The number of complaints received by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) fell 40% to 165,263 in 2021/22, down from 279,146 in 2020/21, but the precentage of complaints upheld rose.
Overall, across the main financial product areas, it received 108,065 new complaints about banking and credit, 33,127 about insurance, 16,276 about investments and pensions and 5,369 about payment protection insurance (PPI).
Complaints about customer service and administration and from victims of scams topped the list for most complained about financial services in 2021/22, according to the regulator.
Data covering the financial year from April 2021 to March 2022, found “authorised” scams increased by around a fifth in the last financial year, with nearly 9,370 complaints being received compared to 7,770 in 2020/21.
FOS added it was continuing to uphold around three quarters of “authorised” scam complaints in the consumers’ favour.
Administration and customer service problems topped the list of issues where customers encountered problems, with more than 35,000 complaints against financial businesses being brought to FOS, including nearly 25,000 in the banking and credit sector.
The figures showed that in the 2021/22 financial year FOS received 165,263 new complaints about financial businesses in 2021/22 and resolved 218,740 complaints, upholding 38% in favour of the consumer compared with 31% the previous year.
FOS received more than 35,000 complaints about customer service or administration across all financial products. Examples of this included a lack of attention to detail, and sending personal information to the wrong address.
Current accounts were the most complained about product, with nearly 25,000 new cases coming through to FOS.
With the number of cases about ‘authorised’ scams increasing, FOS added it continued to see high numbers of fraud and scams cases in 2021/22, with more than 17,500 new complaints in total. It also saw new trends in scams involving social media and scams relating to fake investments.
Amid the continued fallout from the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, FOS received 57,000 complaints linked to all types of borrowing last year.
For example, it saw an increase in complaints about second charge mortgages, including from people in financially vulnerable positions and in some cases, it reported seeing interest rates of around 35% being applied to the loans.
Nausicaa Delfas, interim chief executive and chief ombudsman said: “Over the past year, the Financial Ombudsman Service continued to help over two hundred thousand customers who had problems with financial businesses on issues across banking, lending, insurance and investments.
“In this period of economic uncertainty it is more important than ever that where problems do arise, they are addressed quickly. We are here to help to resolve financial disputes fairly and impartially.”
