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May 30, 2008 ( PowerHomeBiz
) - Berkshire, UK --
The last financial year has been seen to be the most dissatisfied one in all
past records when it came to services and products. The complaints about
financial products have taken a jump by a good 30% last year and this has
turned out to be a record jump. This clearly reveals the growing
dissatisfaction of consumers in banks and insurers.
(news continued below)
According to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), this sharp rise in
the complaints was attributed to the increased complaints about unauthorized
overdraft charges. Also, PPL or Payment Protection Insurance "driven largely
by media and internet campaigns" is cited to be another reason for this.
With the year which ended this March 31, 123, 089 new cases were referred
to the adjudicators and ombudsman for the resolution of the problems. The
previous year however had 94, 392 complaints which clearly shows the 30%
rise in them.
Out of these complaints, the number of disputes in mortgage and banking
had tripled. Double numbers had been reached for the insurance complaints.
However, a 70% lowering in the number of mortgage endowments was also
witnessed. In addition to the complaints, the number of enquiries too hit a
new high and increased by 27% on the previous year.
The complaints about overcharging of current accounts became ten-fold and
the PPL complaints were seen to rise six-fold. The complaints received for
the controversial loan insurance in the first three months of the year were
seen to be more than the rest of the year combined. A lot of criticism has
surfaced for PPL and it has been said to be overpriced and mis-sold to
people. However, travel and health insurance-related disputes fell in the
period.
The chairman of the ombudsman service, Sir Christopher Kelly says, "At
this time last year, we had expected that there was fall in the number of
complaints and a downward trend was seen. However, it went the other way and
the number of complaints received this year has hit a record high."
The complaints made by consumers about current accounts and credit cards
were adjudged in favor of the complainant. 84% success rate was seen in
current account complaints whereas 79% was seen in credit cards. All other
categories however saw the customer success rate to be below 50%.
Sir Christopher added, "The complete picture was somewhat mixed. A rise
has been seen but a slowdown in the travel and health insurance also is very
welcome. This shows that some standards have been improved when it comes to
complaint-handling."
For more information on unsecured loans, bad credit loans and personal
loans, visit:
http://www.firstchoiceloan.co.uk/
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Shaun Udal
Email: shaunudal@gmail.com
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