Financial Services Firms Receive 1.88M Complaints in H1 2022, up 1%, FCA Unveils

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released aggregate complaints data over 2022 H1 between 1 January 2022 and 30 June 2022, disclosing that complaints received by financial services firms totaled 1.88m, rising 1% compared to that of 2021 H2 at 1.86m.

The watchdog detailed that the decumulation and pensions product group registered the biggest increase in complaints received by firms during this period, up 15% to 70,200. And insurance and pure protection saw an increase of 5% to 801,430.

Current accounts remain the most complained about products, with the number of 528,812.

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The FCA noted that for the first time since the data has been collected, more than half (51.0%) of all complaints were closed within 3 days.

Besides, following consecutive dip since 2018, the total amount of redress grew for the first time to £278m from £262m in 2021 H2, which was largely due to insurance and pure protection that surge 134% to £85m in 2022 H1.

"We use the complaints data to help assess how well firms are treating their customers and how their performance changes over time. We also use this data to guide our work in supervising firms and markets and to highlight potential concerns with specific financial products," said the regulator.

Shortly before, Fazzaco reported that the FCA stopped the UK operations of 16 Contracts for Difference providers, that had entered the UK's temporary permissions regime in 2021, where suspected scam activity was detected, or consumers were encouraged to trade excessively to generate revenue. Without FCA action consumers could have lost around £100m a year.