Financial Ombudsman complaints rise 30%

by Gill Montia

Story link: Financial Ombudsman complaints rise 30%

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which resolves disputes between consumers and financial firms, recorded a 30% rise in complaints in the 12 months to March 2008.

Disgruntled consumers made 123,089 complains and 794,648 enquiries.

The mortgage and banking sector generated a three-fold increase, while insurance disputes doubled.

However complaints about mortgage endowments fell during the period, by 70%.

Complaints relating to charges on current accounts rose ten-fold, while payment protection insurance produced a six-fold rise in dissatisfied customers, to nearly 11,000.

In the case of the latter, the majority of complaints related to the way in which policies were sold, rather than rejected claims.

The UK’s six leading financial services groups were named in half of the complaints, although this proportion is roughly in line with the amount of business they carry out.

Ninety-five per cent of the businesses answerable to the Ombudsman Service held an unblemished record throughout the year.

According to the FOS a slowdown in the number of disputes about health insurance, travel insurance and some investment products has continued.

These are areas where specific initiatives have improved standards of customer service within the industry.

The FOS settled 99,699 disputes during the year, with the proportion of complaints upheld varying from between 16% and 84%, according to the sector.