Complaints from current account customers about scams and claims from credit card holders that lending is unaffordable are among the most common issues seen by the financial ombudsman over the past year.
Car and motorcycle insurance complaints, including perceptions around delays to payouts, are also a theme seen by the service, which resolves stand-offs between consumers and financial firms.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has revealed the most complained-about products in the 2022/23 financial year. Customers of financial firms can ask the ombudsman to step in if they have been unable to come to an agreement.
Between April 2022 and March 2023, the ombudsman received 165,149 complaints, slightly up from 164,560 complaints in 2021/22. It upheld just over a third (35%) of the complaints it resolved in consumers' favour, compared with 34 per cent in the previous financial year.
Current accounts were the most complained-about product, with more than 26,000 new cases. More than half of these complaints were about fraud and scams, and over a third were about administration/customer service, the ombudsman service said.
Credit cards were the second most complained-about product, with irresponsible or unaffordable lending being the most complained-about issue.
The service also said it received an increase in complaints about car and motorcycle insurance, which were largely due to delays to claims being paid out.
There was also a jump in complaints about hire purchase in the motor sector, which was mainly due to a rise in complaints about commission, fees and charges, it said.
Buildings insurance complaints also increased, due to an increase in disputes about declined claims and delays, as well as claim values, it said.
Abby Thomas, chief executive and chief ombudsman of the FOS, said: "Over the past year, the Financial Ombudsman Service continued to help hundreds of thousands of customers who had problems with financial businesses on issues across banking, lending, insurance and investments.
"If consumers have problems with their financial provider, they can come to our service with confidence that we'll resolve their complaint fairly and impartially."
Top five most complained-about products in 2022/23
The figures show the number of complaints received, with the uphold rate for the complaints that were dealt with in 2022/23 in brackets:
- Current accounts, 26,039 (40%)
- Credit cards, 14,504 (34%)
- Car/motorcycle insurance, 11,851 (30%)
- Hire purchase (motor), 11,446 (38%)
- Buildings insurance, 6,497 (33%)
A spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said: "At a time when household budgets are increasingly under pressure, insurers are doing all they can to support customers. In the first quarter of this year, insurers paid out almost two-and-a-half billion pounds in motor claims, and almost three-quarters of a billion pounds in home insurance claims.
"Despite facing their own cost pressures, our members remain fully committed to settling all genuine claims as quickly as possible and to providing exceptional customer service. When a complaint is made, insurers will always aim to deal with them swiftly and will work with the FOS to understand where any learnings can be made."
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