These statistics are used to help the FCA evaluate how well customers are being treated by their financial services providers, as well as to identify early trends to highlight any products and services that are causing concern.
Key findings from the data reveal a steady trend in the volume of complaints, with a small decrease of just 1% in complaints received. Industry complaints volumes have remained stable for the past three years, at between 1.8m and 2m.
Looking at the products in their groups:
Banking and Credit Cards (3.2%), Home Finance (3.7%), and Investments (3.4%) all saw increases in complaint numbers. Decreases were seen in Decumulation & Pensions (2.8%) and Insurance and Pure Protection (5.8%).
The most complained about products were current accounts, credit cards, motor and transport.
In terms of the speed with which companies handle complaints, there has been a slight drop in the percentage of complaints closed within 3 working days, down to 44.85% from 45.51% in the previous period. However, this has been offset by the increase in complaints closed within 8 weeks, now up at 49.05% from 46.85%. This means the percentage of complaints breaching the 8-week deadline is also reduced to 6.11% in H2 2023, down from 7.63% previously.
With the Consumer Duty now fully embedded into financial services firms, these headlines are only the start of what is expected of businesses in putting the customer at the centre of all decision-making. Further insights on early trends, problem areas, and business improvement plans to resolve these are all expected by the FCA as proof of a business’ adherence to the new charter.
Look out for EQ's more in depth analysis of complaints trends in the coming weeks.
