Roughly 15,000 new complaints on investment and pension services and 13,000 for mortgages are expected during 2016, the Financial Ombudsman Service (Fos) has predicted.
But despite the rise in predicted complaints, the budget will drop to £223.2m in 2016/17, slightly lower than 2015/16’s £223.9m figure.
In order to cut costs, it will be asking the FCA to increase the compulsory levy for authorised firms to £23.3m, from £24.5m. Additionally, the standard cost per case is frozen for the fourth successive year, at £550.
The Fos has said there has been a “relatively small number” of complaints logged with regards to the pension freedoms, although it is less than a year since they were introduced. The current issues relate to delays and administrative issues on the part of the pension providers or, importantly, problems people are having in accessing advice.
It added that an improving economic environment should lead to fewer complaints, although there are some areas where they could still rise.
One example is property purchases; if the economy is stronger and more people move or purchase buy-to-let properties, the likelihood of complaints is that much higher.
