Financial complaints rise by 20,000 in six months

CUSTOMER complaints about almost every financial product have surged by 13 per cent, official figures show.

Some 170,083 cases were taken to the financial ombudsman in the first half of the year, up from 149,864 in the second half of 2016.

On average, the independent arbitrator – which deals with complaints rejected by banks and insurance firms – found in favour of the customer in 36 per cent of cases.

Payment protection insurance continued to be the most complained about product. The number of cases jumped 14 per cent from 78,375 to 89,513.

But complaints about banking and credit – which includes credit cards and current accounts – also rose by 12 per cent from 41,484 to 46,656.

The ombudsman said it had seen a particularly big rise in complaints about administrative errors and poor service.

Overall, Bank of Scotland had the most cases at 20,541. It was followed by Lloyds Bank, part of the same group, with 18,068, and Barclays, with 15,405.

James Daley, of campaign group Fairer Finance, said the figures ‘indicate a growing dissatisfaction with banks.’ A spokesman for industry body UK Finance said: ‘The industry takes all complaints seriously.’