| Link(s): | 2024-2025-Issued-17-July-2025.pdf FCA’s response to the Complaints Commissioner’s Annual Report 2024/25 Response to the Complaints Commissioner’s Annual Report 2024/5 |
Context
TCC has published its Annual Report for 2024/25, titled “Reviewing how the financial services regulators consider complaints”, and has published responses to the report from the FCA and the PRA.
Key points to note and next actions
- A major focus for the Office of the Complaints Commissioner this year has been conducting an extensive and detailed investigation into the group complaint raised by multiple complainants regarding the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS). This year also saw a notable rise in complaints relating to Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending platforms.
- There were 370 complaints and enquiries in progress at end of the period, a significant increase on the 99 in progress at the start of the period, and the 40 that were in progress at the start of the 2023/24 business year (mainly due to the inclusion of two large group complaints received and being considered in the 2024/25 year).
- Of the 370 complaints and enquiries currently in progress in relation to the FCA, 343 relate to group complainants within investigations concerning the FCA’s oversight of specific firms, schemes, or sectors, while the remaining twenty-seven are individual cases.
- Of the 351 complaints received about the regulators, 343 were about the FCA, seven about the PRA and one about the Payment Services Regulator.
- Within the complaints closed (584), 325 different elements were investigated. For FCA complaints, the Commissioner disagreed with 11% of the FCA’s decisions.
- 103 separate recommendations or criticisms were made to or about the FCA, of which the FCA did not accept thirteen. The remaining ninety were accepted.
- In its response, the FCA welcomes the report and the feedback it provides, and sets out transparent reasons why the FCA did not accept particular recommendations. It also provides commentary on a number of themes and policy considerations identified by the Commissioner during the year.
- The PRA simply welcomes the report and notes the Commissioner’s comments in relation to the six complaints against the PRA, including the joint complaint against the FCA, during the period. No other commentary is provided.