Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Chief Executive of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has urged financial firms to do more to help struggling consumers.
Speaking at the ‘Connected 2024’ conference Abby Thomas, Chief Executive and Chief Ombudsman at FOS said there has been an Increase in debt levels have left some consumers feeling confused, stressed and out of their depth.
FOS says that they are seeing increasing levels of complaints about unaffordable lending – with more than 18,000 credit card cases in the first three months of this financial year.
Abby Thomas, Chief Executive and Chief Ombudsman said “It’s concerning to see such large volumes of complaints – particularly when they relate to irresponsible and unaffordable lending.
“It’s vital businesses are open and transparent with their customers and treat them fairly and with empathy.
“There are so many well-established rules and guidelines – including most recently in the Consumer Duty – that are designed specifically to help financial businesses find ways of supporting their customers when the need arises.
“But despite this, we’re still seeing cases where customer experience has fallen far short of what it should have been.”
“People tell us their experiences of feeling harassed as part of the debt collection process and how their mental health has suffered as a result.”
“We want to play our part in building consumer confidence in a thriving, customer focused, competitive financial services sector, supporting growth in the UK economy.
We’re building a service that can quickly adapt to changing expectations, so that we’re ready for the future, to support every generation from Gen Z to those celebrating their centenary.”
