Ombudsman receives fewer complaints about scams and ‘unaffordable’ lending

The number of complaints about financial firms where the ombudsman was called on to step in has fallen to its lowest level in more than a year, with fewer gripes recorded about issues such as perceived unaffordable lending and fraud.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) said the fall in case numbers has been particularly significant across certain issues.

Between April and June, it received 10,000 new cases related to perceived irresponsible and unaffordable lending – less than half of the 21,600 complaints received a year earlier.

Similarly, the most complained-about issue it is currently seeing – motor finance commission – also saw a drop in complaints, from 36,000 cases between January and March to 21,500 cases processed between April and June.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Sunday that it would consult on a motor finance compensation scheme.

The FOS figures also show a fall in complaints about fraud and scams, with consumers lodging 6,800 complaints between April and June, compared with around 8,800 fraud and scam complaints a year earlier.

In total, the service processed around 68,000 complaints between April and June, compared with 74,600 new cases in the same period in 2024.

The latest quarterly figure was the lowest since January to March 2024, when around 57,200 complaints were received.

The service, which is free to use for consumers, recently introduced charges for professional representatives who bring more than 10 complaints a year. The move aimed to bring better balance to the organisation’s fee model and to encourage representatives to submit more strongly evidenced complaints.

While 30,800 cases were brought by professional representatives between April and June, compared with 36,600 a year earlier, it is likely that the next set of quarterly data will show fewer complaints brought through this route, the ombudsman service predicts.

The most recent figures will include complaints which were submitted at the end of the last financial year but were processed by the ombudsman after April 1 – and these cases are not chargeable for professional representatives, the service said.

James Dipple-Johnstone, interim chief ombudsman at FOS, said: “Following a year of extraordinary demand, we recently announced reforms to modernise the UK’s redress system, making it more agile and responsive and a much better fit for today’s economy.

“We have acted on feedback from our ‘call for input’ and reviewed a range of our processes – and have already made changes. We’ll continue to listen to our industry partners so that, working together, we can have a system that’s fit for the future.”