FOS complaints data Jan - June 2010

[Amethyst]

Complaints data


ombudsman releases latest complaints data on individual financial businesses


14 September 2010
The Financial Ombudsman Service today releases its third set of six-monthly complaints data relating to individual financial businesses – including banks, insurance companies and investment firms.
The data published today on the ombudsman's website covers consumer complaints handled by the ombudsman service between 1 January and 30 June 2010. The data includes both the number of complaints received about individual businesses and the percentage of complaints upheld by the ombudsman service in favour of consumers.
During this six-month period, the ombudsman service received a total of 84,212 new complaints – a small increase on the 82,136 cases received in the second half of 2009. Of these new cases, 89% related to 160 financial businesses (out of more than 100,000 businesses covered by the ombudsman).
The number of new complaints about each of these individual businesses ranged from 30 to 12,750. Five financial services groups continued to have more than 3,000 complaints each, which together accounted for 47,507 cases – over half of all the new complaints received by the ombudsman during this six-month period.
The number of new complaints against each business is likely to be affected by the size of the business. However, experts consulted by the ombudsman were unable to agree how size (or market share) should be taken into account, when comparing complaints statistics across the financial services sector [independent report on "contextualising" complaints data opens as PDF].
The data published today shows that in the first half of 2010 the ombudsman service upheld an average of 44% of complaints in favour of consumers, compared to 53% in the second half of 2009. Across the 160 individual businesses included in the complaints data, this uphold rate varied substantially between 14% and 100% upheld in favour of consumers.
During this period 15,000 complaints about unauthorised-overdraft charges were reviewed and closed. This followed the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in November 2009 – that the fairness of unauthorised-overdraft charges could not be challenged on the basis of the "test case" referred by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
Natalie Ceeney, chief executive and chief ombudsman, said:

The latest set of complaints data shows that some businesses are really committed to ensuring that complaints are handled well, and are used to inform and improve the service they offer their customers.

However, the complaints data also shows there is still more that some businesses need to do to ensure that complaints are properly investigated and fairly resolved. The ombudsman is keen to continue to play its part and help businesses draw lessons from the complaints that we see, so disputes can be sorted out at the earliest opportunity.

Look at the complaints data now available on individual financial businesses.

[enaid]

Re: FOS complaints data Jan - June 2010

Well shock, horror and a total surprise lol the big numbers all seem to be about bank complaints

[Amethyst]

Re: FOS complaints data Jan - June 2010

Far too many companies are rejecting complaints only to have the FOS uphold them - shows if the banks say no, try the FOS. The average is 44% upheld that the banks have said no to, but some are way over 70%....recognise any one you know ?


Eisis Ltd No Group 100%
Norton Insurance Services Ltd No Group 99%
Ocean Finance and Mortgages Limited No Group 99%
Wills & Co Stockbrokers Ltd No Group 99%
Black Horse Limited Lloyds 90%
Loans.co.uk MBNA 90%
Shop Direct Finance Company Limited Shop Direct Group 87%
Central Trust Plc Central Trust 84%
CitiFinancial Europe Plc Citibank 84%
Welcome Financial Services Limited Welcome 82%
Shop Direct Home Shopping Limited Shop Direct Group 79%
Simplyhealth Access No Group 79%
Nemo Personal Finance Limited Principality 78%
The Funding Corporation Limited No Group 77%
Firstplus Financial Group Plc Barclays 73%
Egg Banking Plc Citibank 72%
Santander Cards UK Limited No Group 72%

[EXC]

Re: FOS complaints data Jan - June 2010

BBC News - Financial complaints to Ombudsman on the rise

The number of complaints made about financial firms to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) rose in the first half of the year.

However, the FOS sided with the consumer in a smaller proportion of resolved cases than previously.
It received 84,212 new complaints, with more than half about five major banks.

One of the biggest banks, Lloyds TSB, headed the list with 12,750 new complaints made about it by customers.

Cases
The FOS saw the total number of complaints made to it rise by 2,076 in the first half of the year compared with the previous six months.

However, with many complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges being ruled out, fewer resolved cases ended with compensation for customers.

In the first six months of 2010, the FOS upheld 44% of complaints in favour of the consumer, compared with 53% in the second half of 2009.

The FOS deals with complaints from people who are unhappy with the way financial firms have dealt with their problems in the first instance.

Some 89% of new cases referred to the financial ombudsman related to 160 specific financial businesses.

Insurance disputes
In the past 18 months, the FOS has been naming and shaming the institutions facing the most complaints.

This list was dominated by the biggest banks.
Five of them - Lloyds, Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HSBC, and Santander - had more than 3,000 complaints each.
As with previous publications of the figures, the FOS accepted that the number of new complaints would be affected by the size of the business.

However, the FOS said it had consulted with a number of experts about how to reflect this in the publication - but they were unable to agree how size should be taken into account.

The data covers the banks' traditional High Street outlets but also their subsidiaries dealing in insurance and investments.

As a result, thousands of complaints were made about the banks' general insurance businesses, as well as about their banking and lending arms.

For example, more than half of the new complaints to Lloyds were about general insurance rather than banking and credit.

A spokeswoman for the Lloyds Banking Group said: "With over 30 million customers, the group has the largest customer base in the UK.

"The vast majority of our customers are happy with the service we provide and this is reflected in the low number of complaints we receive relative to the high number of accounts our customers hold."

Many of the worries about insurance related to the continuing disputes over the sales of payment protection insurance (PPI).

PPI insures people's loan re-payments if they fall ill or lose their jobs.

But, in the past two or three years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of complaints about how these policies were sold, alongside highly critical investigations by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Competition Commission.

Clarity 'needed'
Chief Ombudsman Natalie Ceeney said lessons should be learned from the latest figures.

"The latest set of complaints data shows that some businesses are really committed to ensuring that complaints are handled well, and are used to inform and improve the service they offer their customers," she said.

"However, the complaints data also shows there is still more that some businesses need to do to ensure that complaints are properly investigated and fairly resolved."

The British Bankers' Association, which represents the High Street banks, said: "The UK banking industry manages more than 140 million bank accounts and the biggest banks conduct many billions of transactions each year for customers, so it is important to keep these figures in context.

"The more customers a bank has, the more complaints it is statistically likely to get. And it does not necessarily follow that when customers complain the bank has been at fault. Most customers are satisfied with their bank and their account.

"When things do go wrong and complaints are received, banks seek to resolve these effectively and efficiently to rectify the situation for customers.
"The banks will be discussing with the Ombudsman how these findings can be applied to their own complaints handling processes, and how if necessary they can be improved. Every complaint represents a breakdown in a banking relationship, and the banks are striving to improve the service they provide to their customers."

The level of complaints when the ombudsman found in favour of the consumer ranged from 14% for Clerical Medical Investment Group, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, to 100% for Eisis, which sells insurance.

Other firms with high uphold rates included Ocean Finance and Mortgages and Wills & Co Stockbrokers, both at 99%, and Black Horse, also part of Lloyds, and Loans.co.uk, part of MBNA, both at 90%.

Consumer rights body Consumer Focus called for more transparency for bank customers.

"There needs to be more clarity about what is going on in the individual cases, and where products or institutions are persistently falling down in order to start addressing the problems," a spokesman said.


Highest number of complaints

• Lloyds TSB Bank: 12,750
• Barclays Bank: 7,991
• Bank of Scotland: 6,211
• Santander: 4,881
• HSBC: 3,286

Source: FOS, January to July 2010

[pompeyfaith]

Re: FOS complaints data Jan - June 2010

well i think ill lean on this and ask why after 2 yrs my complaint still remains unresolved a right c*** up you bet and time to kick a** as i am tired of hearing these reports from the fos and the fsa

[EXC]

Re: FOS complaints data Jan - June 2010

Far too many companies are rejecting complaints only to have the FOS uphold them - shows if the banks say no, try the FOS. The average is 44% upheld that the banks have said no to

The worst offender was Barclays at 61% (almost 50% more than the industry average of 44%).
and if you discounted bank charge complaints (15000 for the industry) the figure must be significantly higher - perhaps well over 70%.

[leclerc]

Re: FOS complaints data Jan - June 2010

Ocean Finance, they even have their own tv channel...."I should have known!!!!"

[Aquasition]

Re: FOS complaints data Jan - June 2010

The delays with the FOS continues. I've just heard that the Ombudsman has cases older than 2 years which concurs with Pompeyfaith's experience. My case was accepted in January 2010 - on this basis my complaint will not be resolved much before Spring 2012.

I seriously do not know if I am prepared to wait this long. The Adjudicator has already upheld my claim. The insurance company (AXA) are perhaps using the FOS to keep the money in their account until the last possible moment.

I wonder if AXA was presented with a potential court case (rather than continuing with FOS) and potential expenses, would they be so smug or would they sit up and perhaps take a different attitude.

Chris