PPI complaints push FOS cases to record high

New cases for the Financial Ombudsman Service(FOS) soared by 26% in the year to March 31 2011, driven by a record number of complaints about PPI mis-selling.

The FOS received a record 206,121 new cases, which was 8.5% higher than expected. It also handled over a million front-line enquiries and complaints from consumers - around 4,000 each working day.

This huge increase was largely as a result of a 113% rise in the number of PPI cases, following a 56% hike the previous year. Total complaints about PPI soared to 104,597; the largest number of complaints the FOS has ever received about a single product in one year. Complaints about the product made up half of the total caseload

However, the number of investment-related complaints dropped by 30% and
banking complaints fell by 9% over the period.

The proportions of cases involving life insurance and investment product-providers and IFAs also continued to decline from 8% to 5% and 2% to
1.5%, respectively.

Around 51% of the total number of cases the FOS dealt with related to four financial services groups - while 3,592 businesses accounted for just 5% of its caseload.

The FOS resolved 164,899 cases, which was fewer than planned because of the legal action taken on PPI complaints.

There was a fall in the number of investment-related complaints across almost all product areas with the largest drop in the number of mortgage endowment complaints - which fell by a further 44%

Complaints fell for products including: unit-linked bonds, investment ISAs, with-profit bonds, guaranteed income bonds, unit trusts and PEPs. However, cases doubled for structured products from 273 to 550 over the year.

Pension cases also fell in total from 3,594 in 2010 to 2,706 in the year ended March 31 2011. Again there were falls across the board with a particular improvement in the number of personal pension plan and SERPs cases.

Portfolio management cases rose slightly over the period from 1,040 to 1,148. The FOS received a number of complaints from investors who lost money in funds backed by Lehman Brothers or those affected by fraudster Bernard Madoff.