Barclays plc today published its customer complaint numbers for the first half of 2011 and reported a year-on-year improvement of 14 per cent (H2 2010 to H1 2011 showed an improvement of 9 per cent).

Barclays receives the majority of complaints in the banking category and has been undertaking a number of initiatives to drive down complaints in this area. Excluding the General Insurance and Pure Protection category, of which the majority are PPI complaints, volumes are down 30 per cent year-on-year to 177,871 (H2 2010 to H1 2011 down 18 per cent).

The banking institution expects PPI complaint volumes to be greater in the second half of 2011 as they see an increased number of complaints following the outcome of the Judicial Review.

Antony Jenkins, Chief Executive, Retail and Business Banking said: “We have made good progress in reducing complaints with a substantial and sustainable reduction in banking complaints by nearly a third. However, there is much more to be done and we are working hard to further improve our service to our customers.”

In the second half of 2011 the bank says it will continue to focus on addressing the root cause of complaints and undertake further process re-engineering of our core business activities to include:

Improving the way that they process payments

Reducing the time it takes to replace a debit card, currently two days (down from five)

Reducing the time it takes to open an account or take out a loan.

“In all cases is the responsibility of the vendor to ensure the policy they sell is the right one for you at the time of sale. If you didn’t realise exactly what you were being sold and you have been paying for PPI premiums that weren’t fully explained, there is a chance you may have been mis-sold a policy,” concluded Sally Bowyer, Managing Director of Brunel Franklin.

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