Financial services firms paid £236m of redress in second half of 2024 – FCA

Complaints to financial services firms fell by 4.3% in the second half of last year compared with the first six months, according to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) figures.

Companies received 1.78 million complaints in the second half of 2024, with £236 million of redress paid.

The redress total marked a 3.0% decrease compared with the first half of last year.

The percentage of complaints upheld by firms remained at around 57% across the year.

The three most complained about products in the second half of last year were current accounts, motor and transport and credit cards, with all three sectors seeing a reduction in complaints compared with the first half.

Hugh Fairclough, partner and head of financial services at RSM UK said the fall in complaints could reflect the impact of the FCA’s Consumer Duty, which requires firms to put customers at the heart of what they do. This includes when designing products and in communications with customers.

He said: “Many firms have improved their customer service practices in response, which may now be coming through in today’s (second half of) 2024 complaints data.”