The number of complaints against British banks almost reached the million mark in the second six
months of 2010, according to new figures from the Financial Services Authority. Poor service and
bad advice on insurance and pensions were among the main complaints which now total over 5,000
every single day.
Figures aimed at improving customer service
The FSA figures showed that 999,196 complaints were raised against the high street banks in the last
six months of 2010.
The City regulator has forced banks to disclose these figures for a second time in an attempt to
improve the levels of service given to consumers, The Daily Telegraph reports that by compelling
banks to release complaint figures, the aim is to improve ‘customer service by naming and shaming
offenders.’
Barclays and Santander the worst offenders
High street giant Barclays was named as the worst culprit by the FSA figures. From July to December
2010, Barclays received 276,315 complaints, followed by Santander with 195,475, Lloyds TSB with
175,892 and Bank of Scotland with 123,477.
The FSA figures also showed that compensation paid to dissatisfied customers rose by 11 per cent,
as sales of payment protection insurance triggered extra complaints.
The newspaper reports that ‘banks, insurers and investment firms paid out £454 million in
compensation as complaints about ‘advising, selling and arranging’ rose by 47 per cent compared
with the first half of the year, reaching 538,427.’
The FSA said that this increase was mainly caused by dissatisfaction with payment protection
insurance policies (PPI).
PPI is used to cover payments on mortgages and credit cards in the event of illness or
unemployment. In August, the FSA published new rules on how consumer complaints about PPI
should be handled. These rules were based on a report from competition watchdogs found that
consumers were not aware that they could shop around and buy PPI from other companies.
