Sesame are again the most complained about firm in the Financial Ombudsman Service’s adviser category, with 172 complaints during the first half this year and an uphold rate of 27 per cent.
The complaints data, published today (25 August), revealed that Sesame has seen a 21 per cent increase in complaints taken to the Fos when compared to the last half of 2014. In addition, the uphold rate of 24 per cent was slightly less at the end of last year.
A spokesperson from Sesame Bankhall Group responded that whilst they take all complaints “extremely seriously”, the referral of 172 cases in the first half represents a tiny proportion of the business its members write each year.
“Sesame has also seen an improving trend, with a reduction in Fos referrals year on year, along with an uphold rate that remains low, with around three quarters of the Sesame complaints referred to the Fos rejected.
“Sesame regularly reviews its assessment standards, which includes all feedback received from the Fos, to ensure our approach is accurate and reflects current practice. We are satisfied that the procedures we have in place ensure a consistent and fair approach to complaint handling and treating customers fairly”.
The figures cover financial businesses only where the Fos received at least 30 new cases and resolved at least 30 cases in the six-month period from 1 Jan to 30 Jun 2015.
Openwork was the second most complained about adviser, with 111 new complaints and a 27 per cent uphold rate during the first half, up from 82 complaints and a 16 per cent uphold rate during the previous half.
Interactive Investor Trading was third with 75 complaints and a 63 per cent uphold rate, up from 61 complaints in the previous half and a similar uphold rate of 62 per cent.
Hargreaves Lansdown had 60 complaints in the first six months of the year, with 15 per cent being upheld, up marginally from 58 complaints during the last six months of 2014 and an uphold rate of 21 per cent.
Danny Cox, head of communications at Hargreaves Lansdown, told FTAdviser that it uses client feedback - both positive and negative - to help improve and shape their service.
“We are pleased the rate of upheld complaints has fallen. To put into context, the number of complaints upheld is less than 0.01 per cent of the millions of transactions we conducted over the same period.”
Rounding out the top five was newcomer Positive Solutions, with 51 complaints and a 39 per cent uphold rate.
A spokesman for Positive Solutions also said that given the scale of the business, the upheld cases represent a fraction of the customers worked with and do not reflect any systemic issues with the advice process. “We will continue to work closely with advisers to ensure all customers receive demonstrably suitable advice.”
Looking at individual life and pensions businesses, Prudential received the most complaints at 263, down from 280 in the previous months, however its uphold rate was only 12 per cent.
Phoenix Life received 248 complaints compared to 232 and had an uphold rate of 19 per cent. Aviva received 222, compared to 212 in the last half of 2014, with an uphold rate of 23 per cent.
Sun Life Assurance had 178 complaints, compared to 157, with an uphold rate of 41 per cent, and Friends Life had 172 complaints, compared with 140, and an uphold rate of 24 per cent.
In terms of mortgage-related complaints, Bank of Scotland topped the list with 897 complaints during the last six months and an uphold rate of 31 per cent, although this figure was down from 1,004 during the previous six months.
Santander followed with 708 complaints, up from 572, and an uphold rate of 38 per cent, Legal and General had 621 complaints, up from 396, and an uphold rate of 27 per cent and Barclays had 597, slightly more than the 590 complaints it received in the last six months of last year, and an uphold rate of 41 per cent.
The six-monthly complaints data relating to banks, insurers and other financial businesses showed that the ombudsman took on a total of 173,994 new cases in the first half of 2015 – an overall increase of 8 per cent on the previous period (161,649).
Payment protection insurance made up 55 per cent, with 94,091 new PPI complaints, although this was down 10 per cent compared with the previous half.
The average uphold rate over the last six months was 57 per cent – ranging from 5 to 94 per cent across the individual businesses.
peter.walker@ft.com
