Drop Of 500,000 Seen In Reported Issues Related To Financial Services
New figures from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have revealed that the number of consumer complaints reported by financial services firms fell by 500,000 in the first half of 2013.
Data from the regulator found 2.9 million complaints were made in the first six months of the year, compared to 3.4 million which were reported in the previous six months. It was also found that 51 per cent of the complaints were upheld, with £2.55 billion of redress paid to consumers.
The research also revealed that most complained about financial products included payment protection insurance, general insurance issues, current accounts, credit cards and savings.
Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the FCA, said that complaints data is “a powerful tool that helps encourage competition between firms, to improve their service to customers; and help consumers assess their relationships with banks and other providers”.
The release of the data has come after the FCA confirmed it was launching an investigation into the foreign exchange market.
Expert Opinion
The publication of this data highlights the huge number of issues which consumers and businesses continue to face, as well as the key trends which can be pulled from such information. <br/> <br/>“Any reduction is complaints is obviously welcome but it is clear that more is needed to be done to further cut the number of issues which consumers are facing during interaction with the financial services industry. <br/> <br/>“Financial organisations have a duty to comply with strict regulations and ensure that the needs of their consumers come first. The regular publication of this research will hopefully prove to be an incentive for improvements to be made in general service.” <br/> Sarah Wallace - Partner