The number of disputes the Financial Ombudsman received from October to December last year dropped by 10% compared to the same quarter last year due to fewer complaints about the general insurance and credit industries.
The Financial Ombudsman Service received 7,448 disputes from October to December last year, with general insurance complaints coming as the second most complained about industry, behind credit.
Up to 1,469 disputes were GI-related (26.7%), while 2,658 (48.3%) were about credit.
However the total number of FOS disputes for October to December represented a 10% decrease on the previous quarter and a 3% decrease from the same quarter last year. The reduction in credit, general insurance and payment systems disputes are the main factors involved in the lower numbers compared to the same quarter last year.
FOS received 3,140 disputes at the registration stage in October – December 2013, which is a reduction of 11% compared with last quarter. By the end of the quarter, 29% of these disputes had been resolved by the financial services provider, 23% had been escalated further to the next stage of our resolution process, and around 43% were still open at the registration stage.
The number of disputes accepted during this quarter (5,497 disputes) was 11% lower than during the last quarter and 5% lower than during the same quarter last year.
“We anticipated this reduction as financial services providers had told us they would be focusing on improving their Internal Dispute Resolution process from this financial year onwards,” a statement read.
FOS closed 8,529 disputes this quarter. This number is 3% lower than last quarter but 2% higher than the same quarter last year.
