Today the Financial Ombudsman Service – the independent organisation that settles disputes between consumers and financial businesses – published its annual review of 2012/2013.
The main results of the report are:
- 73 percent of people surveyed said they were aware of the Financial Ombudsman Service, and 71 percent said they trusted the organisation.
- Over 2 million enquiries and complaints from consumers were handed in (over 7,000 each working day)
- A record of 508,881 new cases − an increase of 92 percent compared to last year.
- 74 percent of all cases were dealing with payment protection insurance (PPI) – more than double the previous year.
- The ombudsman’s involvement resulted in compensation for consumers in 49 percent of cases.
Natalie Ceeney, chief ombudsman, states: "It is disappointing that we still haven't seen any significant improvement in complaints handling. Too many financial businesses still seem unable to sort out problems themselves, without the ombudsman having to get involved."
"These shocking figures show the banks are still letting their customers down and failing to help consumers with legitimate claims get the compensation they’re rightly owed", said Richard Lloyd, executive director of the consumer organization Which?.
Source: Financial Ombudsman Service
More information and the annual review