The BBC has reported that Barclays Bank received more complaints than any other bank in the UK in the first half of 2011. But what were the complaints about, and in case you were wondering, what is the best way to make a complaint and what help can you get?
There are some instances where we’re not prepared to put up with bad service (or mis-selling) any longer. Apparently, we become more likely to complain as we get older. TV station Dave’s study reported that over-50s were more likely to complain and spend time worrying than their younger counterparts. Over-50s write an average of 2.9 letters of complaint per year, rising to 3.5 for the over sixties, whereas it’s just 1.8 by those in their twenties.
In the first half of the year Barclays received more than a quarter of a million complaints, and more than half of those were upheld, according to figures from the Financial Services Authority (FSA). However, rather unsurprisingly, Lloyds Banking Group had the largest number of complaints when all its brands were added together.
Most complaints were about Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), much of the volume prompted by the banks losing their legal challenge about PPI rules in April this year. The idea of PPI is to cover borrowers’ loan repayments in certain circumstances – such as loss of a job – but the abundance of mis-selling caused new rules to be drawn up on how cases should be handled, leading to a large increase in refund payouts by the banks.
How to complain
In the first instance you should make your complaint to the business you’re complaining about, giving them a chance to resolve the problem and the target for this is eight weeks. A firm like Brunel Franklin can do this for you – doing all the hard work so you don’t have to.
Sally Bowyer, Managing Director of www.BrunelFranklin.com said: “We see many cases where people have had agreements in place for some years and have simply paid PPI premiums thinking they did not have any other option. Many people are under the impression that they will not get their loan without PPI, but this is not the case.”
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.