Complaints against financial advisers at the Financial Ombudsman Service fell in the second half of last year, amid a slight overall descrease.
The Fos received around 1,044 new complaints about advisers in the second half of last year – a 12 per cent decrease on the 1,189 new complaints in the first half.
Sesame was the most complained about advice firm, with 104 complaints against it, but this was down from 160 in the previous six months.
It was followed by Openwork at 70, an improvement on the 80 it received in the previous period, and St James’s Place with 58 complaints, the same as the previous six months.
The figures represent the number of new cases received by the ombudsman service in the six-month period from 1 Jul to 31 Dec 2016 – from consumers dissatisfied with the financial business’s response to their complaint.
This number is likely to reflect the size of the business involved.
Bank of Scotland topped the list with 19,555 new complaints against it for the second half of 2016, down from 22,090 for the first half of the year.
This was followed by Lloyds, which received 18,411, down from 22,241 and Barclays which had 13,379, a significant fall from 18,603.
Outside of the banks, Aviva Insurance ranked fairly high up the complaints list, receiving 1,752 during the period, closed book provider Phoenix had 310 and Royal London received 304.
Close Brothers received 129 new complaints against it
Prudential received 235, and Friends had 232 new complaints, and Legal and General was complained against 112 times.
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 Jul to 31 Dec 2016.
The ombudsman took on a total of almost 150,000 new cases in the last six months of 2016.
This marks a slight overall decrease compared to the first half of last year, reflecting fluctuating packaged bank account and payment protection insurance complaints.
Chief ombudsman Caroline Wayman said: “There’s a widespread feeling that we’re living in unsettled times, and money issues are often at the heart of people’s concerns.
“At the ombudsman service, the data we publish often show patterns of volatility and change. Lots of factors can influence the complaints we see.
“PPI complaints are down, but there are some suggestions that this could be the calm before the storm.
“The FCA’s proposals – including the PPI deadline – are likely to heavily influence our complaints volumes.
“But whatever fluctuations we see in the future, it will remain as important as ever for us to share our insight – to help businesses resolve problems thoughtfully, carefully and with a human touch.”
laura.miller@ft.com
