Complaints rose by 9.5% rise in the final six months in 2022

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has announced a 9.5% rise in complaints it received about financial products in the last six months of 2022.

FOS received 79,921 compared to almost 72,978 in the first six months of 2022 (H1 2022). new complaints between the start of July and the end of December, compared to the first half of last year.

The average rate of complaints that it upheld on behalf of consumers across all products was 34%, compared to 37% in the first half of the year.

Mortgage and home finance represented the third highest number of grievances, registering 4,160 complaints, 13.7% higher than the previous six months, compared to 3,658 in H1 2022.

The banking and credit and the general insurance/pure protection sectors drew the most dissatisfaction, attracting 50,346 complaints, up 14% and 19,346 complaints, up 10.4%, respectively.

Over the period, public complaints covered 220 firms, compared to 212 companies over the previous six months.