FOS receives 68,735 new complaints between July and September

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) received 68,735 new complaints between July and September this year, demonstrating a 19% increase on the number of complaints made in quarter one of this year and a 20% rise in the amount of new complaints made during this reporting period (Q2) last year.

According to the body’s quarterly data, payment protection insurance (PPI) remains the most complained about financial services product with 12,742 new complaints this quarter. However, it added that “it continues to decline as a proportion of our casework – a decade on from when mis-selling complaints began to be referred to us in mass volumes”.

Covid-19 impact

The ongoing pandemic has further influenced FOS’s complaints data for quarter two as the body has reported a “significant increase” in complaints surrounding travel insurance and business protection insurance.

It has also noted an increase in complaints from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – new complaints from SMEs totalled 391 in Q2, which is 201% more than Q1 this year and 178% more than Q2 last year. Mainly, these complaints relate to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).

FOS added that it has now begun to resolve some of these complaints.

Broader trends

FOS added that referrals to the ombudsman in Q2 totalled 9,204 – a 17% increase on the previous quarter. Furthermore, consumer enquires also increased by 10% from Q1 to reach 119,214 in Q2.

The uphold rate remained static at 32% - excluding PPI, this is 41%.

Claims management companies (CMCs) have also been getting more involved with the ombudsman’s work – eight in 10 complaints around home credit were put forward by CMCs, compared to three in 10 across FOS’s wider caseload.