Bi-annual review
The Financial Services Ombudsman, William Prasifka (the
"FSO") recently published his
office's bi-annual review for January to June 2013.
The review shows an overall increase in the number of complaints
received by 27%, in comparison with the same period last year. 50%
of these complaints relate to the insurance sector, 44% of which
relate to payment protection insurance
("PPI"), 10% relate to life assurance,
9% to motor insurance, and 9% to household buildings insurance.
However, over 79% of the complaints in the insurance sector were
not upheld by the FSO.
Complaints handling
According to the FSO, a significant number of financial
institutions continue to deal ineffectively with customer
complaints. The FSO has therefore introduced a new approach for
dealing with customer complaints "efficiently, fairly and
effectively".
