On 1 March 2024, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) published their latest quarterly data and information on the complaints it sees about financial products and services. This includes the number of enquiries and new complaints received, as well as the proportion of complaints resolved in favour of consumers, or ‘upheld’.
The key findings of the report were:
- Overall, the FOS received 81,036 enquiries and 47,868 new complaints about financial products and services.
- This was an increase on the number of complaints received in the same quarter of last year, up from 41,303 new complaints in Q3 2022/23.
- On average, across financial products, the FOS upheld 35% of the cases it resolved in Q3 in favour of the consumer.
- Complaints relating to credit cards reached the highest level ever recorded in a three-month period.
- All the top five most complained about products have seen year-on-year increases, with current accounts continuing to be the most complained about financial product.
The top five most complained about products and services were:
- Current accounts, with 7,804 complaints.
- Credit cards, with 5,660 complaints.
- Hire purchase (motor), with 5,419 complaints.
- Car/motorcycle insurance, with 4,123 complaints.
- Buildings insurance, with 1,666 complaints.
Commenting on the new figures, Abby Thomas, Chief Executive and Chief Ombudsman of the Financial Ombudsman Service, said “Lenders have a duty to support their customers whatever their circumstances and are obliged to help people who are struggling with debt.”