Nearly a fifth of all complaints about advisers brought to the Financial Ombudsman Service in 2015 were done so through a claims management company.
According to figures released to Financial Adviser following a the Freedom of Information Act request, during the last calendar year the ombudsman received 2,707 complaints about financial advisers.
Of these complaints, 494 - or 18 per cent - were brought by a consumer with a claims management company representing them.
The proportion of claims brought by claims management companies last year appears broadly flat compared with the past year, with 19 per cent of cases brought by one in 2014.
During that year there were 2,954 cases brought against financial advisers, with 562 of these brought through a CMC.
On average, claims brought to the ombudsman by a claims management company are less likely to be upheld, with only 22 per cent - or 113 - of the 494 cases they brought in 2015 being successful.
This compares to cases against advisers in general, which had an uphold rate of 34 per cent in 2015.
A similar pattern was seen in 2014, when 35 per cent of complaints against advisers were upheld, but those brought by claims management companies were only upheld in 24 per cent of cases.
A spokesman for Fos stated some people believe their chances of having a successful complaint is increased by using a complaints management company, but he pointed out the ombudsman’s data shows that is not the case.
“We continue to work with claims management companies to make sure they follow our approach and don’t refer cases to us unnecessarily.
“If we come across a claims management company using poor practices, we do share this with the Claims Management Regulator, which is part of the Ministry of Justice.
“Since 2015, consumers who are unhappy with the service they have received from a claims management company can complain to the Legal Ombudsman,” the statement from Fos added.
In December, both the Personal Finance Society and Association of Professional Financial Advisers united against the negative impact ambulance chasing firms have on both advisers and their clients.
This followed comments by Apfa’s chairman Lord Deben, who rallied against the increasing time and cost burden for advisers in having to deal with complaints brought to Fos via ambulance chasers.
Keith Richards, chief executive of the Personal Finance Society, said most people have experienced a bombardment of calls, emails and texts from claims management companies.
He said: “While they can be a positive support for consumers who have genuinely been disadvantaged, there is a trend of some simply trying to generate revenue from any opportunity.
“It is something that needs to be addressed and we would like to see it regulated to the same strict standards that financial advice is regulated to.”
One of the issues which claims management companies have been dedicating themselves to in recent years has been PPI complaints, but the FCA has recently said it is looking to introduce a deadline for these claims.
Last October, the Treasury and Ministry of Justice commissioned a “fundamental” review of claims management companies regulation, responding to concerns from consumers and financial services firms that these ambulance chasers fuel “speculative unmeritorious claims” for compensation.
Carol Brady, a non-executive director of the Claims Management Regulation Board and chair of the Trading Standards Institute, is leading the review, which is due to be completed early this year.
Last week FTAdviser exclusively revealed claims management companies are struggling to make enough money out of advice mis-selling claims, as they try to move on from payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints.
Gareth Fatchett, director at Regulatory Legal Solicitors, explained many claims management companies are dropping out of the market entirely as PPI claims are drying up and the regulator has begun consulting on when to draw a line in the sand.
One example of this is claims handling firm Rebus, which filed for administration last week.
Documents seen by FTAdviser stated ReSolve Partners were appointed as administrators for Rebus Management Services, Rebus Investment Group and Rebus Investment Solutions.
Rebus was believed to have been managing 1,700 claims against scheme promoters and accountants, worth a total of more than £930m.
More than 100 crowdfunding investors also stand to lose out, as Rebus raised more than £800,000 through Crowdcube last year, with individuals investing between £5,000 and £135,000.
