The Financial Ombudsman Service received complaints about Payment Protection Insurance at an average rate of over 900 per working day for the three months to the end of June.

Statistics published by the FOS today show that it received 81,301 complaints over April, May and June, more than double the amount of complaints received in the same period last year. PPI complaints totalled 56,025 for the three months to the end of June, compared to 104,597 for the full 2010/11 financial year. Over half of PPI complaints were upheld.

A backlog of PPI cases built up during the judicial review brought by the British Bankers’ Association earlier this year over the FSA’s PPI complaints measures. FOS principal ombudsman and decisions director Tony Boorman say the efforts by many banks to clear this backlog, after the High Court ruled in favour of the FSA, should see more cases closed with higher uphold rates.

But he says: “The real challenge, and continuing uncertainty, will not appear until the second half of the financial year. By then, banks and others will be dealing with cases they received after the judicial review, where there is no dispute that they should be following the ombudsman’s approach and the FSA’s complaints handling guidance.

“Banks and others are already reporting record numbers of new complaints and it will be some time before we see the impact of those on our figures. So it is difficult to tell whether we will be seeing still higher numbers yet or whether the figures will now start to decline.”

There were 347 complaints about personal pensions, and 39 per cent upheld. The FOS received 108 Sipp complaints and 57 complaints about occupational pension transfers and opt-outs, and upheld around half of complaints over the same period.

Sally Bowyer, MD of leading claims management company, Brunel Franklin, said: “Making a refund application against a bank or other large financial institution can be a daunting prospect, which is why it is much better to seek help from an organisation like Brunel Franklin, rather than struggle on and be left to try and work out the details for yourself. We operate a no-win-no-fee service and there is nothing to pay until your case is successfully won and the vendor has paid out.”

Learn more about PPI refunds and find out if you could apply for a refund today! Visit the website www.brunelfranklin.com or call Brunel Franklin, free, on 0800 051 54 51