FOS gets new powers from 1 April under the Financial Services Bill but said it wants to build up a “representative sample” of final decisions before it makes them available on its website, adding the first batch will likely go live from July.

In a note on the FOS website, it states: “As we will not be publishing ombudsman decisions retrospectively, we also want to make sure that when the new database first goes live, it will hold enough decisions to show the full range of work we do.”

The final decisions – where FOS has made a legally binding ruling on complaints by consumers against financial firms – will not contain the name of the consumer, but will name the firm involved.

All final decisions will be published, not cases where the FOS has upheld the complaint in the favour of the consumer.

The published decisions will be available in a searchable database on the FOS website.

A FOS spokesperson said the aim of publishing the decisions is to increase transparency but also to act as a guide for other firms on how not to operate.

“It’s going to help with the customer experience but firms can learn from the decisions and develop their own complaints handling processes accordingly,” the spokesperson said.