However, when looked at from the perspective of the number of these complaints actually upheld, the Ombudsman’s data showed there was a 24% drop in the number of successful cases.
The free complaints arbitrator, which consumers can turn to if they have no luck complaining to the firm involved, received a total of 80,234 new complaints for all the products and services falling under its remit between April and June this year, down slightly from 81,709 compared to 1Q16.
Only 8,414 complaints of the total were passed to an ombudsman for a final decision. On average, 35% of complaints were upheld in favour of the consumer during the quarter.
Again, the numbers were lower than those recorded the same time last year, when 13,634 complaints were passed to an ombudsman and 48% of complaints were upheld.
The quarterly data was released in the latest edition of Ombudsman News, the newsletter that gives a snapshot of the complaints received by the Ombudsman on a quarterly basis.
Among the categories most relevant to international financial advisers, Sipps still dominate with 521 gripes received in 1Q17.
Of these, five in ten (50%) were upheld in favour of consumers, compared to two thirds (66%) over the same period in 2016.
Source: Financial Ombudsman Service
The table includes the number of new complaints received by the Ombudsman, the number of complaints referred for an ombudsman’s final decision and the proportion of complaints resolved in consumers’ favour during April, May and June 2017.
For comparison, the table also shows the complaints received by the financial redress service during the same period last year.
When it comes to other financial complaints, term assurance – life insurance that provides coverage at a fixed rate of payments for a limited period of time – was the second most complained about financial product in 1Q17 with 483 new complaints and an uphold rate of 16%.
This was followed by personal pensions with 438 complaints, of which 26% were upheld, and whole-of-life policies with 349 complaints – of which 20% were upheld.
There was a 20% increase in the number of complaints received about personal pension plans, which accounted for 46% of all pensions complaints.
Annuities’ complaints surged 77% to 227 compared to 128 the year before, with the number of people contacting FOS about unit-linked bond complaints decreasing 36% to 73 from 114 in 1Q16.
With-profits bonds complaints, too, reported a drop of 28% to 52 compared to 73 in the first quarter of 2016.
