FOS reports surge in SIPP complaints

The Financial Ombudsman Service has reported a sharp rise in SIPP complaints with 821 new complaints about SIPPs between July and September compared to 636 in the previous quarter. The number of SIPP complaints upheld also rose with an 'upheld rate' of 57% in the quarter (53% in Q1), one of the highest among all product areas. The uphold rate for personal pensions in Q2 was only 27%. There were 328 complaints about stocks and shares ISAs with an uphold rate of 27%. Overall new complaints reached 68,735 in Q2, 19% higher than Q1 2020/21 and 20% higher than Q2 2019/20. Referrals to an ombudsman were 9,204, 17% higher than Q1 2020/21 but 21% fewer than Q2 2019/20. Separately, the Financial Ombudsman Service says it has so far received over 10,000 Covid-19-related complaints, according to its quarterly report out today. The FOS received 5,900 complaints in its Q2 period (July to September) connected to Covid-19, pushing the total to over 10,000. The FOS said: “Complaints arising from Covid-19 also continued to reach us, reflecting the wide-ranging impact of the pandemic on people’s lives.” Some of the Covid-19 complaints relate to implementation of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS). Many of these complaints were from SMEs. The biggest numbers of Covid-19-related complaints were connected to travel insurance and business protection insurance. The FOS says it has begun to resolve some of the Covid-19 related complaints. Overall the Financial Ombudsman Service upheld 32% of gripes in complainants favour in Q2. Excluding PPI, the uphold rate was 41%. There were 391 new complaints from small and medium-sized enterprises, 201% more than Q1 2020/21 and 178% more than Q2 2019/20. The FOS said it was seeing a high level of claims management company (CMC) activity. For example, eight in 10 complaints about home credit were brought to it via a CMC, compared with an average of just three in ten across its wider caseload.

FOS reports surge in SIPP complaints

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