The industry's petition calling on the government to remove the ombudsman's right to consider claims without any long-stop restriction, has passed 5,000 signatures but needs double that to be considered by officials.
The e-petition, addressed to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, reached 5,402 signatures on Wednesday but needs to hit a minimum of 10,000 by 23 July to proceed to the next stage.
Entitled 'Fair Liability for Financial Advice', the petition was started by financial services firm Tenet in August last year and is supported by the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) and insurer Zurich UK.
It asks the government to remove a legislative tool in the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) rules which allows the ombudsman to consider claims against advisers for an indefinite period after the advice was given.
It wants the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to adhere to the powers anchored in common law, which dictates claims must be brought within certain time limits.
If Tenet's petition reaches 10,000 signatures in the coming five weeks it will be submitted directly to the government's petitions committee.
This will then suggest options such as holding its own inquiry, referring it to a departmental select committee, seeking a response from the relevant minister or holding a seminar on the issue.
Since the launch of the petition the FCA has committed to revisiting the issue in the coming year, which was cheered by advisers.
The regulator had first promised to consider a long-stop after the issue was discussed in the House of Lords as part of its scrutiny of the Financial Services Bill, following APFA and Zurich's joint Fair Liability 4 Advice campaign in 2012.
Tenet distribution and development director Helen Turner said: “Right from the start, our main objective was to get the issue of fair liability for financial advisers back on the agenda. “This has now been achieved, with the FCA promising to consult on the re-introduction of a 15-year long-stop on complaints. “Even so, we would encourage anyone who has not yet signed the petition to do so - as well as recruiting the support of their family and friends - to close on the 10,000 target before the 23 July deadline. “The bigger the numbers - the bigger the voice."
