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FSA's rules on complaints data are "too limited"
Under new Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules, individual financial services firms will be required to publish their complaints data by 31 August at the latest.
The consumer lobby group Consumer Focus believes this is a welcome move towards openness but warned the new rules were too limited to allow customers to see the full picture.
The requirement only applies to banking groups, not individual brands, if they have more than 500 complaints over a six-month period.
The information required is limited to five very broad product categories and does not tell consumers which companies handle complaints quickly, said Consumer Focus. The FSA will be aggregating this data and publishing it on its website by the end of September.
Oliver Morgans, financial specialist at Consumer Focus, said: "We would like to see all complaints data clearly broken down by individual brand and product, alongside details of how long it takes for complaints to be dealt with.
"This will help consumers compare the customer service offered by banks, before they decide where to put their hard-earned money."
