The review shows that during the year, the ombudsman:
• Handled a record 794,648 consumer enquiries and 123,089 new complaints – a 30% annual increase.
• Saw the number of mortgage and banking disputes more than triple, and insurance disputes double - while complaints about mortgage endowments fell by 70%.
• Settled 99,699 disputes - with the proportion of complaints upheld in favour of consumers ranging from 16% to 84%, depending on the financial product or service involved.
Sir Christopher Kelly, chairman of the ombudsman service, said: “This time last year we had hoped we were starting to see a downward trend in complaint numbers for the first time. But instead, events during the year have led to the ombudsman service receiving record numbers of new cases. The sudden surges in banking and insurance disputes this year have meant that predicting, managing and dealing with complaint volumes has been more of a challenge for us organisationally than ever before.”
The number of complaints were:
• Bank charges: 31,618
• Credit cards: 14,123
• Mortgage endowments: 13,778
• Payment protection insurance: 10,652
