More complaints heard by Financial Ombudsman

Complaints to the Financial Services Ombudsman increased by 23% last year. A total of 2,604 complaints were received - 1,734 for the insurance sector and 870 for credit institutions.

A total of 161 new complaints were received for credit unions, intermediaries and stockbrokers as these are now subject to the Ombudsman's remit and were not covered under the former voluntary schemes.

The Financial Services Ombudsman, Joe Meade, said that 1,368 complaints were concluded after investigations, while another 1,339 were referred to the internal complaints procedures of the providers for appropriate action.