Progress or step information is not marked up correctly. This fails success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

The other version of our complaint form is managed by our supplier, KnowBe4. We’re working with them on a series of updates to fix the below issues by July 2026. The identified issues are:

• The opened state of the ‘Upload restrictions’ button is not announced to screen reader users. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
• Error messages are not descriptive to aid users in resolving the errors and some use colour to show errors. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 3.3.1 Error Identification (Level A) and 1.4.1 Use of Color (Level A)
• The ‘Upload restrictions’ button only show its focussed state by colour. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 1.4.1 Use of Colour (Level A).
• The colour contrast of the ‘Required’ text and the background is below the requirements for contrast minimum. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA).
• The ‘Select Files’ button focus indicator colour is below required requirements for contrast minimum. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (Level AA).

Other ways of bringing a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service include calling us on our helpline and we can take details over the phone or arrange to send a form in a different format. More information about how to contact us to make a complaint is available on our contact us page.

Our job application portal

Our job application portal provides a key way for people to view current job vacancies and to apply for employment with the organisation. Our end to end recruitment processes use third-party software and we are working with our supplier to scope and fix the accessibility issues highlighted by our most recent accessibility testing. The identified issues are:

• Some links are not descriptive of its destination for screen reader users. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A).
• The logo image uses unclear alt text. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 2.5.3 Label in Name (Level A).
• Filter search buttons do not announce the open state to screen reader users. This fails WACAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

We are currently working with our supplier on a series of updates to fix these issues by July 2026. 

Ombudsman Connect for Business PDF Access Request form

Financial businesses who want to request access to our online portal, Ombudsman Connect for Business, are asked to use a PDF form to do so. 

The PDF document is not fully accessible to screen reader software. The identified issues are:

• Not all of the content is structured using appropriate tags to convey semantic meaning (e.g., headings, lists, tables, and form fields). This issue fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)
• There are no instructions or help text to guide users on how to fill out the form correctly. This issue fails WCAG 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A)
• The form fields haven’t had name, role and value properties assigned. This means that assistive technologies can’t understand what they are and how they relate to the rest of the form. This issue fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)

We are currently working on the creation of an accessible online alternative. In the meantime, we believe that complying with the accessibility requirement in the accessibility regulations to deal with the issues listed above would impose a disproportionate burden on the Financial Ombudsman.

The PDF Access Request form is a temporary option for a limited number of business customers until a long-term online solution is implemented. Website development costs would result in a disproportionate amount of the project budget being allocated to a form which will be accessed by a small and limited number of users. The broader project budget is being reviewed to allocate funds to producing an accessible online form in coming months. We expect this to be available in the next six months, by the end of May 2026.

Users who require an alternative to this form or require accessibility support with its completion during the next six months can instead contact our portal administration team by emailing: [email protected]. 

Disproportionate burden

We use a series of systems to publish PDF versions of the final decision letters that are contained in the decisions database on our website. The PDF documents published in the database that were created before April 2026 are not fully accessible to screen reader software. Specifically:

• our logo isn’t marked as an image in these documents and has no alt text. Users are not made aware of the presence of the image or the meaning of the image – this issue fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content)
• there are no tags on these PDFs meaning that screen reader users may struggle to navigate the contents of the page and understand the relationship between text, headings and list data – this issue fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels)

The decisions database is a key source of information for all website users. It shows all the final decisions we’ve issued since 1 April 2013. Publishing final decisions allows businesses and consumers to learn from our previous decisions and provides transparency to our work. There are therefore clear benefits of the system being accessible to people using assistive software.

Despite these benefits, we believe that complying with the accessibility requirement in the accessibility regulations to deal with the issues listed above would impose a disproportionate burden on the Financial Ombudsman. To make all published decision PDFs that were created before November 2024 compliant with the accessibility requirement would mean significant changes to over 300,000 files the cost of which would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.

We can make specific decision documents available in alternative formats on request. If you need information from us, or from this website, in a different format, such as an audio recording, large print or braille, please email us or call our helpline on 0800 023 4567.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. 

This statement was prepared on 22 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 27 April 2026.

This website was last tested in February 2026 against the WCAG 2.2 AA Standard. The test was carried out by The Digital Accessibility Centre. All aspects of our website were tested by checking a sample of pages covering all of our available page templates and blocks. The testing of the newer dynamic online complaint form was carried out by Dig Inclusion Ltd.