The number of complaints lodged against banks and other financial services firms fell by 2.6% between January and June this year compared with the previous six months, according to figures from the financial watchdog – and complaints about current accounts dropped 10%.
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) data shows that financial services firms recorded 2.05 million new complaints between January and June 2016, while the total redress paid to consumers in this period who had been mis-sold financial products was £1.96 billion.
Barclays was the UK financial firm to receive most complaints in the first half of the year, with 287,463 grievances lodged against it, while Lloyds was the second most complained-about company with 213,163.
PPI is still head and shoulders above any other subject of complaint, with a whopping 927,631 complaints from January to June, though that figure is 0.5% down on the previous six months. See our Your Financial Rights guide for more on how to complain about your bank or building society.
Current account complaints slide but savings gripes rise
Complaints about current accounts saw the steepest reduction over the opening six months of this year, with the 46,000 complaints down 10% on the previous six-month period.
There was also a marginal drop in PPI and credit card complaints, but an increase in people raising issues with other general insurance and savings products.
Financial product complaints (Jan – Jun 16)
| Financial product | Number of complaints opened | % change* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PPI | 927,631 | -0.5% | |
| Current accounts | 407,954 | -10% | |
| Other general insurance | 300,903 | 1% | |
| Credit cards | 129,770 | -1% | |
| Savings (incl cash ISAs) and other banking | 73,322 | 7% | |
| * Change since Jul to Dec 2015 | |||
Barclays top of the pile for complaints
Here's how the figures stacked up for individual banks:
Complaints against banks (Jan – Jun 16)
| Firm | Number of complaints opened | % change* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barclays | 287,463 | 3% | |
| Lloyds | 213,163 | -7% | |
| Bank of Scotland | 173,646 | -5% | |
| HSBC | 124,891 | 3% | |
| NatWest | 121,197 | -10% | |
| * Change since Jul to Dec 2015 | |||
Matt Hammerstein, head of client and customer experience at Barclays, says: "We want everyone to have a brilliant customer experience with Barclays and will not stop until we achieve this. We are listening to feedback so we can fix the things that aren't working and exceed what our customers expect from their bank."
What does the FCA say?
Christopher Woolard, director of strategy and competition, says: "To see another six months of reduction in the total number of complaints is encouraging. Firms still need to continue to ensure they are doing all they can to reduce consumer dissatisfaction, but the figures show firms are taking our feedback seriously."
