Context
The latest issue of Ombudsman News has been published. This edition focuses on the recently published quarterly data and key trends which the ICO has observed. Also included is the FOS annual report and accounts.
Key points to note
- Quarterly Complaints Data
- Between July and September 2020, FOS has continued to see an increase in complaints from people who borrowed money, who then felt the debt was unaffordable.
- Complaints arising from Covid-19 also continued to come through to FOS, reflecting the wide-ranging impact of the pandemic on people’s lives.
- Although payment protection insurance (PPI) remains the most complained-about product, it continues to decline as a proportion of the FOS casework – a decade on from when mis-selling complaints began to be referred to us in mass volumes.
- Consumer Credit
- FOS receive complaints from consumers about a range of credit products and services. The latest Ombudsman News has links to the page dedicated to consumer credit, details about the types of complaints that originate in this area and the general approach that the FOS takes.
- Covid-19 (Coronavirus)
- The FOS has included signposting to its page dedicated to the provision of some operational information about the FOS service that might be helpful for businesses. The page sets out some detail about the FOS’s approach to complaints caused, or affected, by Coronavirus.
- Annual reports and accounts
- This issue of Ombudsman News includes a link to the ICO’s annual report and accounts which gives detail about the FOC’s progress against strategic aims and objectives, together with information about financial performance and audited accounts.
- Blog: Helping small businesses with life-changing financial disputes
- This issue of Ombudsman News also includes a link to an ICO blog. The blog provides insight into why the ICO’s experience of having resolved millions of complaints over the last 20 years, combined with the legal powers it has to put things right, means it is well-placed to provide fair and impartial resolutions to what can often be critical financial disputes faced by small businesses.
Next actions
It can be useful for firms, when considering their own processes and approach, to take into account the FOS’s comments and views about the complaints which it handles.