Scots filed an unprecedented number of complaints about financial services in 2011, exclusive new figures show.
There was a fresh surge in grievances over controversial Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) in the second half of the year, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which said there was also a sharp rise in Scottish complaints about car insurance and credit cards. It received a record 17,007 complaints from north of the Border last year, an increase of 47 per cent on 2010.
More than seven in ten Scots making a complaint to the FOS – which mediates in disputes that consumers and services providers cannot resolve between them – won a refund. Complaints from Scottish consumers accounted for 9 per cent of all cases received last year and the FOS said it expects to handle even more cases from disgruntled Scots in 2012.
An FOS spokesman said: “The ombudsman service helped to sort out a record number of complaints from consumers inScotlandin 2011 – and indications are that numbers will continue to increase in the year ahead. In difficult times, it’s more important than ever that people are aware of what they can do if they have a money-related problem – and how to get in touch with the free financial ombudsman service if they can’t sort things out.”
PPI was behind most complaints fromScotland, with a 72 per cent rise in cases received by the FOS. The average refund payout in PPI cases was around £2,750, but numbers vary hugely.
There was a new spike in complaints after the British Bankers’ Association last May conceded defeat in its bid to overturnnew Citywatchdog rules forcing them to review past PPI sales. The banks involved had secured a waiver to put hundreds of thousands of complaints on hold during their High Court challenge. They had to be handled in the months after the challenge collapsed, while the number of new refund claims rose sharply in late 2011, with the FOS opening more than 30,000 PPI cases from across theUKin the final three months of 2011.
However, less than seven in ten cases are now being upheld in the consumer’s favour, down from more than 90 per cent just after the waiver ended last summer. There were 13,816 complaints about PPI last year fromScotlandalone, including 1,490 from the Glasgowarea.
The figures emerge a week after The Scotsman revealed more than three-quarters of people successfully claiming PPI redress through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme were using the services of a claims management company like Brunel Franklin.
Grievances from Scots regarding credit cards and mortgages rose 13 and 14 per cent respectively last year. There was also a 25 per cent leap in complaints over car and motorcycle insurance, partly reflecting an increase in claims as a result of collisions during the harsh winter of 2010-11.
But less than 1,000 Scots registered complaints about current accounts. The 36 per cent fall from the level in 2010, which saw current accounts overtaken by credit cards as the second most complained about product, was due largely to a tailing off in problems with overdrafts.
Complaints from people inEdinburgh,AberdeenandGlasgowall rose by a quarter in 2011. In all three cities the biggest product complaint areas were PPI, current accounts, credit cards, mortgages and buildings insurance.
Sally Bowyer, Managing Director of Brunel Franklin said: “Brunel Franklin has helped thousands of people who have been victims of PPI mis-selling. If you have grounds for a refund, it will be pursued by our dedicated staff, experienced in the complexities involved to give you the very best chance of securing the maximum payout.”
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