How Insight Led Complaint Handling Makes The Difference

Here, EQ Customer Resolutions summarises the key trends identified in the latest data, and reviews how firms can ensure they are maximising the insight this data can provide as they continue to follow Consumer Duty best practice.

The FCA’s latest complaints data for H2 2025 sends a clear signal to firms: complaints are no longer just an operational metric—they are a core test of Consumer Duty in practice.

But responding effectively requires more than capacity. It demands joined-up insight, consistent handling, and the ability to identify and act on emerging risks early—areas where firms are increasingly turning to specialist partners like EQ.

EQ Customer Resolutions supports firms end-to-end, combining operational delivery with insight-led analysis to ensure complaints are handled fairly, resolved efficiently, and—crucially—used to improve future customer outcomes. From outcomes testing and Consumer Duty assurance through to early risk identification and root cause analysis, this approach helps firms move beyond reactive complaint handling towards proactive control.

Key changes and trends in the latest FCA complaints data

Complaint volumes remain broadly stable – but underlying risks persist

The FCA’s latest data shows that overall complaint volumes across financial services remain relatively stable, continuing the pattern seen since 2021, with total complaints typically fluctuating between 1.7 million and 2.0 million every six months. While this stability may appear reassuring at first glance, it masks important variations beneath the surface. 

For firms, this stability does not equate to lower risk. Instead, it highlights that root causes of consumer dissatisfaction are changing rather than disappearing, reinforcing the need for detailed trend analysis and forward looking insight.

Shifts in complaints by product group

The latest data continues to show divergent trends across product areas, with some experiencing material increases in complaints while others decline. 

•    Banking and credit cards remain one of the largest drivers of complaints, reflecting ongoing issues around service failures, fraud handling, and increasingly, affordability and vulnerability considerations.

•    Investments and pensions continue to attract heightened regulatory attention, with complaint growth linked to market volatility, value for money concerns and customer understanding of risk and outcomes.

•    By contrast, insurance and home finance have seen more marginal changes in complaint volumes, although the FCA continues to monitor these sectors closely given their historical contribution to customer harm.

•    Motor finance in particular stands out as complaints are both still coming in because of the commission redress scheme, and because complaints already received are on hold pending the commencement of that scheme. 

This uneven picture reinforces the FCA’s message that firms must go beyond volume metrics and develop a granular understanding of complaints by product, customer type and root cause.

Complaints as a Consumer Duty diagnostic

The FCA has been clear that complaints data is one of the key factors through which it assesses Consumer Duty compliance, particularly across the outcomes of price and value, consumer understanding, and customer support.

Firms are expected to demonstrate not just fair complaint resolution, but also how complaint insight is being used to: 
•    Identify foreseeable harm
•    Measure outcomes for different customer cohorts, including vulnerable customers
•    Drive tangible improvements in products, services and communications

Where complaints are increasing or escalating to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), this is increasingly interpreted as a failure of early intervention or root cause remediation.

Turning complaints insight into better outcomes 

As complaints data grows in regulatory importance, firms need more than operational capacity, they need joined up insight and control. This is where EQ Customer Resolutions plays a critical role.

End to end complaint handling, aligned to regulatory expectations

EQ Customer Resolutions supports firms with end to end complaints handling, helping ensure that complaints are:
•    Handled consistently and fairly
•    Resolved within regulatory timeframes
•    Evidenced clearly for FCA and FOS scrutiny

This operational rigour is essential not only for compliance, but also for protecting customer trust at moments that matter most.

Outcomes testing and Consumer Duty assurance

Under the Consumer Duty, firms must be able to evidence outcomes, not intentions. Our solutions support robust outcomes testing, enabling firms to assess:
•    Whether complaint outcomes are fair and consistent
•    Whether redress aligns with customer harm
•    Whether different customer groups experience different outcomes

This insight strengthens governance, MI and board level assurance, while reducing the risk of regulatory challenge.

Early identification of emerging issues

One of the most powerful benefits of EQ Customer Resolutions’ approach is its ability to surface emerging risks early. By analysing complaint themes, root causes and outcomes across large volumes of data, firms can:
•    Spot systemic issues before they escalate
•    Identify operational or communications failures driving complaints
•    Take corrective action quickly to prevent repeat harm

This early warning capability is increasingly critical as complaint trends evolve and regulatory tolerance for reactive approaches continues to shrink.

Preventing future complaints through insight led action

Complaints should never be viewed in isolation. EQ Customer Resolutions helps firms move from reactive resolution to preventative improvement, using complaint insight to inform:
•    Product design and pricing decisions
•    Customer communications and journeys
•    Training and guidance for frontline teams

By enabling early rectification, firms can reduce future complaint volumes, improve customer outcomes and demonstrate a proactive Duty led culture to the regulator.

Looking ahead

The FCA’s H2 2025 complaints data reinforces a clear message: complaints are no longer just a regulatory obligation, they are a strategic asset. Firms that invest in insight led complaint handling are better positioned to meet Consumer Duty expectations, reduce regulatory risk and deliver better outcomes for customers.