Major advisory networks bucked the trend of recent years and saw a sharp fall in complaint numbers in the second half of 2013, new data published by the Financial Ombudsman Service reveal.
Complaints about Sesame still lead the charge in terms of adviser firms with 213 complaints being recorded between July and December of last year, down 27 per cent from 292 for the first six months of the year.
Restricted network Openwork saw its complaints volume fall 29 per cent over the second half of the year from 142 claims to 101.
Uphold rates were also low among both firms, with Sesame losing just 26 per cent of all complaints decisions over the six months, while Openwork was on the wrong end of just 27 per cent.
Personal Touch received 78 complaints in the second half of 2013, down 11 per cent compared to the first six months of 2013. Around 13 per cent were upheld in the second half of the year.
Positive Solutions received 49 complaints in the July to December 2013 period, down 21 per cent when compared to the first half of the year. The uphold rate, however, was one of the largest amongst networks at 54 per cent.
Tenet, a new entrant in the Fos data - which lists only those businesses which have 30 or more complaints in the six month period - received 38 complaints in the second half of 2013, with the largest uphold rate among advisers of 55 per cent.
St James Place complaint numbers were stable on 96, down just one from 97 claims, while Chase de Vere dropped out of the data having recorded less than 30 claims, compared to 33 complaints in the first half of 2013.
In total, the Fos received a “record” 575,836 new cases in total in 2013, an increase of 38 per cent on 2012. Of the cases referred to the ombudsman in the second half of the year (248,801), payment protection insurance made up 76 per cent.
Five financial services groups accounted for nearly 68 per cent of new PPI cases, with Lloyds Banking Group topping the table with 40,500 new claims.
For complaints about financial products other than PPI, the total number of cases referred to the ombudsman was 8 per cent lower than the first half of the 2013 (55,747 compared to 60,807).
This involved banking complaints reducing by 11 per cent and insurance cases by 7 per cent. The average uphold rate over the six-month period was 51 per cent.
Tony Boorman, chief ombudsman at the Fos, said: “The extraordinary volumes of financial complaints we saw in 2013 now looks as if they’re starting to level off at last – and that has to be welcome news for everyone.
“But we’re still a long way from being able to say that PPI is sorted once and for all.
“Away from PPI, there are further signs of improvement, with fewer cases suggesting good news. But in far too many cases uphold rates remain stubbornly high, highlighting the need for financial businesses to do more to demonstrate their longer-term commitment to listen to customer’s concerns as they seek to rebuild trust.”
