The ombudsman awards compensation for material distress and inconvenience in about a quarter of the cases it looks at. You can charge for your time. Hidden in its compensation guidelines, it states it will award compensation for the time you've spent resolving your complaint. However it won't usually award this as an hourly or daily rate. Instead it will take into account the overall impact the time spent has had on you.
This is great news if you've unfairly experienced problems due to your bank or finance company, as the ombudsman officially recognises the time you spend rectifying the issue is worth something.
So when you do complain to the ombudsman, if you've spent significant time and hassle going through the process, be sure to include an estimate (or if you've got it, proof) of the hours you've spent chasing the issue, and ask for compensation according to its guidelines. You won't always get it – but you're much more likely to if you ask for it.
You could go one step further and use this as a stick to hit an unhelpful company straight away. The compensation guidelines only officially apply for complaints resolved by the ombudsman. But when you complain to the company, indicate you'll be asking the ombudsman for compensation. It may help make it settle.