HBOS tops gripes list

Ten firms accounted for nearly two thirds of complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service in the first half of this year.

Bank of Scotland PLC, which includes the Halifax and fomerly know as HBOS, topped the list, with nearly 20,550 gripes, followed by Lloyds Bank with 18,068. Both are part of the taxpayer-saved Lloyds Banking Group. The others in the top 10 are: Barclays, Financial Insurance Company (part of AXA), HSBC, Capital One, Santander, Natwest, Nationwide Building Society and Lloydsowned MBNA.

The 10 were responsible for 103,000 of the 170,000 complaints taken on by the ombudsman from January to June – more than the other 235 firms in the list combined.

The ombudsman’s caseload jumped by 13%, with complaints up in nearly every area. Issues about consumer credit leapt by almost a fifth.

Of those, issues about car finance and other hire purchase shot up 22%

Payment protection insurance remains the most complained about product, with 90,000 new cases.

Banks are braced for another wave of PPI cases ahead of an August 2019 deadline for lodging claims.

More than one in three people were rewarded after the ombudsman found in their favour. Chief ombudsman Caroline Wayman: “It’s free to come to the ombudsman – get in touch and we’ll see if we can help.”

Lloyds blamed claims management firms for triggering 91% of Bank of Scotland’s complaints.