With over 2,000 financial product and bank services
complaints on a daily basis, the Financial Ombudsman recruits at least 40
people on a weekly basis. Chief Ombudsman Natalie Ceeney said that in three
years, the FOS grew from 1,200 people into 3,500 staffers who are trying to
resolve customer payment protection insurance complaints.
The Financial Ombudsman is the last resort of customers that
have their claims rejected by banks and who scamming PPI claims management
claims prey upon. The Financial Ombudsman said that the majority of complaints
they receive are about PPI, which makes about 400,000 claims.
According to observers, banks still have a lot to learn
about working with PPI complaints. Lloyds’ recent scandal involving a
mishandling of PPI claims show that banks still have much to learn about
resolving complaints.
Aside from PPI, the Financial Ombudsman also deals with
other troubling financial services. The economic problems faced by the United
Kingdom has led to a complaints surge with over 30 to 40 cases of payday loan
industry-related cases on the increase.
The Financial Ombudsman estimates that at least 2 million people
yearly make use of their services. However, the FOS chief said that they cannot
fine banks for their misgivings to customers and that customers might not find
the answer they’re looking for, but only what’s fair for both sides as decided
by their competitive staff.
