posted 29th October 2025
Expert Guidance for Complex and High-Value Financial Ombudsman Cases.
Navigating the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) can be daunting, even for the most financially astute. But when a case involves complex financial products, multiple parties, or high-value losses, the process becomes even more challenging. At Meridian Legal Services, we specialise in complex and high-value Financial Ombudsman cases, combining legal precision, financial insight, and strategic advocacy to secure fair outcomes for our clients.
Understanding Complex Financial Ombudsman Cases.
The Financial Ombudsman Service was established to resolve disputes between consumers (and eligible small businesses) and financial firms fairly and efficiently. While many complaints involve standard products such as current accounts or home insurance, others require detailed knowledge of financial regulation, product structure, and professional standards.
A case is usually deemed complex when:
- Financial products are sophisticated — pensions, investments, or derivatives.
- Multiple parties — an adviser, provider, and platform all sharing responsibility.
- Losses are substantial, often requiring complex actuarial or investment loss calculations.
- The law or regulatory framework overlaps or is ambiguous.
- The complaint involves vulnerability, fraud, or capacity issues that add procedural complexity.
These cases demand not only legal understanding but also deep financial literacy. Without expert representation, valid complaints can be misunderstood or under-compensated.
Common Complex Case Types We Handle.
At Meridian Legal Services, we regularly assist clients across a wide spectrum of complex financial disputes. Our expertise spans both consumer and business-level complaints, including those with six- or seven-figure values.
1. Pension Transfer and Investment Mis-Selling
Thousands of consumers were advised to transfer defined benefit pensions into unsuitable personal schemes or high-risk investments. We scrutinise every stage of the advice process, identify breaches of FCA suitability rules, and ensure that clients receive compensation reflecting the full value of lost retirement benefits.
2. Interest Rate Hedging and Business Lending Disputes.
Small and medium-sized enterprises have suffered serious losses due to interest rate swaps, tailored business loans, and other structured products. We have extensive experience assessing financial modelling, disclosure practices, and the regulator’s expectations to demonstrate where mis-selling occurred and how losses should be quantified.
3. Discretionary Fund Management and Portfolio Misalignment.
Discretionary fund managers are obliged to tailor portfolios to a client’s risk profile and objectives. When portfolios underperform or breach mandates, we perform detailed portfolio analyses and benchmark comparisons to establish causation and ensure full redress.
4. Mortgage and Consumer Credit Complaints.
Even standard financial products can conceal complexity. Interest-only mortgages, bridging loans, or foreign-currency facilities often carry long-term risks that were never adequately explained. Meridian’s legal and financial experts uncover regulatory breaches and hold lenders accountable.
5. Fraud and Authorised Push Payment (APP) Scams.
With financial crime on the rise, many consumers are tricked into authorising payments to fraudsters. These cases often hinge on whether a bank acted with due care. We use the latest FOS decisions and guidance to build compelling arguments that secure redress for victims.
6. Tax-Efficient and Unregulated Investment Schemes.
Investments in film partnerships, mini-bonds, EIS funds, or unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS) have left investors facing devastating losses. We investigate misleading advice, poor due diligence, and breaches of FCA marketing rules, recovering compensation where firms failed to treat clients fairly.
7. Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) and Non-Standard Assets.
Many SIPP operators allowed unregulated or non-standard assets such as overseas property, storage units, or renewable-energy projects into pension portfolios. Meridian is experienced in tracing the advice chain and holding both introducers and SIPP operators responsible for due-diligence failures — recovering substantial pension losses through FOS and FSCS channels.
8. Discretionary Portfolio Failures and Private Wealth Disputes.
High-net-worth investors frequently rely on private banks or discretionary managers who promise bespoke management but deliver unsuitable or high-risk portfolios. Our team analyses investment mandates, transaction data, and performance metrics to expose regulatory breaches and recover losses that can run into the millions.
9. Commercial Property and Bridging Finance Misrepresentation.
We represent investors and SMEs affected by misrepresented property valuations, overstated rental yields, or flawed development-finance arrangements. These cases often involve multi-party liability between lenders, brokers, and valuers, requiring a coordinated and evidence-driven strategy.
10. Professional Adviser Negligence and Multi-Adviser Chains.
Some disputes involve multiple firms — for example, a financial adviser, SIPP provider, and fund manager all contributing to a loss. We untangle these intricate chains of liability, coordinating cross-complaints and ensuring accountability is allocated correctly among regulated entities.
11. Corporate and Partnership-Level Complaints.
The FOS now accepts complaints from small and medium-sized businesses with turnover up to £6.5 million. We represent corporate clients in disputes concerning business interruption insurance, commercial lending, and merchant services — areas that often involve complex legal arguments and large financial exposures.
Why Complex Cases Demand Specialist Expertise.
Although the FOS is designed to be accessible, success in complex or high-value cases depends on the quality of preparation and presentation. A well-founded complaint can fail simply because it lacks the right evidence or regulatory framing. Meridian Legal Services brings a unique combination of legal advocacy and financial analysis to every case. Our process ensures that each complaint is:
- Strategically prepared: We identify key regulatory breaches and quantify financial loss using FCA-compliant methodologies.
- Expertly evidenced: We collaborate with actuaries, accountants, and investment analysts to support our submissions with professional data.
- Persuasively presented: We write in the FOS’s language — fair, reasonable, and grounded in both law and regulation.
- Relentlessly pursued: If necessary, we escalate cases to ombudsman level or seek alternative routes such as judicial review or FSCS intervention.
The Meridian Legal Services Advantage.
Clients often approach us after months of frustration, feeling ignored or outmatched. We transform uncertainty into structured, well-supported advocacy that compels fair resolution. Our team includes specialist financial-services lawyers, former compliance officers, and experienced dispute-resolution professionals who have managed some of the UK’s most intricate Ombudsman and FSCS matters. We have a proven track record of success in high-value pension, investment, and banking disputes, many exceeding seven figures. What distinguishes Meridian is our dual fluency in law and finance. We understand how financial products are designed, sold, and regulated, and we know how to expose weaknesses in firm responses. We also pride ourselves on transparency and communication: clients receive regular updates, realistic timelines, and clear strategic advice throughout the process. Whether you are an individual investor, a retiree, or a business owner, our focus remains the same, achieving fair, proportionate, and commercially sound outcomes in even the most complex financial disputes.
Your Trusted Partner in Complex Financial Justice.
Complex Financial Ombudsman cases require more than persistence; they demand precision, strategy, and deep technical understanding.
At Meridian Legal Services, we stand at the intersection of law, regulation, and finance, bringing clarity where complexity reigns.
If you are facing a challenging or high-value dispute involving investments, pensions, or lending, our experts are ready to help.
Contact Meridian Legal Services today for a confidential consultation and discover how our expertise can turn complexity into clarity, and dispute into resolution.
