The number of complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service increased by 24pc during the third quarter, new figures show. The FOS said that motor insurance, overdrafts, savings and mortgages all saw sharp increases in complaints. Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) cases began to fall, although the FOS upheld 92pc of PPI cases in favour of the customer.

FOS added it been receiving a number of complaints about the sale of home emergency cover – often where consumers have signed up for a free period and the policy has then been automatically renewed and the consumer has been charged.

In the first six months of this financial year it received 1,368 initial enquiries to its helpline about home emergency cover and received 803 new complaints. Last month the FSA said that Barclays received the highest number of bank complaints during the first six months of the year.

Sally Bowyer, Managing Director of Brunel Franklin said: “Everyone accepts that banks provide a valuable service and are entitled to make fair and reasonable charges for services. But people shouldn’t be sold PPI without being furnished with the full facts. PPI mis-selling cases serve as timely reminder of how careful we all need to be when taking out new loans and other credit card agreements.”

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.