Financial services complaints down 2.1 per cent

FCA reveals a drop in the number of complaints about general insurance to 1,204,783.

More than half a million complaints were made about current accounts between January and June, making them the second-most complained about financial product after PPI (payment protection insurance), according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Payment protection insurance, current accounts, other general insurance, credit cards and savings were the top five most complained about products and services.

The FCA announced today in a statement that Lloyds Bank had received 232,971 customer complaints in the first six months of the year, marking a four-percent drop on the previous six months.

The top five most complained about mortgage and equity release lenders were Bank of Scotland with 8,811 complaints, Santander with 8,517, Northern Rock Asset Management with 6,015, HSBC with 5,998, and Barclays with 5,774.

The regulator noted that consumers made a total of 2.14m complaints to financial services firms in the first half of 2015.

Christopher Woolard, FCA ” s director of strategy and competition, said, “It is clear that firms need to look at the causes for this rise and where necessary take action to address the causes of the trend.

Complaints about mis-sold PPI fell 16.6 per cent in the first half of 2015 compared to the previous six months, suggesting payouts are beginning to decline.

He added that companies should have good consumer outcomes at the “heart” of their activities.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is considering whether a due date ought to be presented for clients asserting pay for the mis-offering of installment security protection (PPI) and is required to distribute its suggestion instantly.

The spike in complaints in relation to these products coincides with the introduction of the pension freedoms which came into effect in April.

Although PPI-related complaints are falling, other customer complaints are on the rise, especially for the category “decumulation, life and pensions”, for which complaints soared by close to 20 per cent.