FOS complaints increased by over 13,000 in first half of 2023

Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) increased by more than 13,000 in the first half of 2023, compared to H2 2022.

The latest figures showed that FOS received 93,114 complaints from January to June, up from 79,921 in the second half of last year. Banking and credit complaints were up by more than 6,000, with more than half of these related to fraud or scam cases. Hargreaves Lansdown accounted for 95 of the 136 complaints received in the investments category, while 92 were linked to Scottish Widows. Overall, Barclays was the subject of the most complaints, with 5,519, followed by Santander (3,562) and HSBC (3,422).

245 businesses featured in the complaints data, this is up on the previous six-month period – the second half of 2022 – when 220 businesses featured. In the first six months of this year, we upheld 37% of complaints in the consumers’ favour, compared to 34% in the previous six-month period.

Banking and credit complaints have risen substantially, with fraud and scam cases making up around half of that increase.

Abby Thomas, Chief Executive at the FOS, said “Financial complaints have risen again, with cases particularly increasing in the banking and insurance sectors,” adding: “Given the economic challenges people are facing, it’s more important than ever that they feel protected. Whatever their grievance, consumers should expect fair and reasonable treatment from their provider.”