Financial Ombudsman Service figures show that complaints rose in the first six months of 2016 from the previous six months – defying expectations they would fall.
Consumers will lose out if the Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed payment protection insurance complaints deadline of June 2019 goes ahead, The Professional Financial Claims Association has warned.
Financial Ombudsman Service figures show that complaints rose in the first six months of 2016 from the previous six months – defying expectations they would fall.
Half of all complaints to the ombudsman were about PPI, with the FOS saying: “We have been receiving over 3,000 cases a week for six years running – despite wider expectations that numbers would fall”.
The FCA wants to set a deadline by the middle of 2017 alongside a public awareness campaign, but the PFCA said: “PPI is not a resolved issue – and, therefore, consumers will lose out if a deadline for claims is forced on them.”
In the last six months Lloyds Banking Group had 78% rejections overturned by the ombudsman, while Secure Trust Bank, Clydesdale Bank and AVIVA saw 93%, 90% and 89% of complaints overturned.
The PFCA added: “Some banks are still rejecting legitimate claims thereby not treating their customers fairly and putting them through the delays in the FOS process.
“Let’s not forget and let’s be clear – a complaint can only hit FOS once it has been through a product provider’s internal process and rejected by that provider, or the provider has failed to comply with complaint handling timescale rules.”
