Compulsive spending and gambling harm

People bring complaints to us when compulsive spending, including gambling, has caused them money problems and they believe a financial business:

• could have done more to stop that happening
• could have helped them
• did something wrong and they've lost out as a result.

We see cases that involve compulsive spending about every financial product, including:

• general banking
• loans
• mortgage extensions
• pensions that have been used for gambling, and
• high-risk investments.

Compulsive spending harm – which can include gambling related harm – is caused by manic, uncontrolled spending.

When someone’s spending habits are out of control, it can affect their mental and physical health, relationships and finances. That makes them vulnerable.

The Financial Conduct Authority expects financial businesses to ensure vulnerable customers are treated fairly.

Find out more about the FCA's guidance on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers.

We only look at complaints you've had an opportunity to look into first. If the consumer is unhappy with your decision – or you don't respond to them within the time limits – they can come to us. 

Each case is different, so what we require will vary. But we’ll look at the facts and evidence from both you and your customer. What we consider will usually include:

• relevant laws and regulations
• regulators’ rules in place when the event happened 
• guidance, standards and codes of practice in place at the time of the event.

We may ask additional questions or for specific information, for example, to explore whether your firm complied with the Consumer Duty.

We follow the FCA’s dispute resolution rules (DISP) and will take into account how you’ve tried to put things right. We’ll also consider whether any sale involved was by a 'tied' representative of a product provider, or an independent financial adviser.

If we uphold a consumer's complaint, we'll tell you what you need to do to put things right. This could be by:

• making changes to a product or account
• paying compensation for financial loss
• making changes to a credit file, or
• doing things differently for this customer in the future.

We may also ask you to compensate them for any distress or inconvenience they’ve experienced as a result of the problem.

Businesses and consumer advisers can contact our Business Support Hub on 020 7964 1400 for information on how we might look at a particular complaint, or for guidance on our rules and how we work.

We also work with businesses and other organisations to help prevent complaints.