Financial services complaints top 7,300

Almost 7,300 complaints were lodged against financial institutions in 2011, the ombudsman for the sector has revealed in its latest review.

The Financial Ombudsman said that while there has been a slight decrease of 3% in the complaints made compared to 2010, they still remain “extremely high”. Overall, €1m in compensation was awarded to consumers as a result of the findings of the FSO.

Complaints against insurance companies are the most common, accounting for 47% of the total received and 18% of complaints in that sector related to payment protection and mortgage protection policies.