Consumer credit made up the bulk of financial complaints last year

THE FINANCIAL Ombudsman Service (FOS) upheld six in 10 complaints about consumer credit last year, the regulatory disputes body has revealed.

The FOS annual report for 2017/2018 found consumer credit products, which includes some peer-to-peer lending as well as payment protection insurance, accounted for the most complaints at 36,349 last year, up 40 per cent.

The Ombudsman upheld 47 per cent of complaints, up from 45 per cent a year before.

There was also an eight per cent increase in complaints about unsecured loans to 6,909, while credit card complaints were up 15 per cent to 11,073.

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“Complaints about consumer credit products and services rising by 40 per cent, following an 89 per cent rise last year,” the FOS said.

“In particular, we saw further significant increases in complaints about high-cost credit, such as payday loans and instalment loans. The fact we’ve upheld six in 10 complaints about these types of borrowing – similar to last year – suggests lenders have some way to go in ensuring they’re treating their customers fairly.

“During the year we continued to share what we were seeing with the Financial Conduct Authority, to help inform its own ongoing work to address regulatory concerns about the high-cost credit market.”

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