Ombudsman sees rise in complaints
Wednesday 18th February 2009, 9:09AM GMT.
Stressed businesses are ignoring customer complaints, leading to a rise in cases taken to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
The FOS has forecast 150,000 cases for the coming year, in comparison to 90,000 for the current year, and warned its budget will have to rise as a result.
This will put more pressure on financial firms, who have already been told they will be paying more this year in levies to the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
The rise is not just down to stressed consumers seeking a desperate lifeline, the ombudsman said.
“The rise is attributable in part to stressed businesses rejecting complaints they would previously have taken more care to investigate – and might have settled,” chief ombudsman Walter Merricks explained.
“Rebuilding trust in financial services requires acknowledging where things have gone wrong and putting them right.”
The ombudsman resolves disputes between customers and financial services firms and common complaints relate to bank charges, payment protection insurance (PPI) and travel insurance sold with holidays.
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