This Policy Statement (PS) summarises the feedback to CP25/13, confirms our final rules and guidance, and sets out the next steps for implementation.
We have finalised our rules, building on the proposals in CP25/13[2]. We will implement the following changes.
There will be a single, unified complaints return to replace five of the existing complaints returns (DISP 1 Annex 1, Consumer Credit Return (CCR), Funeral Plans (FP), Claims Management Companies (CMCs), and Electronic Money and Payment Services Return (PSR)).
Complaints reporting will be based on firms’ permissions. Firms will only need to complete the sections of the new return relevant to their regulated activities.
We are taking a proportionate approach and making it simpler for firms with no complaints to report to complete their return.
Firms will now be required to submit complaints data at individual firm level, increasing transparency and improving regulatory oversight.
We have updated the complaints taxonomy originally shared in the consultation and in the prototype of the new return we provided alongside CP25/13[2].
We are taking a targeted approach to firms reporting contextualised complaints data. We are retaining reporting of this data for Retail Banking, Insurance, Payment Services and CMCs firms only.
Firms must have regard to our Vulnerability Guidance and the 4 drivers of vulnerability (health, life events, resilience and capability) when recording complaints data. Firms will be required to report vulnerable customer data for two specific data points:
Firms should only collect data in line with regulatory requirements and the law, including data protection law.
All firms will now report their complaints data on a fixed 6-monthly and calendar-year basis.
We are providing clearer descriptions of product and service categories against which firms are to report to promote greater consistency of interpretation.
We are setting a threshold of 500 complaints or more above which we will publish the relevant firms’ data.
Our PS25/19 consultation closed on 2 February 2026. Our final changes following the consultation are described in Handbook Notice 139[3], paragraphs 3.93 to 3.104, and are set out in the Complaints Reporting Instrument 2026 (27 March 2026) by following the link in paragraph 4.3 in Handbook Notice 139.
This PS will be of interest to:
Those firms affected by these changes will need to make the appropriate internal process and system changes to meet the requirements set out in this PS.
We will provide further communication about the new return and the user testing we will complete so that affected firms can adequately prepare for recording complaints from the first relevant reporting period under the new arrangements, namely 1 January to 30 June 2027.
Complaints data is invaluable as it plays a crucial role in helping us decipher market trends and identify both current and emerging harms to consumers. This data is also instrumental in improving our understanding of the outcomes for consumers after they have lodged complaints with firms.
We received feedback from various firms and stakeholders expressing the need for a more streamlined, proportionate, and modernised reporting system. In response to this, we published CP25/13[3] in May 2025.
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