The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the complaints data for the period from 1 July to 31 December 2023.

In the second half of 2023, UK financial services firms received 1.87 million complaints, a decrease of 1% from 2023 H1 (1.89m). Since the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) peak in 2020, complaints have stayed relatively constant between 1.8m and 2m.

The product groups that experienced an increase in their complaint numbers were:

• banking and credit cards – up 3.2% from 847,497 (2023 H1) to 874,568 (2023 H2)
• home finance – up 3.7% from 91,470 (2023 H1) to 94,822 (2023 H2)
• investments – up 3.4% from 59,417 (2023 H1) to 61,446 (2023 H2)

The product groups that experienced a decrease in their complaint numbers were:

• decumulation & pensions – down 2.8% from 88,058 (2023 H1) to 85,547 (2023 H2)
• insurance & pure protection – down 5.8% from 800,253 (2023 H1) to 753,192 (2023 H2)

There were increases in the biggest 3 products to be complained about:

• current accounts up 1% from 509,923 in 2023 H1 to 515,336 in 2023 H2
• motor and transport up 1% from 278,148 in 2023 H1 to 281,082 in 2023 H2
• credit cards up 7.5% from 201,925 in 2023 H1 to 217,032 in 2023 H2 which follows recent fluctuation trends

Most other products saw a decrease in number of complaints.

The percentage of complaints upheld decreased from 61% in 2023 H1 to 58% in 2023 H2.

In 2023 H2 the total amount of redress was £259 million. This is 10% higher than 2023 H1 (£236m).